Three doctoral students in West Virginia University’s C. Eugene Bennett Department of Chemistry spent part of their summer getting hands-on training in a branch of the science devoted to solving crimes.

Amy Richmond of Frostburg , Md.; Jennifer Wiseman Mercer of Fayetteville, W.Va.; and Rebecca Hanes of Woodland, Wash., attended the McCrone Research Institute in Chicago in June. The institute is considered to be the world’s leading training center for forensic microscopy.

“Almost all forensic chemists will go through McCrone at some point,”said Suzanne Bell, an assistant professor of chemistry at WVU and the students’research adviser.”They (McCrone) are the recognized world experts in forensic microscopy.

“Going to McCrone gives students skills that are not taught in the traditional curriculum,”added Bell , who oversees the undergraduate forensic chemistry program at WVU .”This training makes them much more marketable as forensic chemists.”

While at McCrone, the students alternated between learning techniques in lecture and hands-on training in the laboratory. Topics covered included manipulating polarized light to analyze the optical properties of materials, small particle manipulation and cross-sectional mounting of fibers.

“It was a great supplement to our classes,”Richmond said.”It has really helped to tie together everything that we have learned.”

The McCrone Research Institute was founded in 1960 by Walter C. McCrone and is dedicated to teaching and research in applied microscopy. On the Net:http://www.mcri.org

The C. Eugene Bennett Department of Chemistry is housed in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences.