OK, so West Virginia University’s Max Houck might not be that great with the 4-3 defense.
But huddle the professor and former FBI agent up with some DNA analysis and you’ll get a crime-solving quarterback worthy a Heisman Trophy.
Houck and other professionals and students associated with the University’s internationally recognized Forensic and Investigative Sciences Program will set up a learning lab in Atlanta prior to the Jan. 2 Nokia Sugar Bowl so bowl-goers can getclued inon the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences’renowned program.
The exhibit (don’t be surprised if it’s encircled in yellow crime scene tape) will be part of WVU ’s Mountaineer Fan Center at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis Sunday and Monday, Jan. 1-2.
Houck hopes fans will stop by and check out the various techniques his students use to solve crimes, while learning more about one of WVU ’s fastest growing majors.
We’re planning on having some fun with the exhibit,he said, noting that visitors can lift their fingerprints from a football and identify their telltale footprints from the contents of a spilled sugar bowl.
Fans can also learn how to read blood spatter while discovering theirforensic quotientin a quiz devised just for the occasion. And there’s even a photo opportunity to pose with a chalk outlineone of the most famousfiguresin the forensic world.
Parents will receiveIdentiKitpackets to record their children’s identifying characteristics, too.
And everyone, Houck said, will learn just what it is that makes this program famous.
The forensic and investigative science major, directed by Dr. Clifton Bishop, is one of nine forensic science programs accredited by the Forensic Science Education Program Accreditation Commission (FPAC). It offers students the chance to specialize in forensic chemistry, forensic biology or crime scene and fingerprint analysis.
Some 400 students take classes and practice the craft in three specially outfittedCrime Scenehouses and a forensic garage, where they work through scenarios taking in everything from domestic disputes turned deadly to drive-by shootings.
WVU offers a full range of majors relating to forensic science and national security, including biometrics, computer forensic investigation, criminology and investigations, forensic accountingand a new concentration in intelligence and national security in the Eberly College’s international studies program.
Students enrolled in these programs regularly take part in internships at police departments and crime labs across the country.
The forensic program has received extensive national media coverage in outlets as diverse as CNN , Rolling Stone, The Chronicle of Higher Education, USA Today and
True Hollywood Storieson the E! Entertainment Network.
In addition, some of the world’s top forensic professionals have been attracted to WVU and Morgantown to work with students in the program, including Dr. Bishop, a forensic biologist who is developing new techniques to determine how DNA and other biological evidence samples degrade over time.
Other professionals include Dr. Jeffrey Wells, a forensic entomologist who uses blowfly development to determine the time of death of a crime victim; Dr. Suzanne Bell, a forensic chemist who recently published the first comprehensive forensic chemistry textbook used in colleges and universities across the nation; Dr. Keith Morris, the former head of South Africa’s national crime lab system; and Houck, a former FBI forensic investigator who helped identify victims of Sept. 11 and the Branch Davidian standoff in Texas.
The range of our courses is the reason for our success,said Houck, who oversees National Institute of Justice funding for forensic research at WVU while managing forensic activities in the College of Business and Economics.We really do run the gamut: from crime scene to laboratory work, to cutting-edge applications like forensic accounting and computer forensics.
WVU ’s forensic effort began in earnest in 1997, when the University joined forces with the FBI to create the world’s first degree program in forensic identification.
A complimentary program in the College of Engineering focuses on biometricsthe use of unique identifying characteristics such as fingerprints, retina and voice scans to distinguish individuals from one another. Another program in WVU ’s College of Business and Economics is dedicated to forensic accounting.
Several recent graduates of the program and other WVU alumni working in the forensics and biometrics fields are expected to stop by the Fan Center exhibit to talk about their professions.
The Mountaineer Fan Center will run in the Atlanta Marriott Marquis’Imperial Ballroom from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on New Year’s Day and on game day, Monday, Jan. 2, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
In addition to the forensics exhibit, it will include other interactive exhibits and activities, highlights of sports and academic accomplishments, exclusive WVU giveaways each day, photo ops, aMountaineer Marketto purchase official WVU bowl merchandise and more.
Fans can also sign message banners to the team at the Center, enjoy drop-in visits by the cheerleaders, Mountaineer mascot and Mountaineer Marching Band, and be entertained with festive music.
Admission is free and all Mountaineer fans and the general public are welcome.
You’ll find the Marriott Marquis at 265 Peachtree Center, in the heart of downtown.
WVU takes on the University of Georgia in the 72 nd Nokia Sugar Bowl at 8:30 p.m. Jan. 2, but before that, Houck and Co. will surely be sleuthing for clues to solve that 4-3 defense.