Forensic Science Student Experiences Unique UCARE Project

Samantha Hayek

August 5, 2015

Over the past summer Samantha Hayek, a forensic science major and Ambassador for the Forensic Science Program here at UNL had an exciting opportunity to be involved in some interesting research. Samantha participated in a UCARE project with forensic science professor Dr. Karl Reinhard and anthropology assistant professor Dr. Carrie Heitman where they examined pollen from Chaco Canyon in New Mexico.

Her work sought to use maize pollen found in the canyon to identify whether Ancient Pueblos grew maize locally or imported it into the canyon. They compared the pollen samples to a similar site in the Salmon Ruins and concluded that most likely the maize was grown locally.

Samantha used techniques and knowledge she gained from her forensic science pollen analysis class and was able to apply all the steps of a research project including collecting, compiling and analyzing data to produce a final project/poster.

Forensic Science Ambassadors