News

UNL’s Forensic Science Club, a Registered Student Organization affiliated with the Forensic Science Degree Program, held its 4^th Annual Spatterganza fundraiser on Wednesday, April 13^th.  Every year, the club provides individuals the opportunity to buy a t-shirt and then find creative ways to get imitation-blood spatter on it. 

Sgt. Larry Barksdale, Assistant Professor of Practice and Crime Scene Investigation Option Coordinator for the UNL Forensic Science Program, was presented the Outstanding Teaching Award at the CASNR Week Banquet on Sunday, April 10^th, 2016.  Barksdale has made significant contributions to the education of students and has been, and continues to be, an integral part of the program. 

As part of the FORS 200 - Forensic Seminar guest lecture series, Jeff Bracht, a Forensic Scientist/DNA Analyst, talked about the work that goes on in the Nebraska State Patrol Crime Lab. 

Serving any law enforcement agency in the state of Nebraska, the State Patrol Crime Lab is accredited and has with about 22 employees including managers and analysts.  There are several disciplines represented at the lab including: serology (identifying biological material), DNA, toxicology, trace evidence, controlled substances, latent prints, and firearms/tool marks.

As part of the FORS 200 - Forensic Seminar guest lecture series, Michele Stevenson, a Special Agent with the FBI Omaha Division, shared information about careers in the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Although her degree is in speech communication, she indicated that math and science-focused majors are more highly sought after by the FBI.

As part of the FORS 200 - Forensic Seminar guest lecture series, Jim Davidsaver, Director of Lincoln-Lancaster County Emergency Management, discussed his work in emergency management.  Davidsaver, a 28-year veteran of the Lincoln Police Department with 10 years as a crime scene technician, now teaches UNL’s Survey of Criminal Justice in addition to his other duties.

As part of the FORS 200 - Forensic Seminar guest lecture series, three representatives from the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, came to discuss the work they do in Nebraska’s 10 correctional facilities. 

As part of the FORS 200 - Forensic Seminar guest lecture series, Nebraska State Trooper Pedram Nabegh, a crash scene reconstructionist, came to discuss crash scene reconstruction and present a case study of a scene. 

Nabegh indicated that the job involves many physical science concepts that are used to determine the “how” a crash happened, not necessarily the “why”.  He works mostly when there has been either a fatality, serious bodily injury, commercial motor vehicle collisions, or when another agency requests his assistance.

February 10, 2016

As part of the FORS 200 - Forensic Seminar guest lecture series, representatives from the U.S. Army have spoken to Forensic Science Students about career opportunities in the Army.  Two current students who viewed the presentation last year and have since enlisted in the army reserve, accompanied the representatives during this semester’s presentation: Emma Dubas (far left) and Aaron Gilbert (center left).

February 3, 2016

As part of the FORS 200 - Forensic Seminar guest lecture series, Donald Gross, Fire Investigator/Explosive Technician with the city of Lincoln Bureau of Fire Prevention, gave a presentation about his work in fire code enforcement, fire investigation, bomb squad and public fire education.

December 18, 2015

On Friday, December 18th the Departments of Entomology and Applied Science invited Forensic Science graduates and their families to participate in the joint graduation reception held prior to the CASNR Salute to Graduates reception.