James Cizdziel (right), UM associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry, and recent doctoral graduate Oscar ‘Beau’ Black have spent two years researching 3D-printed firearms through a grant from the National Institute of Justice, part of the U.S. Department of Justice. Photo by Megan Wolfe/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services

OXFORD, Miss. – In the summer of 2016, Transportation Security Administration screeners at Reno-Tahoe International Airport in Nevada confiscated an oddity: a 3D-printed handgun in a man’s carry-on baggage.

The plastic gun was inoperable but accompanied by five .22-caliber bullets. The passenger said he had forgotten about the gun and willingly left it at the airport and boarded his flight without being arrested.

The TSA later said the plastic gun was believed to be the first of its kind seized at a U.S. airport.

Since the world’s first functional 3D-printed firearm was designed in 2013, such guns have increasingly been in the news. Proponents of the firearms – 3D-printed with polymers from digital files – maintain that sharing blueprints and printing the guns are protected activities under the First and Second Amendments. Opponents argue the guns are concerning because they are undetectable and also untraceable since they have no serial numbers.

Tackling some of those forensic unknowns are a University of Mississippi chemistry professor and a graduate student. Their research is developing analytical methods to explore how the firearms might be traced using chemical fingerprints rather than relying on physical evidence, with the goal of offering tools for law enforcement to track the guns as they become more widespread.

“We can positively identify the type of polymer used in the construction of the gun from flecks or smears of plastic on bullets, cartridge cases and in gunshot residue collected on clothing,” said James Cizdziel, an associate professor in the UM Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

Cizdziel, who joined the Ole Miss faculty in 2008, and Oscar “Beau” Black, who recently earned his doctorate in chemistry, have spent two years researching 3D-printed firearms through a grant from the National Institute of Justice, part of the U.S. Department of Justice.

The three-year, $150,000 grant, “Physical and Chemical Trace Evidence from 3D-Printed Firearms,” has resulted in a 2017 peer-reviewed paper in Forensic Chemistry, a growing reference library of mass spectra from 3D-printed firearms for use by law enforcement and a book, “Forensic Analysis of Gunshot Residue, 3D-Printed Firearms, and Gunshot Injuries: Current Research and Future Perspectives.”

The world’s first functional 3D-printed firearm was designed in 2013. The guns are 3D-printed with polymers from digital files and are untraceable since they have no serial numbers. Photo by Megan Wolfe/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services

The research involved Cizdziel and Black being the first to use Direct Analysis in Real Time, or DART, Mass Spectrometry to identify polymers and organic gunshot residue in evidence from 3D-printed guns. The idea is forensic experts could trace the polymer that might show up in chemical evidence from the discharge of a 3D-printed firearm back to the type of plastic used in the gun.

“Our growing database provides a second means of identification or grouping of samples, alleviating the need for subjective interpretation of the mass spectral peaks,” said Cizdziel, a Buffalo native. “We also published fingerprinting protocols on surfaces of 3D-printed guns. 

“Overall, we demonstrated that our methods are particularly useful for investigating crimes involving 3D-printed guns.”

The pair’s research arises from an undergraduate chemistry class Cizdziel taught in 2014, Introduction to Instrumental Analysis. Before earning his bachelor’s degree in forensic chemistry in 2015, Black, who also was an undergraduate researcher in Cizdziel’s laboratory, took the class, where talk soon turned to 3D-printed firearms.

“We discussed how developing new reliable analytical methods for forensic practitioners dealing with trace evidence from 3D-printed guns would make a good doctoral research project,” Cizdziel said. “Apparently this sparked a fire in (Black), and he not only joined my research group as a graduate student but was awarded a research fellowship from the Department of Justice to do that very project.”

Black, from Weatherford, Texas, began the project in 2016, before funding was secured in 2017, and quickly realized he was in unexplored territory.

“There was such a dearth of information out there,” Black said. “There was only one, I think, report of an actual test fire (of a 3D-printed firearm) from a forensic agency.”

The pair began creating functional 3D-printed firearms – either .22-caliber or .38-caliber handguns – that used certain metal parts to comply with a federal ban on weapons that aren’t picked up by metal detectors. They test-fired them under controlled and safe conditions at the Mississippi Crime Laboratory in Pearl and the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences in Hoover, Alabama.

“When you discharge them, they do exactly what they are designed to do,” Black said. “You can shoot them multiple times. There was one we shot dozens of times with no visible wear and tear on it.”

The discharges generated samples to analyze. The duo also evaluated the differences in evidence between 3D-printed guns and conventional guns, and used the analytical technique mass spectrometry to identify and characterize the various polymer types in 3D-printed gun evidence.

Research by University of Mississippi professor James Cizdziel and doctoral graduate Oscar ‘Beau’ Black has led to a growing reference library of polymers from 3D-printed firearms for use by law enforcement. Photo by Megan Wolfe/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services

This work was the beginning of creating a reference library of various polymer samples to provide the basis of categorizing an unknown sample. The reference library holds about 50 polymer samples.

Cizdziel and Black were assisted in their research by undergraduate students and Murrell Godfrey, director of the UM forensic chemistry program and associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry.

Black graduated Saturday (May 11), but the pair’s research is ongoing, including expanding and improving the 3D-print polymer reference library.

“The ultimate goal would have the reference library in a format that’s similar to the other reference libraries that are out there for fingerprints, etc.,” Black said. “Every different arena has a reference library that goes along with that discipline.”

Beyond work on the reference library, the twosome is examining DNA methods on 3D-printed firearms and studying the longevity of polymer evidence under weathering conditions. Cizdziel and Black also are working on a paper that presents all their scientific discoveries when it comes to 3D-printed firearms.

Not knowing what they might find in their investigations has led to some exciting findings and groundbreaking work, Cizdziel said.

“That’s when things get interesting,” he said. “When you don’t quite know what to expect.”

Click Here to see the original May 13, 2019 article by Shea Stewart.

Gerald Rowland, instructional assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, has been named Outstanding Instructor of the Year.

OXFORD, Miss. – Chemistry faculty member Gerald Rowland was honored Friday (May 10, 2019) by the College of Liberal Arts for his excellence in teaching.  Gerald Rowland, instructional assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, received the Outstanding Instructor of the Year Award.  “The College of Liberal Arts is extremely proud of Dr. Rowland,” said Donald L. Dyer, associate dean of faculty and academic affairs. “He represents everything that is good about teaching at the university.  His skills for teaching and compassion for students are evident not in only the classroom, but also in the letters of support received from students and colleagues this year in support of his nomination. The college is pleased to add this exceptional educator to a long list of distinguished and influential teachers on our campus.”  

Prof. Rowland was recognized during Commencement exercises Saturday (May 11, 2019) in the Grove.  The awards are fuel for encouragement, appreciation and gratitude, said Rowland, who received the Lambda Sigma Excellence in Teaching Award earlier this year and the Student Members of the American Chemical Society Faculty Award in 2016.

“To learn that the students were the driving force behind the award nomination is a bit overwhelming,” he said. “It has been a privilege of mine to be able to have the opportunity to teach some of the brightest minds at the university during their formative years in college.” 

One of Rowland’s nomination letters said, ” … (his) attitude to help students is unparalleled within the chemistry department and across campus.”

“(Dr. Rowland) has gone above and beyond to make sure that each of his students is successful in his class,” wrote an anonymous student. “I love how his class focuses on how to think rather than what to think.”

Click Here to see the original May 10, 2019 article by Edwin B. Smith.

UM Provost Noel Wilkin (left) congratulates Charles Hussey, associate dean for research and graduate education in the College of Liberal Arts and professor of chemistry and biochemistry, on being named a Distinguished Professor during the end-of-the-semester faculty meeting Friday (May 10) in Fulton Chapel. Photo by Thomas Graning/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services.

 

OXFORD, Miss. – Chemistry faculty member Charles L. Hussey was appointed a Distinguished Professor during the end-of-the-semester faculty meeting Friday (May 10, 2019) in Fulton Chapel.

Charles Hussey is associate dean for research and graduate education in the College of Liberal Arts and professor of chemistry and biochemistry.  The Distinguished Professor appointment is an honorific title started by UM in 2018 that recognizes the best faculty with sustained excellence at Ole Miss. The award was created in response to the university’s strategic initiative to develop a post-professorial recognition.  No more than 5 percent of eligible faculty can be appointed as a Distinguished Professor.

“The accomplishments of the university are really the accomplishments of its people,” Provost Noel Wilkin said. “This award allows us to acknowledge the outstanding contributions that our most accomplished faculty have made to their fields.

“The ways in which [these professors] have shaped their disciplines and influenced the world is amazing, and they are very deserving of this award.”

Hussey joined the faculty in 1978 after receiving a bachelor’s in chemistry in 1971 and his doctorate in analytical chemistry in 1974, both from UM. Before joining the Ole Miss faculty, Hussey served a four-year active duty term as a chemical research officer at the U.S. Air Force Academy’s Frank J. Seiler Research Laboratory and as a lecturer in the Department of Chemistry and Biological Sciences at the academy. He retired as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve in 1994.

After receiving tenure in 1983, Hussey was promoted to professor in 1987 and served as chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry from 1997 until 2017. He received the UM Faculty Achievement Award in 1996, was named the university’s 2015 recipient of the Southeastern Conference’s Faculty Achievement Award and earned the University of Mississippi Distinguished Research and Creative Achievement Award in 2015.

For four decades, his research has focused on the electrochemistry and transport properties of ionic liquids and molten salts. He has authored or co-authored more than 175 refereed journal articles, book chapters, patents and technical reports, and his research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the U.S. Department of Energy and more.

He was elected as a fellow of the Electrochemical Society in 2003 and selected as an emeritus member in 2017.

He also has directed 25 dissertations and theses during his UM career and taught courses ranging from General Chemistry to Fundamentals of Electrochemistry.

“Professor Hussey has been passionately serving the University of Mississippi for four decades,” wrote Greg Tschumper, chair and professor of chemistry and biochemistry, in his letter of support to Hussey’s appointment. “His research has brought national and international recognition to our institution. He has continually fostered the growth of everyone around him through extraordinary service and leadership.

“His scholarly activity, leadership and service epitomize the very essence of the title of Distinguished Professor.”

Each school and college has its own guidelines for nominations, but the university requires that nominated faculty have at least six years of service at the highest rank of professor, along with exemplary accomplishments in research and creative achievement, teaching and service. Also, it is expected that awardees will have achieved a significant degree of national or international recognition.

The recommended appointment nominees are made by a committee chosen by the Faculty Senate and the provost, and the committee has representatives from across campus.

See the original May 10, 2019 article by Shea Stewart here.

The Austin, Texas, native graduated from Ole Miss in December with a degree in biochemistry and was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy in January through the university’s Naval ROTC program.

He was assigned to flight training and ordered to report to Pensacola, Florida, in late May. While many recently commissioned midshipmen use the break between commissioning and reporting to relax or establish themselves in the town to which they will be moving, Booth decided to remain at his alma mater as a staff member, assisting midshipmen in their journey toward becoming officers themselves.

Click the image below to read Booth’s story, which is part of the “Journey to Commencement” series that highlights University of Mississippi students and their academic and personal journeys from college student to college graduate.

 

 

OXFORD, Miss. – Congratulations to Dr. Cizdziel and graduate student Oscar Black on their new book titled “Forensic Analysis of Gunshot Residue, 3D-Printed Firearms, and Gunshot Injuries: Current Research and Future Perspective”. As technology continues to march forward it is crucial that the forensic disciplines maintain their lead over the criminal element. The field of firearm analysis is one such area that has experienced rapid developments, spurred on by recent technological advancements. With the invention of high resolution 3D-printing and new improvements in instrumental techniques such as Raman Spectroscopy and Mass Spectrometry, entirely new fields of study have evolved. This book takes an in-depth look at the current state of gunshot residue analysis and wound ballistics, and showcases groundbreaking research in these crucial areas. The ramifications of the availability of 3D-printed firearms are also discussed, with evaluations of new and existing forensic methods on trace analysis of GSR and fingerprinting, as well as potential protocol adaptations to better address the unique challenges of 3D-printed firearms.

Seven members of the 2018 freshman class at the University of Mississippi have the distinction of being Stamps Foundation Scholarship recipients.  The Stamps Scholarships at Ole Miss are the most comprehensive, full scholarship packages for in-state and out-of-state students.  This year’s cohort is: Shahbaz W. Gul and Qihang “Jeffrey” Wang, of Oxford; Gregory Vance, of Jackson; Melvin “Richard” Springer IV, of Biloxi; Grace Louise Dragna, of Mandeville, Louisiana; Grace Elizabeth Marion, of Levittown, Pennsylvania; and Valerie Quach, of Austin, Texas.  “This gifted class of UM Stamps Scholars contributes to our exceptional track record of attracting and retaining the best students from around the state and the nation,” Chancellor Jeffrey Vitter said. “We’re very grateful for the generosity of the Stamps Family Charitable Foundation. Our partnership with them provides nationally competitive scholarships and enables extraordinary enrichment opportunities for high-achieving students.”  Wang said he sees the Stamps Scholarship at Ole Miss as the perfect balance between a fantastic, focused education and a big public school experience.  “The Stamps Scholarship Program provides big opportunities for networking with other student scholars,” said the biochemistry major and a member of the Honors College, Global Ambassadors and the American Chemical Society. “The Stamps family is very kind, courteous and professional, and I am very appreciative for all they’ve done.”  Wang’s goals include doing research in both analytical chemistry and environmental sciences.  Launched in 2006 by Georgia native Roe Stamps and his wife, Penny, the program has grown to include nearly 40 partner schools throughout the country.

The 2018 cohort of Stamps Scholars at UM is: (front row, from left) Grace Dragna, Grace Marion and Valerie Quach, and (back row) Shahbaz Gul, Jeffrey Wang, Gregory Vance and Richard Springer. Photo by Bill Dabney/UM Foundation

Two chemistry majors received the prestigious McDonnell-Barksdale Scholarships this year.  These are Qing Yun Li of Oxford and Kayci Bearden Kimmons of Batesville.  Li is a graduate of Oxford High School, where she was concert master of the OHS Orchestra, which she played in for four years, and received awards in AP chemistry, geography, and anatomy and physiology while being named to the National Honor Society, Beta Club, Anchor Club and LOU Orchestra. She also made the Principal’s List Honor Roll all four years and was a volunteer with the Oxford-Lafayette Humane Society, Oxford-Lafayette County Library and Memory Makers.  A graduate of Mississippi School for Math and Science, Kimmons was a Regional Science Fair finalist; member of the marching band, Student Council, National Honor Society, Student Government Association and Technology Student Association (regional/state winner); and earned awards in Spanish, regional spelling bee, Honor Roll-All A’s, Beta Club (regional/state winner) and second-highest average. She also volunteered at the Boys and Girls Club and the Convoy of Hope and was a chemistry tutor. 

Douglass Sullivan-Gonzalez (right), dean of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, meets with Honors scholars (from left) Autumn Fortenberry, Brithney Ngo, Ella Endorf, Ivy Li, deYampert Brame Garner II, Kayci Kimmons, Ajah Singleton, Emily Wright, Samuel Starr, Arabella Hamm, Kaden Spellmann, Hayden Williamson and Andrew Gardner.