Forensic Chemistry Student Success and Enrollment

Our Program goals and educational objectives are to:

  1. Provide students a thorough grounding in math and sciences, the cornerstones of modern forensic science;
  2. Enhance student’s critical thinking and analysis skills, especially as it pertains to forensics;
  3. Instruct students on the various facets of forensics, including hands-on instrument training;
  4. Produce a technically skilled and educated forensic chemistry workforce for Mississippi and the nation.

To achieve these goals, the Program will:

  • Maintain an innovative faculty that is committed to teaching a modern curriculum, critical thinking skills, and the different facets of forensics;
  • Provide as much laboratory opportunities as possible for students to maximize their use of instrumentation and problem solving skills;
  • Develop and enhance student’s presentation, technical, and problem solving skills;
  • Promote forensic-themed research projects using the latest technologies;
  • Encourage students to participate in- and present research at- forensic meetings and conferences;
  • Promote defense of experiments through oral presentations that stimulate discussion among forensic majors;
  • Invite guests from different forensic backgrounds to give seminars and workshops on their areas of expertise;
  • Take students on trips to different forensic laboratories;
  • Reinforce the importance of record keeping and written presentation skills utilizing word processors, spreadsheets, and graphing tools; and
  • Teach laboratory safety.

 
 

 

 

 

Student/program performance data for the past (3) years (2021-2024) in the tables below: 

Enrollment/Graduates Data 
Degree Program Name: 
 

__Forensic Chemistry  

 Academic Year –  

past 3rd year: 

____2021-2022_______ 

 

Example: 2021-2022 

 Academic Year –  

past 2nd year: 

___2022-2023________ 

 

2022-2023  

 Academic Year – previous year: 

______2023-2024____ 

 

2023-2024 
# of FT students enrolled in degree program  95  79  59 
# of graduates reported in each year   20  14  9 

 

Post – Graduation Survey Data 
       
Degree Program Name: 
 

_Forensic Chemistry_ 

 Academic Year –  

past 3rd year: 

________2021-2022___ 

 

Example: 2021-2022 

 Academic Year –  

past 2nd year: 

______2022-2023____ 

 

2022-2023  

 Academic Year – previous year: 

_____2023-2024_____ 

 

2023-2024 
# of graduates with job offers  12  6  4 
# of graduates admitted into advanced degree program  6  6   5 
# of graduates unreachable / did not respond  2  2  0 

 

 

Internship / Research Project/ Capstone Experience Information 
Academic Year  Type of Experience (internship, research, or capstone):  Title or Topic of project / area of study:  Location (applicable if internship is the ‘type of experience’): 
Past 3rd year: 

2021-2022 

Example: 2021-2022 

 Internship  Louisiana State Police   Baton Rouge, LA 
Internship  Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences  Birmingham, AL 
Internship  Davidson County Medical Examiner’s Office/Forensic Medical  Nashville, TN 
Internship  Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office Crime Laboratory  Harvey, LA 
Internship  Speckin Forensic Laboratories  Fort Lauderdale, FL 
Internship  Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences  Birmingham, AL 
Internship  St. Tammany Parish Coroner’s Office  Lacombe, LA 
Internship  St. Tammany Parish Coroner’s Office  Lacombe, LA 
Internship  DC Department of Forensic Sciences  Washington DC 
Internship  Mississippi Forensic Labs  Pearl, MS 
Internship  El Sohly Labs   Oxford, MS 
Internship   El Sohly Labs  Oxford, MS 
Internship  Mississippi Forensic Labs  Pearl, MS 

 
Research  Fish Barcoding Research  Supervising professor: 

Randy Wadkins 
Research  Black Carbon Measurements at Anderson Hall  Supervising professor: 

Courtney Roper 
Research  Fine Particulate Matter and Black Carbon in Columbia and Athens, TN  Supervising professor: 

Courtney Roper 
Research  Fish barcoding using Multiple Extraction Records  Supervising professor: 

Randy Wadkins 
Research  The Identification of Unknown Bacteria by PCR and Gel Electrophoresis  Supervising professor: 

Randy Wadkins 
Research  Effect of Alcohol on Binding Energies of Cocaine and Kraton using Computational Chemistry  Supervising professor: 

Ryan Fortenberry 
Research   Using Ionic Liquids to Enhance the Fluorescence of Organic Dyes for Bloodstain Detection   Supervising professor: 

Eden Tanner 
Research   Analysis of Black Carbon Concentration in Samples Collected in Oxford, MS  Supervising professor: 

Courtney Roper 
Research  DNA Sequencing of the First Hypervariable Region of the Canis l lupus familaris Mitochondrial Genome and Validation of Non-Destructive DNA Extraction Protocol Using Canine Teeth   Supervising professor: 

Carolyn Freiwald 
Research  Fish DNA Barcoding for Supply Chain Authenticity  Supervising professor: 

Randy Wadkins 
Research  Weekend vs Weekday Black Carbon Concentration Analysis from Various Locations in Tennessee from January to March 2015  Supervising professor: 

Courtney Roper 
Research  Analysis of Edible Clay Using XRD Diffraction  Supervising professor:  Carolyn Freiwald 
Research  Black Carbon Analysis  Supervising professor 

Courtney Roper 
Research   Imidazolium Based Ionic Liquid of Fluorescent NIR Dyes for the Detection of Blood Stains  Supervising professor: 

Eden Tanner 
Research  The Synthesis and Characterization of Ionic Liquids Using Nitrogen Based Cations for Transdermal Delivery  Supervising professor: 

Eden Tanner 
Research   Analysis of Salts by Powder X-Ray Diffraction  Supervising professor:  

Carolyn Freiwald 
Research  Chemical Analysis of Edible Clays from the Middle East using X-Ray Diffraction  Supervising professor: 

Carolyn Freiwald 
Research  A Study of Cannabigerolic Acid and its Derivatives via Raman Spectroscopy and Density Functional Theory  Supervising professor: 

Nathan Hammer 
Research  Development of a Novel Electron Rich Pentadentate Ligand for Applications to Oxidative Catalysts  Supervising professor: 

Jonah Jurss 
Past 2nd year:  

2022-2023_____ 

Example: 2022-2023 

 Internship  Arkansas State Crime Lab  Little Rock, AR 
Internship  El Sohly Labs  Oxford, MS 
Internship  Federal Bureau of Investigations  Birmingham, AL 
Internship  Chatham County Police Department  Savannah, GA 
Internship  El Sohly Labs  Oxford, MS 
Internship  El Sohly Labs   Oxford, MS 
Internship  Allegheney County Office of the Medical Examiner  Pittsburg, PA 
Internship  Arkansas State Crime Lab  Little Rock, AR 
Internship  Arkansas State Crime Lab  Little Rock, AR 
Internship  Mississippi Forensics Lab  Biloxi, MS 
Internship  Boston Police Department  Boston, MA 
Internship  El Sohly Labs  Oxford, MS 
Internship  Arkansas State Crime Lab  Little Rock, AR 
Internship  Arkansas State Crime Lab  Little Rock, AR 
Research   Archeological Age at Death Assessment Using X-Ray Techniques at Chicoloapan Viejo Mexico  Research professor:  

Carolyn Freiwald 
Research  Developmental Exposure to Minor Cannabinoids Causes Morphological and Behavior Adverse Outcomes in Zebrafish Larvae  Research professor: 

Kristie Willett 
Research  Oxygen Isotopes in Colombia  Research Professor: 

Carolyn Freiwald 
Research  Reviving the LCF 1600 Comparison Microscope for Future Academic Use  Research Professor: 

James Cizdziel 
Research  Canine Pulp Cavity Age Estimation  Research Professor: 

Carolyn Freiwald 
Research  Bioimaging of Bodily Fluid Stains for Forensic Purposes  Research Professor: 

Eden Tanner 
Research  The Conversion of Au144(SCH2CH2PH)60 into Au133(SPh-tBu)52 Nanomolecule  Research Professor: 

Amal Dass 
Research  4-Acetoxy-DMT an Unexpected Trickster  Research professors: 

James Cizdziel in collaboration with the Arkansas Crime Lab 
Research  A Comparison of FT-IR Techniques for the Analysis of Forensic Automotive Paint  Research Professor: 

James Cizdziel 
Research  Extraction of Cannabinol (CBD) using Ionic Liquids  Research Professor:  

Eden Tanner 
Research  Structural Integrity and Stability of DNA in Ionic Liquid and Near-Infrared Indolizine Squaraine Dye  Research Professor: 

Eden Tanner 
Research   Examination of Organic Gunshot Residue  Research Professor: 

Courtney Roper 
Research  Analysis of Fine Particulate Matter (PM 2.5) Collected from Grade School Communities in Georgia  Research Professor: 

Courtney Roper 
Research  Airborne Microplastics in Oxford MS and the Potential for Tirewear Particles as Forensic Trace Evidence, A Feasibility Study  Research Professor, 

James Cizdziel 

 
Previous year: _ 

2023-2024______ 

Example: 2023-2024 

 Internship  El Sohly Labs   Oxford, MS 
Internship  Quest Diagnostics  Kansas City, KS 
Internship  Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office  Fort Worth, TX 
Internship   Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences  Houston, TX 
Internship  Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, Birmingham  Birmingham, AL 
Internship  North Louisiana Crime Lab  Shreveport, LA 
Internship  Federal Bureau of Investigation  Birmingham, AL 
Internship  Mississippi Forensics Laboratories  Batesville, MS 
Internship  Arkansas Crime Laboratory  Little Rock, AR 
Research  Forensic Anthropology:  Migration Tales and Teeth  Supervising professor:  Carolyn Freiwald 
Research  Extracting DNA from Whole Blood for Human Identification Analysis  Supervising professor: 

Eden Tanner 
Research   Application of Forensic Dental Radiography to Archeological Samples for Age Determination  Supervising professor: 

Carolyn Freiwald 
Research  Establishing Preservation Status of Ancient Tooth Enamel from Ambergris Caye Using Bio Appetite Indicators and ATR-FTIR  Supervisor professors” 

Carolyn Freiwald and  

James Cizdziel 
Research  Using ATR-FTIR to Establish the Preservation Status of Tooth Enamel  Supervisor professors: 

Carolyn Freiwald and 

James Cizdziel 
Research  Separation and Detection of CBC-Val-HS x CB1 and CB2 Receptors  Supervising professor: 

Nicole Ashpole 
Research  Validation of a Triple Quadrupole LCMS Instrument for Cocaine and Amphetamines  Supervising professor: 

James Cizdziel and Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office 
Research  Computational Study of Various Conformers and their Complexes with a Water Molecule  Supervising Professor: 

Steven Davis 
Research  Effective Active Sampling Technique for Semi-Quantitative Volatile Hydrocarbon Analysis  Supervising professor: 

Courtney Roper