Inside, groundbreaking forensic science is unfolding — work that has national implications for solving crimes, advancing justice and training the next generation of forensic experts.

Ballantyne is a chemistry professor and the interim director of �鶹ӳ����ý’s National Center for Forensic Science (NCFS).

It’s a long title, but it’s fitting since he has worked in forensic science for decades.

In fact, Ballantyne has a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from the University of Glasgow, Scotland; a master’s in forensic science from the University of Strathclyde, Scotland; a doctoral degree in genetics from the State University of New York; and just a hint of Scottish brogue.

He leads a multidisciplinary team whose research touches everything from DNA analysis to chemical analysis of trace evidence. The building may blend into its surroundings, however, the science happening within it is anything but invisible.

Ballantyne’s resume goes far beyond his roles at �鶹ӳ����ý. He also works in the field of forensic molecular genetics. He has provided a slew of expert testimony in criminal courts, served as the chair of the New York State DNA subcommittee and is a regular invited guest at the FBI’s Scientific Working Group on DNA analysis.

“I’m a forensic scientist of 46 years and still actively involved in all aspects of the forensic community,” he says.

So, what exactly is forensic science?

It’s the application of scientific methods and techniques to aid in investigating crimes and analyzing evidence for use in legal proceedings. That includes crime scene investigations, DNA analysis that could identify individuals through genetic material, detecting poisons, analyzing data from electronic devices, preserving evidence like fingerprints, blood, hair and fiber, and identifying human remains.

�鶹ӳ����ý’s undergraduate forensic science program was established in 1974, making it one of the oldest forensic science programs in the country. The National Center for Forensic Science followed in 1997.

“�鶹ӳ����ý decided to start a center for forensic science and initially concentrated on fire investigations, explosives and explosive analysis,” Ballantyne says. “We then expanded beyond fire and explosives and moved into digital evidence and DNA analysis. Now, we also have people working on sexual lubricants and a myriad of other chemical analysis and spectroscopic methods and statistical methods to evaluate evidentiary items.”

That doesn’t mean research and academics are on the back burner. Ballantyne and his team of expert faculty teach on campus and conduct research in Central Florida Research Park.

�鶹ӳ����ý’s Department of Chemistry offers a bachelor’s degree in forensic science, a master’s degree in chemistry (forensic science track) a doctoral degree in chemistry and a forensic science concentration. That’s the academic side, plus most of the forensic faculty are affiliated with NCFS.

Ballantyne and his forensic faculty conduct research both independently and collaboratively, each with their own specialties:

• Jack Ballantyne
  Professor of chemistry
  Forensic biochemistry; forensic analysis of DNA, RNA, serology and other biological evidence; single cell analysis and advanced mixture deconvolution tools.
• Matthieu Baudelet
  Assistant professor of chemistry
   Identify commingled bones, glass, tires, pollen and other trace evidence.
• Candice Bridge
  Associate professor of chemistry
  Analysis of lubricants, gunshot residue, drugs/toxicology and other trace evidence.
• Erin Hanson
  Assistant professor of chemistry
  Forensic biochemistry; forensic analysis of DNA, RNA, serology and other biological evidence; analysis of challenging sexual assault samples and forensic investigative genetic genealogy.
• Larry Tang
  Professor of statistics and data science
  Forensic statistical analysis of forensic trace evidence
• Mary Williams
  Coordinator of research services
  Curates and maintains community databases used by forensic scientists worldwide, especially used to aid fire/arson investigations, including the Ignitable Liquids Reference Collection, International Database of Ignitable Liquids, Substrate and Thermal Properties Database.

The NCFS still offers courses in arson and explosives and continues to run databases that are used by crime labs to this day.

“I find purpose in my work by aiding forensic laboratories in their ability to provide evidence that won’t convict innocent people,” says Mary Williams, coordinator of research services.

The forensic faculty are principally, but not only, concerned with criminal cases. The Ballantyne and Hanson research groups, for example, use techniques and technologies of biochemistry, molecular biology and genomics to help forensic scientists retrieve more information from biological traces transferred during the commission of a crime.

“One example of this could determine whether it’s possible to distinguish between innocuous consensual social intercourse or criminal sexual intercourse,” Ballantyne says. “Biomarkers that may pinpoint saliva, skin and vaginal secretions can be useful to distinguish these possibilities, which can sometimes require painstaking laboratory work.”

Hanson works with challenging and late reported sexual assault evidence, as well as other types of physical assault evidence. She’s also a faculty member of �鶹ӳ����ý’s Violence Against Women faculty cluster initiative and a volunteer for the Victim Service Center of Central Florida.

“Every victim has the right to be heard, especially when they no longer can speak for themselves,” Hanson says. “That conviction drives my research every single day. If even one case finds truth or justice because of my work, then I have done my job.”

She continues: “Challenging sexual or physical assault evidence involves a trace amount of biological material among an overwhelming amount of [the victim’s] biological material. We’re essentially trying to find a needle in a haystack – those few cells that have been left behind by a perpetrator. We use advanced techniques like micromanipulation, which allow us to isolate and collect single cells from  these admixed samples. For sexual assault evidence, this could be a single sperm remaining in the sample or, in the case of digital penetration, a shed skin cell from the perpetrator’s finger. Standard methods would fail to detect these trace amounts of biological material. If any of the methods we work on can help solve one case, take one perpetrator off the streets or help exonerate one wrongfully convicted person, then it makes all the hard work worth it.”

Others are just as dedicated.

“Recently, there’s been an increased interest in partnering with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE),” Ballantyne says. “This should be a very good relationship. There’s an impetus to partner with �鶹ӳ����ý and FDLE — it’s our local lab after all, and we have multiple former and current students employed in FDLE laboratories.”

Biological evidence can leverage human identification, which is used not only for criminal cases but also for unidentified human remains, accidents and disasters.

“Anything we do must be useful at some point from the crime scene to the courtroom, which also means we need to ensure that sample integrity isn’t compromised by … issues at the scene or throughout the forensic analysis process,” Ballantyne says. “If a crime takes place, nowadays there will likely be a digital footprint somewhere — on a phone, computer or wherever it may be.”

Recognizing the need for digital forensic experts, �鶹ӳ����ý’s nationally ranked Master of Science in Digital Forensics program is essential, preparing future professionals to follow the trail from evidence to justice.

�鶹ӳ����ý forensic scientist Candice Bridge is working alongside her peers and a national organization to change that and give prosecutors and public defenders more knowledge about what forensic science can and cannot do. Ultimately, she sees her work as helping victims get justice.

Bridge, who previously worked for the Defense Forensic Science Center and U.S. Army Criminal Investigations Laboratory, knows first-hand what a challenge forensic evidence can be. She was a forensic chemist and worked analyzing evidence from fire debris and explosive cases.

“Outside of the TV shows, most people think forensic science is a difficult field because of the amount of math and chemical formulas that is required in some forensic disciplines,” Bridge said. The general public’s understanding is even more confounded thanks to Hollywood, which hasn’t made it any easier to explain to juries what the evidence can and cannot show.

“Currently, there is a lot of discussion in the academic field itself about the evidentiary value each piece of evidence has in a criminal investigation,” Bridge said.

“Take DNA. There’s a lot of misinformation about it. Yes, DNA can place a person in a location, but it is just one tool. You can use other forensic data to help corroborate or disprove a suspect’s account. DNA becomes significantly important when the suspect emphatically states that they weren’t at a crime scene, when their DNA was found there. Otherwise, there are plenty of reasons someone’s DNA can be at a crime scene without being directly associated with the crime that occurred.”

Bridge holds a joint appointment between the �鶹ӳ����ý Chemistry Department and the National Center for Forensic Science, where she conducts her research to develop modern analytical methods and interpretation of forensic evidence. In addition to conducting research, this semester she worked on developing the center’s first speaker series on “The Intersection of Science, Statistics and the Law.” It was an effort to bring together attorneys, forensic scientists and academics to discuss the future of forensic science in America and to educate the local legal and law enforcement communities about the evidentiary value and the use of science and statistics in criminal litigation. Orlando’s Seaside Bank helped sponsor the series.

Several speakers briefed attendees on topics from the challenges of introducing modern-day interpretation of scientific evidence to how to objectively and statistically interpret pattern-based evidence.  More than 130 attended the three meetings.

Currently, there is a lot of effort going into developing a more standardized analysis and interpretation of forensic evidence. In April 2014, the created the Organization for Scientific Area Committees to work with the forensic-science community to develop standards and guidelines to improve the quality and consistency of work.

“Once standard practices are established, it will make it easier for the analysis and interpretation of forensic evidence that should make it smoother to introduce evidence in legal proceedings,” Bridge said.

The Brooklyn, N.Y., native, who joined �鶹ӳ����ý in 2014, is making her own contributions to the better understanding of forensics and how they can help solve criminal investigations. Her expertise is in fire debris, but she has an interest in developing forensic analysis in sexual assaults. Currently she is looking at what scientists can determine from the detection and analysis of lubricants used in an assault.

“Sometimes lubricants can be collected from a crime scene and in the absence of DNA and/or other biological clues, having specific chemical information about the lubricant could help investigators narrow a list of potential commercial products used in the sexual assault,” Bridge said. “Or a timeline of the assault could potentially be determined based on the degradation of the lubricant recovered, which could be critical. I want to give investigators as many tools as possible so they can solve sexual-assaults crimes.”

Bridge acknowledges the difficulty in openly addressing sensitive issues associated with the details of sexual assaults, but points to the importance of these details and the associated evidence in solving and preventing future sexual assaults. It is her goal that her research in this area will lead to new forensic science standards of the analysis and interpretation of lubricants recovered in sexual-assault cases.

It is rare that a person can pinpoint the time his or her life’s direction changed. As a child, in middle school, Bridge had a love of science and crime mystery novels.  However, it was watching the TV show, “The New Detectives: Case Studies in Forensic Science,” which focused her career towards a life in forensic science.

“One night, I stayed up later than my mom allowed,” Bridge said. “While flipping through the channels I came across this show where the police and crime scene investigators solved a woman’s murder by analyzing blood spatter/trailing, blood pooling and tire tracks. I thought, ‘That’s what I want to do! I like science, solving mysteries, and helping people.’”

That’s all it took. From that day she focused on chemistry as her pathway into forensic science. She earned her bachelor’s in chemistry at Howard University in Washington and her doctorate in chemistry at �鶹ӳ����ý by the time she was 25. In addition to working for the Defense Forensic Science Center, she was a college intern at the National Research Center for Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, and Colgate-Palmolive. She was a Lecturer at Howard University and Atlanta Metropolitan State College before coming back to �鶹ӳ����ý as an assistant professor.