Forensic Chemistry

Dr. Suzanne Bell obtained a BS (Chemistry and Criminal Justice majors) from Northern Arizona University and an MS in Forensic Science from the University of New Haven. She joined the New Mexico State Police in 1983 and worked as a forensic chemist and crime scene processor. She worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory starting in 1985 as a technical staff member. During this time, she obtained a PhD from New Mexico State University. She started her career in academia in 1994, first at Eastern Washington University where she taught undergraduate chemistry courses and assisted the university and the Washington State Patrol in developing a forensic chemistry major. In 2003, she joined the Chemistry Department at West Virginia University (WVU). There she mentored chemistry and forensic chemistry students from the BS to post-doctoral level. Her areas of research interest included forensic chemistry, forensic toxicology, ion mobility spectrometry, chemometrics, energetics and explosives, and gunshot residue. She retired from WVU in 2019. She is am a past member of the Scientific Working Group for Seized Drug Analysis (SWGDRUG) and a current member of the Scientific Working Group for Gunshot Residue (SWGGSR) and the gunshot residue subcommittee of NIST’s Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC). She is also a commission on the National Commission on Forensic Science (NCFS) and the Forensic Education Programs Accreditation Commission (FEPAC). In addition to numerous research articles, she has authored and edited many text and reference books including Forensic Chemistry, Measurement Uncertainty in Forensic Science, and the 5th edition of Forensic Science: An Introduction to Scientific and Investigative Techniques.

PART 1: Metrology and Measurement 1. Making Good Measurements 2. Assuring Good Measurements PART 2: Chemical Foundations 3. Chemical Fundamentals: Partitioning, Equilibria, and Acid-Base Chemistry 4. Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry 5. Spectroscopy PART 3: Drugs and Poisons 6. Overview of Drug Analysis 7. Novel Psychoactive Substances 8. Fundamentals of Toxicology 9. Applications of Forensic Toxicology PART 4: Combustion Evidence 10. Overview of Combustion Chemistry 11. Fire Investigation and Fire Debris Analysis 12. Explosives 13. Firearms and Firearms Discharge Residue 14. Forensic Chemistry and Trace Evidence Analysis