"The Forensic Science program is not about following pop-culture trends. There is a real need for improved national standards and trained forensic experts."
Bill Whildin, director Forensic Science Program
Forensic Science Program
Speech patterns, bugs, and bacterial can all be used to solve crimes.
Through improved DNA testing methods, investigators were able to solve a 25 year old "cold case" murder in North Carolina.
Animal rights activists and scientists have created a DNA database of dogs to trace animals that are bred for illegal fighting.
Mason’s new Forensic Science Program is an interdisciplinary academic collaboration between the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, the Department of Molecular and Microbiology (MMB), the Department of Environmental Science and Policy (ESP) and the Department of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (BCB). Graduates and those completing a professional certification will be qualified to conduct laboratory analysis of forensic data in a secure environment while maintaining the integrity of the evidence to ensure applicability in a court of law.
Research and Career Opportunities
Get involved and make a difference.
Bill Whildin, director of the program, is making a concerted effort to find local internships and job opportunities for students through his vast network of professional contacts. Though he won’t guarantee that students will have jobs upon graduation, he says they will leave with specialized skills that are in high demand.
Learn More at:
Program Website Did you know?
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The Forensics Sciences Program is the most recent in Mason’s College of Science. The certificate was first offered in 2009, and the master’s degree was offered for the first time in the fall semester of 2010.
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Bill Whildin, theForensics program’s director, is a 20-year veteran of the Fairfax County Police Department and a former senior investigator in the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia.
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The National Institute of Justice, part of the U.S. Department of Justice, released a report to Congress in 2009 outlining the immediate need for better trained technical and legal forensic experts.
