We are very excited to welcome Ellyn Schuette, our newest Outreach Coordinator! Ellyn has a background we thought everyone would like to learn about, especially during National Chemistry Week. Take it away, Ellyn!
Hi everyone! I’m the newest member of CEF, and I’m happy to be here! Before joining CEF, I spent one year in informal STEM education and nearly ten years in forensic science research and casework. As a forensic scientist, my specialty was trace evidence… a field that perfectly illustrates the National Chemistry Week theme of “Solving Mysteries Through Chemistry!”
I used microscopes, chemical testing, and advanced instruments to analyze and compare a wide variety of evidence – fibers, hairs, paints & polymers, footwear & tire impressions, physical fractures, and vehicle lamp filaments. I worked on many cases over the years. In one of the most memorable ones, I analyzed evidence from a victim assaulted by an unknown assailant. While comparing the collected material to known hair standards from the victim, I located a potentially foreign hair. I forwarded the hair to the DNA unit, which successfully obtained a DNA profile from the root of the hair. They uploaded the profile to a nationwide database and found a match, identifying the person! As a team, we successfully identified an unknown suspect through careful analysis of the collected evidence.
In another memorable case, I examined evidence from a shooting victim found inside the bed of a pick-up truck. The investigators had two main questions: 1. Was the victim shot while underneath a comforter found in the truck bed? 2. Did the bullets pass through the truck before entering the victim? I analyzed bullet pieces recovered from the victim’s body, and located many embedded fibers and pieces of multi-layered paint. I used advanced microscope techniques and chemical instrumentation (such as an infrared (IR) spectrophotometer) to analyze and compare the colors and chemical compositions of each fiber and layer of paint to known samples. Because items like comforters and trucks are manufactured in large batches, trace evidence often can’t link to one and only one item. Instead, I was able to say that I recovered one fiber that was similar to the inner filling of the known comforter, or a comforter just like it. I also recovered multiple multi-layered paint pieces that were similar to the multi-layered paint on the outside of the truck bed, or a truck just like it. These findings gave the investigators valuable information in answering their questions.
Although I am no longer in a lab, I look forward to working with CEF to inspire the next generation of young scientists to explore how chemistry can answer questions about the world around them!
Learn more about forensic scientists here!
