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Wells Investigates Kidnapping at Workshop


Dr. Michael Wells, associate professor of
chemistry, analyzes a drug sample taken
from the fictitious crime scene at a foren-
sics workshop he attended at Williams
College in Williamstown, MA.

Bloody footprints, a bullet and shell casing, a piece of torn fabric—these were among the pieces of evidence left by the hypothetical kidnapper of a young child. It was the job of Dr. Michael Wells and others who attended a one-week forensics workshop at Williams College in Massachusetts to discover the identity of the kidnapper.

“The workshop was like a mystery theatre program,” said Wells, who is an associate professor of chemistry at Campbell University. “Only we got to examine the evidence.”

Wells and his colleagues photographed the crime scene, dusted for fingerprints, and collected evidence. They spent the rest of the week analyzing the evidence, using scientific processes such as drug and fabric analysis, blood typing, and DNA profiling.

“We used some of the same chemistry that we are already doing in the classroom at Campbell,” Wells said, “but it is much more exciting applied to a crime scene.”

One of the underlying principles of the workshop, sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF), is to provide a basic understanding of forensic science and how it can be applied to aspects of undergraduate instruction in chemistry. “Applying basic scientific principles in a forensic setting captures the students’ imagination,” Wells said. “Some science seems kind of dry, but when students see it applied to a crime scene, it becomes a lot more interesting.”

Held several times annually, the workshop introduced some of the specialized fields of forensic science and the fundamental principles of science and technology upon which they are based. In the laboratory component, participants gained sufficient experience to incorporate forensic experiments into undergraduate chemistry and biochemistry courses. Wells intends to incorporate forensic examples and applications into his own courses at Campbell.

A native of Dunn, NC, Dr. Michael Wells graduated from East Carolina University in 1992 with a Bachelor of Science in chemistry and computer science. He received a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has been a member of the Campbell faculty since 1996.

Founded in 1887, Campbell University is North Carolina’s second largest private institution of higher education and the second largest Baptist university in the world. Located in Buies Creek, NC, just east of the center of the state, Campbell combines academic excellence and Christian commitment.


Bulletin 0195-07/06/04

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