Handbook

Forensic Chemistry and Toxicology is, in essence, the application of chemical knowledge to problems in the field of Forensic Science, i.e. in a context where the scientific results will need to be interpreted within a legal framework. This encompasses a wide range of activities from the identification of illegal drugs and poisons through tracking down novel performance enhancing drugs, detecting counterfeit over the counter and prescription drugs, ensuring industry is meeting environmental standards and assessing claims of contaminated food or art fraud.

Forensic Chemists not only need to be able to analyse chemical materials they also need to be able to understand how the chemical signatures of illegal processes might be masked or hidden and that requires a chemical level understanding of material and drug synthesis and manufacturing and the environmental fate of chemical pollutants.

The Major in Forensic Chemistry will expose students to the underlying chemistry for these processes and allow them to develop the required skills to address issues in forensic science across all these areas. Students will get hands on practice using advanced instrumental analysis techniques and experience how we can use advanced simulation and modelling software to assist in understanding how a chemical substance might be manufactured or masked and how we can modify current and emerging methods for application in the Forensic Sciences and how these sometimes complicated methods and results can be communicated in a legal context.