The Basics of Investigating Forensic Science, Second Edition presents foundational concepts in forensic science through hands-on laboratory techniques and engaging exercises. The text offers numerous lab projects on a range of subjects including fingerprinting, firearms, pathology, anthropology, forensic DNA, and more.
Kathy Mirakovits is a retired high school teacher of forensic science and physics. She currently teaches
forensic science and physics at Kalamazoo Valley Community College in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Kathy
holds an MS in science education from Western Michigan University, a bachelor’s degree in science education
from Miami University, and has completed over 15 graduate hours in forensic science. She has taught
general science, physical science, chemistry, biology, earth science, and physics at the high school and twoyear
college level for a total of 30 years. Additionally, Kathy conducts workshops across the United States
for teachers who wish to learn the application of forensic science in a school curriculum. Information on
those workshops can be found at her website: www .forensicscience -ed .com. She has developed numerous
forensic science educational products for a national science supplier and has led workshops at the National
Science Teachers Association (NSTA) in forensic science.
Kathy has served as president of the Michigan Chapter of the American Association of Physics Teachers
(AAPT) and as a curriculum writer for the Michigan Department of Education. Kathy has served as the
high school director and the membership director for the Michigan Science Teachers Association. She has
received the RadioShack Science Teaching Award and has been a two-time state finalist for the Presidential
Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching (PAEMST).
Gina Londino-Smolar earned her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Ball State University in Muncie,
Indiana. She then attended graduate school at Purdue University, Indianapolis, where she earned a master’s
degree in chemistry. While in graduate school, her main focus was in forensic analysis of pigmented ink
using pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Gina is currently a senior lecturer in the Department
of Chemistry and Chemical Biology teaching in the Forensic and Investigative Sciences program at Indiana
University-Purdue University, Indianapolis, where she has been teaching introductory courses in forensic
science, forensic chemistry, and forensic microscopy since 2006. She has designed multiple courses in
forensic science, including a variety of beginner-to-advanced laboratory exercises. Gina also serves as a faculty
fellow with Teaching and Learning Technologies at Indiana University and has been directly involved
in designing online content for both credit and non-credit courses. Gina has created multiple online courses
in forensic science, both lecture and laboratory, in order to reach out to other student populations and uses
the universal design for learning. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS)
and a member and 2021-2023 president of the Council of Forensic Science Educators (COFSE).
