The Basics of Investigating Forensic Science: A Laboratory Manual

Kathy Mirakovits teaches forensic science and physics at Portage Northern High School in Portage, Michigan, and physics at Kalamazoo Valley Community College in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She holds a master’s degree in science education from Western Michigan University and has completed over 15 graduate hours in forensic science. She has taught at the high school and two-year-college levels for a total of 25 years, teaching general science, physical science, chemistry, biology, earth science, and physics. She conducts workshops across the United States for teachers who wish to learn the application of forensic science in a school curriculum. She currently serves as the high school director for the Michigan Science Teachers Association.

Gina Londino received her master’s degree in chemistry from Purdue University in Indianapolis. Her main focus in graduate school was in forensic analysis of pigmented ink using pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. She also performed research on biomarkers at Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, through the ADME department throughout graduate school. Gina is currently a senior lecturer 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.