Release

Media Advisory: Teachers Tour Crime Scenes at University at Albany's NERFI Labs

Contact: Catherine Herman (518) 437-4980

ALBANY, N.Y. (April 28, 2006)

What:
Teachers from across New York State will tour the Northeast Regional Forensic Institute (NERFI) at the University at Albany, receiving training in crime scene processing. Teachers will then process four crime scenes set up at the University labs.

When:
Friday, April 28, 2006, 12 p.m.

Who:
W. Mark Dale, director, Northeast Regional Forensic Institute, University at Albany
Alan Silverman, New York State Education Department
Nick Petraco, forensic consultant, New York Police Department, Retired
Don Orokos, forensic biology, NERFI, University at Albany

Where:
Northeast Regional Forensic Institute, Biology Building 1st floor, UAlbany uptown campus, 1400 Washington Avenue, Albany, N.Y.

Background:  About NERFI
The Northeast Regional Forensic Institute (NERFI) is a collaborative partnership between the University at Albany and the New York State Police Forensic Investigation Center founded in 2004 with the support of New York Senator Charles E. Schumer. NERFI is designed to address a nationwide shortage of forensic scientists, which has created critical casework backlogs in labs across the nation. In 2005, NERFI established the DNA Academy, an academic program designed to shorten the conventional one-on-one mentor training programs of forensic scientists from one year to six months, with dedicated advanced forensic training facility, university-approved curriculum, and a staff of University at Albany faculty and nationally renowned visiting scientists. Students successfully completing the DNA Academy earn 12 graduate credits and meet all mandated state, national and international accreditation standards for forensic laboratories. For more information, visit the Northeast Regional Forensic Institute.

College of Arts and Sciences:
The University at Albany's College of Arts & Sciences is the largest academic unit at the University. It provides the general education foundation of the undergraduate curriculum and is the intellectual base for study in a wide variety of disciplines at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The College's programs promote critical thinking and reasoning, aesthetic sensibility, and intellectual development, while providing career preparation to help students meet the challenges of the future and achieve their goals. For more information, visit the College of Arts & Sciences.