Development of Novel Computer Software to Analyze Mass Spectral Output and Identify Target Compounds Used in Forensic Investigations
Develop computer software to identify materials found in fire debris that can be used to improve forensic investigations.
Collaborators
- Dr. Dennis Hilliard, Rhode Island State Crime Lab
- Dr. Amy Duhaime, Rhode Island State Crime Lab
- Dr. Robert Buco, Ion Signature Technology
Summary
This team will use Research Alliance funding to design, develop, and prove that novel computer software can untangle the mass spectral output from a complex mixture of fire debris and unambiguously identify target compounds used in forensic investigations.
The ability to identify compounds with confidence is critical in identifying accelerants and the role they played in causing a fire. The proposed new data analysis software is based on mathematical algorithms that have been patented and proven for the analysis of environmental samples.
This team intends to create novel computer software to aid fire debris analysts in the forensic analysis of evidentiary material by gas chromatography with mass selective detection (GC/MS). The software will be designed in accordance with specifications set by analysts at the Rhode Island State Crime Lab, as well as verified and tested by analysts against samples in real-world cases analyzed by conventional data analysis software.
The team is also hopeful that the new software will also be used to detect hazardous compounds such as pesticides in food and beverage, toxins in pharmaceuticals, as well as key components in the manufacturing and quality control of chemical and petroleum samples.
When completed, the researchers intend to make the information generally available to the fire debris analysis and forensic science community by presentation of the work at major regional and national conferences as well as submitted publications to popular forensic journals. In addition, IST intends to market the software as a commercial product to crime laboratories at the private, state and federal level across the country and, develop industry-specific applications for other markets as well.
