FRS 001Z - Sec. 002 - (2 units) - CRN 83323 - T 4:10-6:00 pm - Room 223 Life Sciences Addition
Forensic Botany: Plants, Medicine and the Law

Instructor: Thomas Rost, Department of Plant Biology, Division of Biological Sciences

Description: Forensic science has become an interesting and popular new career direction for science students since the OJ Simpson trial and more recently from television programs and series on crime investigations. This freshman seminar will concentrate on one aspect of forensic science, the study and investigation of plant material found at crime scenes. One very famous example of this was the work of a wood anatomist who contributed to the resolution of the Lindbergh kidnapping in 1935. In the course I will present several case studies of forensic botany. I will then give students a tour of my research laboratory, and if time permits, the California Criminalistics Laboratory in Sacramento, to demonstrate the tools used for such investigations. I will then instruct students to the use of power point, and how to use search engines on the web. Their final assignment will be to make a 15 – 20 minute presentation on some aspect of forensic science. The group will also be trained on how to critique the presentations. I will expect the students to become familiar with how skills in the study of plant structure can contribute to the analysis of criminal evidence. I will also expect them to be able to create and then make a presentation to the class on a case study related to forensic science.

Format: The seminar will meet one hour each week for 10 weeks. The time will be used for presentations by the instructor, instruction on how to search the web, how to make a power point presentation, and on student presentations. The instructor will be available for office hours Wednesday afternoons. The creation of a presentation will be done outside of class. This could take quite a few hours including library work and WWW searching for material. Grading: Each student will be required to make a power point presentation with an accompanying written handout. This will count as 75% of the course grade. The presentation will be critiqued and graded on the basis of the material discussed, its thoroughness and the quality of the presentation. Twenty five percent of the grade will be based on participation in class discussion.

About the Instructor: Thomas Rost has been a professor at UC Davis since 1972. His research and teaching has focused on aspects of the structure and development of plants. Since 1996 he has been the Associate Dean of the Division of Biological Sciences. Over the years Professor Rost has consulted with local law enforcement agencies, the Office of the Federal Defender, the FBI, and medical clinics on cases where plants or plant materials have been involved in crimes or medical cases. He is now a member of the recently started Forensic Science Graduate Group which offers Masters degees in forensic sciences.