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CARFS tackles emerging forensic science problems by uniting industrial partners with forensic science leaders in state-of-the-art laboratories to develop collaborative solutions. CARFS is the ONLY forensic science Industry-University Cooperative Research Center, a National Science Foundation model refined and successfully utilized for over 40 years.

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Targeted Disciplines

Partner Institutions

Florida International University Texas A&M Sam Houston State University Boston University

Currently-Funded Research Projects

  • Non-Contact Detection of Drugs by Handheld Ion Mobility Spectrometry: Towards a Generalized Approach to Detection of Dangerous Drug Classes
  • Triage Tool for Cryptocurrency Artifact Detection on Phones
  • Assessing the uncertainty of GC-MS chromatographic peak area
  • Contamination of Canine Training Aid Substrates
  • GC-MS on a Chip Sensor Design
  • Determination of Optimal Sorbent Materials for Canine Training Aids Based on Efficacy of Collection and Dissipation of Odorants
  • Environmental DNA for Source Attribution of Synthetic Drug Seizures
  • 3D Printing Additive Manufacturing Differentiation and Forensic Analysis
  • Effective Methods for Augmentation of Canine Detections with Standoff Detection Sensors
  • Crypto Wallet Detection and Analysis Tool using Seed Phrases

The Science of Success

Established 2017 and funded through 2028.

  • ~$2MIn Phase I Research Funds
  • 65Funded Projects
  • 18 Forensic Science Disciplines
  • 31Supported Faculty
  • 75Graduate and Undergrad Students
  • 26Publications
  • 61Presentations
  • 109Posters
  • 3Patents

Publications

  • 2018

    Gautier, Adam M.; Andel, Todd R.; Benton, Ryan. “On-Device Detection via Anomalous Environmental Factors”. Proceedings of the 8th Software Security, Protection, and Reverse Engineering Workshop (SSPREW-8), San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA, Article 5, 2018.

    Link: 10.1145/3289239.3289246

  • 2019

    Lorenzo, Fernando; McDonald, Jeffrey T; Andel, Todd R; Glisson, William B; and Russ, Samuel. Evaluating Side Channel Resilience in iPhone 5c Unlock Scenarios. Proceedings of the IEEE SoutheastCon 2019, Huntsville, AL, 2019.

    Link: 10.1109/SoutheastCon42311.2019.9020529

    Johnsten, Tom; Green, Wyatt, Crook, L.; Chan, Ho Yin; Benton, Ryan G.; Bourrie, David M. “Discovery of action rules for continuously valued data”. 2019 IEEE First International Conference on Cognitive Machine Intelligence (CogMI), 2019.

    Link: 10.1109/CogMI48466.2019.00026

    Wang, Ling; Deriu, Chiara; Wu, Wensong; Mebel, Alexander M.; McCord, Bruce. "Surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy, Raman, and density functional theoretical analyses of fentanyl and six analogs". Journal of Raman Spectroscopy, v.50, 2019.

    Link: 10.1002/jrs.5656

  • 2020

    Aijala, Jennett Chenevert; Wu, Wensong; DeCaprio, Anthony P. “Application of statistical design of experiments to assess pre-treatment parameters in forensic hair analysis for amphetamine" Forensic Chemistry, v.20, 2020.

    Link: 10.1016/j.forc.2020.100265

    Aijala, Jennett Chenevert; Wu, Wensong; DeCaprio, Anthony P. "Assessing Hair Decontamination Protocols for Diazepam, Heroin, Cocaine and Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol by Statistical Design of Experiments". Journal of Analytical Toxicology, v.45, 2020.

    Link: 10.1093/jat/bkaa110

    Green, Wyatt; Johnsten, Tom; Benton, Ryan. G. “TADS: Transformation of Anomalies in Data Streams. In 2020 IEEE International Conference on Big Data (Big Data)”. IEEE International Conference on Big Data, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 2020.

    Link: 10.1109/BigData50022.2020.9377765

    Torres, Michelle; Valdes, Nicole; Almirall, Jose. "Comparison of portable and benchtop GC–MS coupled to capillary microextraction of volatiles (CMV) for the extraction and analysis of ignitable liquid residues". Forensic chemistry, v.19, 2020.

    Link: 10.1016/j.forc.2020.100240

    Jung Sukhwan; Kandadi, Rachana R.; Datta Rituparna; Benton, Ryan; Segev Aviv. “Identification of Technology-Relevant Entities Based on Trend Curves”. Proceedings of International Conference on Information Technology Convergence and Services, Vancouver, Canada, 2020.

    Link: 10.5121/csit.2020.100501

    Jung Sukhwan; Kandadi, Rachana R.; Datta Rituparna; Benton, Ryan; Segev Aviv. “Identification of Technology-Relevant Entities Based on Trend Curves and Semantic Similarities”. International Journal of Web & Semantic Technology (IJWesT), v. 11(3), 2020.

    Link: 10.2139/ssrn.3873849

    Winokur, Agnes D; Kaufman, Lindsay M.; Almirall, Jose R. "Differentiation and identification of fentanyl analogues using GC-IRD". Forensic Chemistry, v.20, 2020.

    Link: 10.1016/j.forc.2020.100255

    Foots, Courtney; Pal, Palash; Datta, Rituparna; Segev Aviv. “Classification of Computer Hardware and Performance Prediction Using Statistical Learning and Neural Networks”. Proceedings of International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Vancouver, Canada, 2020.

    Link: 10.5121/csit.2020.100517

    Foots, Courtney; Pal, Palash; Datta, Rituparna; Segev Aviv. “CPU Hardware Classification and Performance Prediction Using Neural Networks and Statistical Learning”. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence & Applications (IJAIA), v. 11(4), 2020.

    Link: 10.5121/ijaia.2020.11401

    Sneyd, D., Schreiber Compo, N., Rivard, J., Pena, M., Stoiloff, S. & Hernandez, G. (2020). Quality of laypersons‘ assessment of forensically relevant stimuli. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 65(5), 1507-1516.

    Link: doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.14495

  • 2021

    Wang, Ling; Vendrell-Dones, Mario O.; Deriu, Chiara; Doğruer, Sevde; de B. Harrington, Peter; McCord, Bruce. "Multivariate Analysis Aided Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (MVA-SERS) Multiplex Quantitative Detection of Trace Fentanyl in Illicit Drug Mixtures Using a Handheld Raman Spectrometer". Applied Spectroscopy, v.75, 2021.

    Link: 10.1177/00037028211032930

    Wells, Jeffrey D.; MacInnis, Amber E.; Dsouza, Maurell A.; Abdin, Zain Ul; Mughawi, Sara Al; Khloofi, Mohammad Al; Sajwani, Mariam; Maidoor, Maryam Al; Saeed, Ashwaq; Ahli, Hamdan; Shamsi, Rawdha Al; Mheiri, Reem Al. "Forensic entomology when the evidence is “no insect.” Best carrion fly species for predicting maximum postmortem interval in the United Arab Emirates". Forensic Science International, v.328, 2021.

    Link: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2021.110999

    Rodriguez, Jacqueline L.; Almirall, José R. "Continuous vapor sampling of volatile organic compounds associated with explosives using capillary microextraction of volatiles (CMV) coupled to a portable GC–MS". Forensic Chemistry, v.26, 2021.

    Link: 10.1016/j.forc.2021.100380

    Acosta, Alexander; Almirall, Jose. “Differentiation between hemp-type and marijuana-type cannabis using the Fast Blue BB colorimetric test”. Forensic Chemistry, v26, 2021.

    Link: 10.1016/j.forc.2021.100376

    Zapico, Sara; Gauthier, Quentin; Antevska, Aleksandra; McCord, Bruce. “Identifying Methylation Patterns in Dental Pulp Aging: Application to Age-at-Death Estimation in Forensic Anthropology”. International journal of Molecular Sciences, v.22, 3717, 2021.

    Link: 10.3390/ijms22073717

  • 2022

    Torres, Michelle N.; Almirall, José R. "Evaluation of capillary microextraction of volatiles (CMV) coupled to a person-portable gas chromatograph mass spectrometer (GC–MS) for the analysis of gasoline residues" Forensic Chemistry, v.27, 2022

    Link: 10.1016/j.forc.2021.100397

    Ferguson, Kimiko; Tupik, Sherri L.; Haddad, Hunter; Perr, Jeannette; Gilbert, Michael; Newman, Reta; Almirall, José. "Utility of gas chromatography infrared spectroscopy (GC-IR) for the differentiation of positional isomers of fentanyl related substances". Forensic Chemistry, v.29, 2022.

    Link: 10.1016/j.forc.2022.100425

    Deriu, Chiara; Bracho, Asier; McCord, Bruce. "Tailored Colloidal Nanostars for Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy: Optimization of Formulation Components and Study of the Stabilizer–Nanoparticle Interactions". The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, v.126, 2022.

    Link: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.1c08145

    Acosta, Alexander; Li, Li; Weaver, Mike; Capote, Ryan; Perr, Jeannette; Almirall, Jose. “Validation of a combined Fast blue BB and 4-Aminophenol colorimetric test for indication of Hemp-type and Marijuana-type cannabis”. Forensic Chemistry, v 31, 2022.

    Link: 10.1016/j.forc.2022.100448

    Bhattarai, Abhished; Veksler, Maryna; Kurt, Ahmet; Sahin, H; Akkaya, Kemal. “Crypto Wallet Artifact Detection on Android Devices using Advanced Machine Learning Techniques” in the Proceedings of EAI International Conference on Digital Forensics & Cyber Crime (ICDF2C 2022), Boston, MA, Nov. 2022.

    No link yet.

    Tarone, Aaron; Mann, Allysson M.; Zhang, Yan; Zascavage, Roxanne R.; Mitchell, Elizabeth A.; Morales, Edgar; Rusch, Travis W.; Allen, Michael S. “The Devil is in the Details: Variable impacts of season, BMI, sampling site temperature, and presence of insects on the post-mortem microbiome”. Frontiers in Microbiology, 2022.

    Link: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.1064904

    Canoura, Juan; Alkhamis, Obtin; Liu, Yingzhu; Willis, Connor; and Xiao, Yi. “High-throughput quantitative binding analysis of DNA aptamers using exonucleases”. Nucleic Acids Research, 2022.

    Link: https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkac1210

  • 2023

    Valdes, Nicole; Almirall, Jose. Sampling and recovery of ignitable liquid residues (ILRs) from fire debris using capillary microextraction of volatiles (CMV) for on-site analysis. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 2023.

    Link: https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.15203

    Snedeker, Jennifer; Hughes, Sheree; Houston, Rachel. Optimization of InnoXtract™ extraction and purification system for DNA extraction from skeletal samples. International Journal of Legal Medicine, 2023.

    Link: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-023-02980-9

    Ferguson, Kimiko; Perr, Jeannette; Tupik, Sherri; Gilbert, Michael; Newman, Reta; Winokur, Agnes; Vallejo, Ivette; Hokanson, Stephen; Pothier, Matthiew; Knapp, Brook; Icard, Misty; Kramer, Kevin; and Almirall, Jose*. An Interlaboratory Study to Evaluate the Utility of Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) and Gas Chromatography Infrared Spectroscopy (GC-IR) Spectral Libraries in the Forensic Analysis of Fentanyl Related Substances (FRS). Journal of Forensic Sciences, 2023.

    Link: https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.15306

    Jordan, Deidra; Kominoski, John S.; Servais, Shelby; and Mills, DeEtta. Salinity Impacts the Functional mcrA and dsrA Gene Abundances in Everglades Marshes. Microorganisms, 2023.

    Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11051180

    Gorziza, Roberta; Valdes, Nicole; Tinoco, Marilyn; Almirall, Jose. Optimization and validation of the Fast Blue BB (FBBB) screening test for the detection of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) in oral fluid, Forensic Chemistry, 2023.

    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forc.2023.100514

    1. dos Santos, Maira Kerpel; Acosta, Alexander; Capote, Ryan; Tabassam, Bakhtawar; Ley, James; Quirke, Michael; Almirall, Jose. Chemical identification, and optimization of the 4-aminophenol colorimetric test for the differentiation between hemp-type and marijuana-type cannabis plant samples. Journal of Forensic Sciences. 2023.

    https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.15309 

Patents

  • 2021

    Materials and Methods for Field Testing of Cannabis Samples. U.S. Patent No. 11131634. Acosta, A.; Almirall, J.

    Venturi Vacuum Device for Biological Sample Collections. U.S. Patent No. 10,908,052. Mills, D.; Mendel, J.

  • 2022

    Materials and Methods for Age-at-Death Estimation. U.S. Patent No. 11,312,989. McCord, B. R.; Zapico, S. C.