NYC forensic scientist to head CSI: Penn State

University Park, Pa. -- This July, Robert Shaler, director of forensic biology in New York City's Office of Chief Medical Examiner, will leave the City to head Penn State's new forensics major program. He supervised the massive DNA testing effort to identify thousands of victims of the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks.

"This will be the most rigorous and comprehensive forensics program in the country for undergraduates," says Shaler, a Penn State alumnus. "Students will be exposed to the forensic sciences immediately beginning in the first year and then throughout the entire program.

"My expectation is that Penn State will be training the future benchmark scientists and leaders in the field," he adds. Shaler also will be professor of biochemistry and molecular biology.

This fall, Penn State undergraduate students can enroll in the forensics major, administered by Penn State's Eberly College of Science, but the major is a University-wide, interdisciplinary program incorporating basic science courses with courses from anthropology; entomology; veterinary science and toxicology; crime, law and justice; ethics; statistics and psychology. Seminars in other topics also will be developed such as forensics business and management and mass fatality management. Additionally, the forensics faculty will be involved in the University's outreach program and will offer summer courses to Penn State students and also professionals in the field.

"Forensic science encompasses a wide range of fields and is a perfect fit for Penn State, with its world-renowned faculty in many disciplines," says Penn State President Graham Spanier. "We are excited to welcome Dr. Shaler, one of the nation's leading forensic scientists, to head this program and bring his extensive knowledge and experience to share with our community."

For nearly four years, Shaler led the team of forensic biologists to identify the remains of the 2,749 people killed in the WTC attacks. During that time, the team worked with biotech companies and government agencies around the country and pioneered new computer and genetic techniques to identify the tiniest stretches of genetic material. This February, the office officially closed its efforts, leaving more than 1,000 victims unidentified due to damage to the DNA from fierce heat, humidity and the passage of time.

Shaler has been director of forensic biology in the Office of Chief Medical Examiner, New York City, since 1990. He also is an associate professor of forensic medicine in New York University's School of Medicine, and was an adjunct associate professor, City University of New York, John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Previously, he had been director of forensic science for Lifecodes Corporation, Valhalla, N.Y., the nation's first forensic DNA testing laboratory and before that, he managed several forensic science related government contracts for the Aerospace Corporation in Washington, D.C. He also served on the faculty of the University of Pittsburgh and was a practicing criminalist at the Pittsburgh and Allegheny County Crime Lab.

His other activities have included serving on the editorial review board of the American Journal of Forensic Pathology and Medicine and as an ad hoc member, the New England Journal of Medicine; member and was the chair of the NYS Crime Laboratory Advisory Committee; and current member, American Bar Association Task Force on Biological Evidence. He has been an expert guest commentator for Court TV.

A native of Pittsburgh, he received an associate's degree from Valley Forge Military Junior College, a bachelor's in chemistry from Franklin and Marshall College, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in biochemistry from Penn State. He holds an honorary doctorate from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Penn State’s Graduate School Alumni Society this spring selected Shaler as the first recipient of the GSAS Humanitarian Award for his humanitarian service to the people of New York City and more broadly, to the people of the United States, following the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center.

The new undergraduate major will be administered by Penn State's Eberly College of Science but will include many upper-level courses taught by prominent researchers in other academic colleges on topics such as mitochrondrial DNA, forensic anthropology and forensic entomology. A field laboratory is being set up so that students can learn to recognize, collect and preserve evidence at a crime scene.

Another major component will be a new discussion-oriented course designed to reinforce understanding of the purpose, importance and limitations of scientific methods and techniques commonly used in forensic science; introduce how specific fields such as meteorology, geology, engineering and psychology can contribute to forensic science; more fully appreciate how evidence is introduced and used in criminal trials; and provide an opportunity to improve student skills in oral expression.

In addition to educating undergraduate students, Shaler envisions a broad outreach program, conducting workshops in the latest forensic technologies applicable to law enforcement, emergency management officials, attorneys and other professionals throughout the U.S. and the world. Mass fatality incident management will be a major topic in future workshops.

For more than three decades, Penn State has provided training and assessment services to federal, state, county and municipal law enforcement agencies through the University's Justice and Safety Institute.

More information on Penn State's new forensics major is at:
http://live.psu.edu/story/11000 In addition, U.S. News & World Report ranked Penn State's crime, law and justice program, housed in Penn State's College of the Liberal Arts, the nation's seventh-best criminology program.