Forensic fascination leads to a unique course

THE public’s fascination with criminal investigation techniques has led to a course in forensic science being offered at Limerick Institute of Technology.

The first 30 students will graduate with BSc in Pharmaceutical and Forensic Analysis next year.

It is the only course of its kind offered in this country.

The head of the faculty, Dr Willie Fitzgerald hit on the idea when trying to encourage more interest in the sciences.

“Five years ago there was a down turn in interest in the sciences at second and third level, although employers said there was a growing demand for science graduates in industry. We went out and did some research and found that across all age groups there was a fascination on the use of science in criminal investigations. LIT decided to marry science to this interest in forensic science and set up the course.”

Over €1 million was spent on fitting out a state-of-the-art forensic science lab at LIT.

Dr Fitzgerald also developed a new contact with the State Forensic Laboratory in the Phoenix Park, where more than 50 scientists work analysing material found at scenes of crime.

Two forensic scientists at the State lab have joined the lecturing staff at LIT and the head of the biology section in the State Laboratory, Sean McDermott is the external examiner of the LIT course.

Dr Fitzgerald said there are 120 students taking the four-year course.

“Such is the interest in it, the students come from Donegal to Cork, from Dublin across to Galway. The entry requirement is quite high at about 450 points. There is a course in environmental forensic science available in Dublin, but ours is the only one of its kind on offer in the country.”

Graduates will be able to get work across the industrial spectrum.

Dr Fitzgerald said the graduates instead of analysing material for use in criminal cases, will carry analysis on all kinds of material in industry.

“For instance in the pharmaceutical industry, if something goes wrong with a batch of tables, the forensic scientist will be able to delve into every particle of the product to discover what went wrong.”

Dr Fitzgerald, 46, who is a native of Limerick, got his PhD in chemistry at UCC where he studied for seven years.

He joined the lecturing staff at LIT, then known as COACT, in 1986.