Two forensic chemists from the U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration were guest speakers in Dr. Derek Smith’s Introductory Forensic Science class at Howard Payne University on Tuesday, November 3.
The seminar, entitled “Forensics in a CSI Era,” was presented by Darrell L. Davis, Laboratory Director of the DEA South Central Laboratory, and Darrell W. Eubank, Ph. D., Senior Forensic Chemist.
Director Davis discussed the role DEA plays in forensics. He shared that the main mission of the DEA is to take drugs off of the street and support and follow federal drug policies. Davis also discussed how to examine evidence, the job of a DEA chemist and the use of instrumentation.
Mr. Davis is the first African American to hold the position of laboratory director at the Drug Enforcement Administration—recognized world-wide as maintaining the premier forensic drug laboratory. He began his professional career in 1979, joining the DEA’s Southwest Laboratory in San Diego as a forensic chemist. In 1988, he was promoted to senior forensic chemist of the South Central Laboratory. From there he was promoted to supervisory chemist at the Northeast Laboratory in New York City and later served as a program manager at the Office of Forensic Sciences in Arlington, Va., before accepting his current assignment.
Dr. Eubank presented a more focused discussion on the various aspects of being a DEA forensic chemist. He shared that it is important for a chemist to be familiar with the legal and scientific aspects of applying chemistry to the law.
Dr. Eubank has been with the South Central DEA Laboratory for 9 years, having earned his doctorate in biochemistry from Texas Tech University in 2000. He specializes in drug characterization and analysis for the administration and spoke at length about the different types of instrumentation that a modern forensic chemist employs. He likened his role within the administration to Greg in the original “CSI” series, but he did reassure students who might consider repetitive laboratory work tedious and mundane that he does accompany agents on busts and seizures several times per year.
According to Dr. Smith, assistant professor of chemistry at HPU, “Both gentlemen spoke of job security in this active field of civil service, and Mr. Davis summed up the current cultural interest in forensic science by stating that, while the networks have exercised significant liberty in their portrayal of forensic science, they have at least brought the field to the attention of many qualified people who have dedicated their careers to this public sector.”
Photos: Davis is pictured at the top & Eubank to the right
Photos by Kalie Lowrie
