Dr Henry Lee To Discuss

Emerging Forensic Technologies

DANBURY — Renowned forensic scientist Dr Henry C. Lee, whose trailblazing crime scene investigations have contributed to solving more than 8,000 criminal cases worldwide, will discuss “New Technologies in Forensic Science” in a talk at 7 pm on Thursday, March 1, at Western Connecticut State University.

WestConn’s Science-at-Night lecture series, sponsored by the School of Arts and Sciences, will present Dr Lee’s appearance in Ives Concert Hall in White Hall, 181 White Street. The event will be free and the public is invited.

In a celebrated career spanning more than four decades, Dr Lee has revolutionized forensic investigation practices in Connecticut law enforcement agencies and throughout the nation. He established the Major Crime Squad and the State Police Forensic Science Laboratory, serving from 1975 to 2000 as the laboratory’s director and from 1979 to 2000 as chief criminalist for the state of Connecticut. He became commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Safety (DPS) in 1998, and since 2000 has been chief emeritus of the DPS Division of Scientific Services.

Dr Lee has been a consultant to more than 800 law enforcement agencies worldwide. His work as a special investigator and witness has taken him to every state in the United States and 30 nations in Europe, Asia, South America, and the Middle East.

Dr Lee has made important contributions in hundreds of internationally publicized cases including the O.J. Simpson trial, the “wood chipper murderer” trial, the Jon Benet Ramsey and Laci Peterson murders, war crimes investigations in Bosnia and Croatia, the suicide of White House counsel Vincent Foster, and the reinvestigation of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

His academic career has been similarly impressive, providing a major contribution to the development of forensic science as an academic discipline at universities nationwide. After serving as a research scientist at New York University (NYU) Medical Center, Dr Lee joined the faculty of the University of New Haven (UNH) in 1975, where he founded the university’s forensic sciences curriculum and currently serves as a professor in the UNH Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences.

In 1988 he founded the UNH-affiliated Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science, which links scholars, forensic scientists, the legal community, and professional practitioners of many fields in addressing the scientific and social issues confronting forensic science and the criminal justice system. He also has been a visiting professor and guest lecturer at hundreds of universities, law and medical schools, police academies, and civic organizations worldwide.

In describing his career path from police captain in Taiwan to a world-famous forensic scientist, Dr Lee said he has been honored to have the opportunity to become a catalyst for the development of his chosen profession.

“Every profession needs a few who are the best, who can develop and improve that profession,” he said. “Why not pick an area within your limits, then set the goal of ‘no limit’ for that profession? Within that area you choose, choose to strive for the best.”

For more information about Dr Lee’s upcoming lecture, call Assistant Professor of Chemistry Dr Jennifer Frederick at 837-9365.