CSI Converse!

Do you love mystery? Television has shown you their version of CSI. This summer, Converse will show you how it’s really done. While working to solve a variety of forensic cases, you will explore:

• What sort of evidence do you look for in a kidnapping case?
• If you find a body in the desert, how can you identify the victim?
• How can you identify the accelerant that started the fire in an arson case?
• If the fish are dying in a lake, how can you determine whether they are the victims of industrial pollution?

 

Curious? We hope so!

The Program

Come join us to explore the world of forensic science by securing a crime scene, gathering clues and processing evidence in science labs. Learn about blood (artificial) typing and DNA fingerprinting. Study fingerprints, shoeprints, hairs, fibers and powders to investigate the scene. Solve the mystery!

Participants will work with a chemist and a geneticist to solve a variety of forensic cases. You’ll hear from forensics experts and spend an afternoon touring the Greenville Crime Lab. Class size is limited to a maximum of 18 students to ensure that every student receives individual attention. The experience will develop analytical thinking and problem- solving skills in the context of intriguing and sometimes surprising evidence.

You will benefit from learning in Converse College’s new $10.6 million technology-packed Phifer Science Hall. The facility features Smart Classrooms, which create new opportunities in teaching and learning by integrating networking, digital and audio/ visual technologies. You will learn to use a PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) instrument, electrophoresis, UV-visible spectrophotometer and western blot, learn how to analyze restriction endonuclease maps, and work with an FT-IR (fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer) and gas chromatographs.

And that’s not all… enjoy movie nights, a Clue tournament and the beautiful Converse College campus!

 

 

 

CSI Faculty

	Dr. Sheri Strickland is assistant professor of chemistry at Converse College. She teaches organic chemistry and biochemistry. She likes to use clues to solve mysteries, and she loves to be in the lab investigating chemical reactions.
	Dr. Neval Erturk is assistant professor of biology at Converse College. She is a geneticist and cell biologist. She loves to discover and teach the wonders of the cell and DNA through using molecular biology.

Enrollment

CSI: Converse! is open to rising 10th, 11th and 12th graders.

Tuition and Financial Assistance

CSI: Converse! is designed as a weeklong residential program. Tuition covers residence hall accommodations, all meals, materials and on-campus activities. Early-bird tuition (applications received by March 15) is $675 and regular tuition is $775. A limited number of need-based scholarships up to $200 are available.

How to Apply

Download and print the application
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Early-bird deadline is March 15, 2008. Early-bird applicants will receive a $100 discount on tuition, priority in admission and notification of acceptance by April 1, 2008. Applications will be accepted through April 15, 2008.

The following must be submitted:

• A completed application
• $25 application fee (to be applied toward total tuition if you are accepted and refunded if not accepted)
• Financial Support Application (if you wish to be considered for assistance)
• Sealed letters of support from two science teachers, preferably your biology and chemistry teacher
• A statement of why you wish to study forensics and why you think you will excel in this field

For more information, contact:

Dr. Neval Erturk
Converse College
Department of Biology
(864) 596-9210
neval.erturk@converse.edu

Dr. Sheri Strickland
Converse College
Department of Chemistry
(864) 596-9741
sheri.strickland@converse.edu