Dr. Lee, Rep. DeLauro and Other Dignitaries to Speak
Dr. Henry C. Lee
West Haven, Conn., September 30, 2010 - The University of New Haven (UNH) will dedicate the new $14 million Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science building on Friday, October 15, at 9 a.m. UNH President Steven H. Kaplan, world-renowned forensic scientist Dr. Henry C. Lee, Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro and other dignitaries will speak during the ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the official opening of the building created in Lee's honor. Tours of the new building, located on the UNH main campus, will be offered immediately following the ceremonial ribbon cutting.
The new state-of-the-art building will offer advanced forensic and crime scene technologies not found at most police departments in the country. Lee, his UNH colleagues and national experts will utilize these new forensic technologies to train law enforcement officers, crime scene analysts, forensic scientists and students to solve complex crimes using cutting-edge investigative techniques. The command center in the new facility also will enable UNH faculty and other experts to assist investigators in addressing crime scene and forensic issues in real time.
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"Dr. Lee has been a pioneer in the field of forensic science for more than 40 years," says UNH President Kaplan. "With the dedication of the new Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science building, we will establish a benchmark by which technologically advanced forensics training facilities will be measured for decades to come."
The institute's new Forensic Learning Center will include high-tech laboratories, virtual crime scene training modules and classrooms to train police, lawyers, investigators and students in new concepts and practices in forensic scene investigation and examination of physical evidence. The center also will house sophisticated forensic instruments such as ground-penetrating radar for locating buried bodies and evidence, a high-intensity laser for bullet trajectory reconstruction, portable vapor detection instrumentation for analysis of chemical and biological matter, and a teleforensic satellite internet system. In addition, there will be an Integrated Ballistics Identification System (IBIS) firearms-evidence database for training students and laboratory practitioners from the United States and abroad.
The Forensic Crisis Management Command Center - including a state-of-the-art mobile unit - will provide advanced crime scene equipment for police officers and crime scene investigators. The teleforensic satellite system will allow investigators to uplink via satellite to local, state and federal law enforcement, FEMA and other governmental agencies, and then downlink time-sensitive information to a panel of forensic experts at the Command Center and beyond. Experts such as crime scene investigators, pathologists, psychologists, forensics engineers and computer-crime specialists will use the advanced technology and equipment to assist in solving major crimes.
The facility also will feature an interactive public Learning Center with hands-on forensic science exhibits, visual displays of historic cases, reconstructed crime scenes, classrooms and laboratories.
The Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science traces its roots to 1975, when Dr. Lee joined the University of New Haven's Forensic Science department as an assistant professor and program director. At the time, the program had half a dozen students and lab space consisted of a closet. Under the leadership of Lee, UNH's forensic science program forged a reputation as one of the field's premier teaching centers. Together with his colleagues, he began to pursue a vision to form a consortium of scholars, scientists and law enforcement professional agencies to address the full range of scientific issues confronting criminal justice systems across America and around the world. That vision gave rise to the Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science, which was launched in fall 1998.
Also speaking at the event will be Samuel S. Bergami, Jr., chairman of the UNH Board of Governors; Attorney Kenneth Biermacher, member of the UNH Board of Governors and chairman of the Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science; Attorney Carol Henderson, director of the National Clearinghouse for Science, Technology and the Law and former president of the American Academy for Forensic Science; and Joan McDonald, commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Limited media parking will be available on campus. When entering the main campus entrance off of Boston Post Road look for signs that say "Media Parking" and be prepared to show your media credentials to the campus police.
A leader in experiential education, the University of New Haven provides its students with a valuable combination of solid liberal arts and real-world, hands-on professional training. Founded in 1920, UNH is a private, top-tier comprehensive university with an 80-acre main campus. The University has an enrollment of more than 5,900; approximately 1,700 graduate students and more than 4,200 undergraduates, 70 percent of whom reside in university housing. The University offers more than 80 undergraduate degrees and more than 25 graduate degrees through the College of Arts and Sciences, College of Business, the Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences, the Tagliatela College of Engineering and University College. University of New Haven students study abroad through a variety of distinctive programs.