Sara Alvaro, PhD
Education
- Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from Duke University
- B.S. Chemistry from Union College
Courses Taught at ACPHS
- Quantitative Analysis
- Instrumental Analysis
- Introduction to Forensic Science
- Forensic Assays
Research Interests
Forensic science encompasses a wide range of disciplines, as such, I have encountered undergraduate students through the years with varied interests in the field. My approach has been to work with students to design research projects that are tailored to their interests and help them delve deeper into an area of forensics that they may have only touched upon in their classes but want to learn more about. Some examples of research projects that my students have designed and carried out are:
- “The Use of Attenuated Total Reflectance – Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) Spectroscopy to Detect Trace Amounts of Over-the-Counter Drugs on Clothing Fibers”
- “Blood models for bloodstain pattern analysis: Differentiating between impact spatter and transfer patterns”
- “Determining How Biological and Environmental Factors Affect the Quality of a Latent Print on Various Surfaces”
- “The Use of Attenuated Total Reflectance – Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) Spectroscopy to Detect Trace Amounts of Over the Counter Drugs in Saliva Residue”
- “Using Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) Spectroscopy to Determine if there are Distinguishing Features in the Spectra of Male and Female Fingerprints”
Honors
President of the Psi Chapter of Delta Delta Epsilon (DDE), a forensic science honor society