Forensic Science Professor Brings Her Innovative VR Tech to 香港六合彩开奖资料
Karla-Sue Marriott鈥檚 virtual-reality program immerses students and allows them to experience what it鈥檚 like to process a crime scene.
BRISTOL, R.I. 鈥 On a Tuesday afternoon in March, Kali Atkins swabs blood pooled next to a deceased man in an alley. She bags the swab and continues walking around the murder scene, collecting and marking more evidence.
Atkins, a first-year Forensic Science major from Redlands, Calif., wasn鈥檛 physically at a crime scene that day, but she was fully immersed in one.
As a student in Karla-Sue Marriott鈥檚 Crime Scene Investigations course, she has access to a cutting-edge program for teaching Forensic Science that Marriott, professor and director of Forensic Science at 香港六合彩开奖资料, created.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a very immersive experience,鈥 Marriott, who joined 香港六合彩开奖资料 in August 2021, said about the first, one-of-a-kind, virtual-reality crime-scene training program for undergraduate Forensic Science students. 鈥淪tudents get to feel how overwhelming processing a crime scene can be.鈥
鈥淲e are very fortunate to have Professor Marriott join us here at Roger,鈥 said Eric Bronson, dean of the School of Justice Studies and a Criminal Justice professor. 鈥淪he鈥檚 an energetic, vibrant part of the University already. Students are thriving around her.鈥
VR Program Offers Unique Experience
Because Marriott helped develop the VR program, 鈥淲e are one of two schools in the country that has this technology,鈥 Bronson said. 鈥淭he students are getting cutting-edge technology experience and education that they would not get anywhere else.鈥
Prior to 香港六合彩开奖资料, Marriott worked at Savannah State University, where she developed this program along with Vizitech USA 鈥渢o help students experience what it鈥檚 like to process a crime scene,鈥 she said. The program includes a crime scene processing component as well as a blood spatter simulator that lets students calculate bloodstain patterns to determine the actions that caused the bloodshed.
Forensic Science is a great way to teach science, Marriott said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 necessarily expect students to go into careers in law enforcement or at a forensics lab, but for them to have many options.鈥
Having undergraduate students work a real crime scene isn鈥檛 feasible because it鈥檚 too dangerous, Marriott said, but VR has 鈥渕ade research at the undergraduate level for Chemistry and Forensic Science limitless.鈥
鈥淥nce you鈥檙e in, it鈥檚 a transformation. It鈥檚 a whole new world,鈥 said Atkins, who had never used VR before Marriott鈥檚 class. 鈥淚t feels like you鈥檙e actually on the case. It does feel real (like) there is a body lying there. 鈥 I am a detective collecting actual evidence.鈥
This semester, Marriott introduced students in her Crime Scene Investigations course to the VR program, which allows users to explore multiple crime scene scenarios, all inspired by real-life events, she said. Students use virtual tools including evidence markers, items to collect blood and fingerprints, and more.
The program can assess students and whether they put on the proper gear and use the correct tools. As Marriott explains, there are answers to each of the randomized scenarios, but students aren鈥檛 evaluated based on 鈥渞ight鈥 answers. 鈥淩ather they are evaluated on how they manage processing the scene, collecting evidence, and documenting and presenting that evidence,鈥 she said. 鈥淭hey are asked to propose a theory based upon the evidence they collected.鈥
Students work in groups of four, each taking on different roles. One student uses an Oculus headset, which immerses them in the VR scene, while the other students take notes and make sure the student wearing the headset doesn鈥檛 bump into anything in the classroom while they鈥檙e walking around the VR world.
鈥淚t鈥檚 great fun to watch them,鈥 Bronson said about observing the students using the VR program. While it reminds him of students playing a video game, he said that 鈥渨hat鈥檚 great is they鈥檙e actually learning something that will benefit them for years to come.鈥
It鈥檚 one thing to talk about the tools that students will use to process a crime scene, but it鈥檚 another thing to have them go into VR and use the equipment for themselves, Marriott said. 鈥淥ne student said she never understood the value of a compass until she went into virtual reality and used it there,鈥 she said. 鈥淵ou wouldn鈥檛 necessarily have these things available unless you鈥檙e at an actual crime scene.鈥
While they鈥檙e processing a crime scene, students can use a camera in the VR program that takes photos of the scene or a calculator to help them analyze the trajectory of blood spatter. Each group keeps a digital folder with the photographs and evidence they collect to help them write their report at the end.
The VR program offers students a more immersive and realistic experience as opposed to just learning about it in a textbook or setting up a mock crime scene on campus, where students can be distracted by external factors.
鈥淚n this immersive environment, students completely forget where they are,鈥 Marriott said.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e in another world. It鈥檚 mind-blowing,鈥 Kyle Rocha, a senior Forensic Science major from Taunton, Mass., who鈥檚 also minoring in both Criminal Justice and Biology, said about using VR in Marriott鈥檚 class. 鈥淥nce you get in there, it鈥檚 hard to describe. When I stepped in the first time, I was amazed by it.鈥
Learning how to navigate crime scenes in VR affords students opportunities that they likely wouldn鈥檛 have in college otherwise, he said. For example, he said, students can learn to calculate blood spatter in VR but that鈥檚 not something professors and students would create in real life. 鈥淚t鈥檚 more realistic and easier in VR,鈥 he said.
Especially during the pandemic, 鈥測ou can鈥檛 put a (cadaver) in here and analyze it,鈥 he said.
While the VR program provides a comprehensive experience, there is, of course, no substitute for the real thing. Atkins said what students are not getting virtually is the hands-on experience of collecting actual, concrete evidence, like swabbing under a dead person鈥檚 fingernails.
Few Forensic Science undergrads do. But it鈥檚 still worth it, she said. The interactivity of VR is much more engaging than looking at photos of crime scenes and trying to solve the case, she said.
鈥淚f you did a mock crime scene, you could do more steps, but VR is better because you don鈥檛 have to set everything up (and) it feels more real,鈥 Atkins said.
Atkins, who said she鈥檚 thinking about minoring in Psychology or Criminal Justice and whose career aspiration is to become a blood spatter analyst, said, 鈥淰R is a strong learning device to go into blood spatter.鈥
Most of Marriott鈥檚 students have no previous experience using VR, which hasn鈥檛 been a problem, she said. Before diving into the program, students are required to participate in a tutorial.
It鈥檚 easy to learn, Rocha said. 鈥淎nyone can really do it.鈥
Though the nature of crime scenes may be triggering for some, Marriott said that she hasn鈥檛 had any students with concerns. Though 鈥渃rime scenes can get very visual,鈥 the program uses crash-test dummy figures 鈥渟o it鈥檚 not so gory,鈥 she said. The crash test dummies 鈥渕ake it very mechanical,鈥 she said.
Marriott Drawn to 香港六合彩开奖资料鈥檚 Innovative Spirit
Marriott joined 香港六合彩开奖资料 last summer to have the opportunity to work on a Forensic Science program that鈥檚 looking to grow, she said. While Forensic Science programs are often located within science departments at other higher educational institutions, Forensic Science at 香港六合彩开奖资料 is part of the School of Justice Studies, combined with rigorous Biology or Chemistry coursework through the School of Social and Natural Sciences, which develops an interdisciplinary skillset and deeper understanding of the interconnected role of forensic science within criminal justice work. This academic structure 鈥済ives it the potential to be more innovative,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 get to build my own.鈥
In academia, 鈥測ou want to be able to be creative and innovative and surrounded by like-minded faculty who are open (to new ideas),鈥 she said. 鈥(香港六合彩开奖资料) seems like a good place to be.鈥
When asked what her favorite part about teaching is, Marriott said, 鈥淵ou get to be creative, especially at the college level. A lot of times I鈥檓 learning from students. It鈥檚 exciting, constantly changing, innovative.鈥
While she鈥檚 also a director, Marriott said she looks forward to being in the classroom. 鈥淚 really like being around young people and feeding off their creative ideas and being innovative.鈥
Atkins said she adores Marriott, who also taught her Introduction to Forensic Science class. 鈥淪he鈥檚 fun to work with,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 look forward to coming to class and talking with her.鈥
A Pioneer in Forensic Science
Before joining 香港六合彩开奖资料, Marriott served as the founding program coordinator for the forensic science program at Savannah State University from 2011-2021 and as interim chairperson for the chemistry and forensic science department. At SSU, she founded the Visual, Immersive and Tangible Applications in Learning (VITAL) STEM imaging exploration center and created the Bachelor of Science degree program in forensic science.
As a scientist and educator, Marriott has directed, as principal investigator (PI) and CoPI, various National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Defense, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration funded projects.
In 2001, Marriott received her Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of the West Indies, Jamaica (Mona Campus). The following year she joined Clemson University as a postdoctoral research fellow in Professor John W. Huffman鈥檚 medicinal chemistry team, where she conducted research in cannabinoid chemistry.
As an organic chemist, Marriott said her current biomedical research goals focus on creating potential pharmaceuticals that can treat or teach more about central nervous system disorders such as dementia, Alzheimer鈥檚, and Parkinson鈥檚 as well as addiction treatment.
In her spare time, Marriott is a self-taught freehand naturalist painter. Her medium is acrylic, oil and mixed media on canvas. Some of her work is hanging in her office.
鈥淚t鈥檚 like going into virtual reality,鈥 she said about painting. 鈥淚t鈥檚 immersive.鈥