• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Chaminade University of Honolulu

Chaminade University of Honolulu

  • VISIT
  • APPLY
  • GIVE
  • STUDENTS
  • PARENTS
  • ALUMNI
  • FACULTY/STAFF
  • CORONAVIRUS UPDATE
  • Admissions
    • Admissions Home
    • Freshman Students
    • Transfer Students
    • Master’s & Doctoral Admissions
    • Flex Online Undergraduate Students
    • Military Students
    • Non-Degree/Visiting Students
    • Experiential Honors Program
    • Early College Program
  • Tuition & Aid
    • Financial Aid Home
    • Tuition & Expenses
    • Scholarships
    • $5,000 Graduate Scholarship
    • Net Price Calculator
  • Academics
    • Academics Home
    • Office of Student Success
    • Academic Advising
    • Academic Programs
    • Career Development
    • Military Benefits
    • Registrar
    • Tutoring & Learning Services
    • Undergrad Research & Pre-Professional Programs
    • Sullivan Family Library
  • Student Life
    • About Student Life
    • Silversword Athletics
    • Student Engagement
    • Student Government Association
    • Residence Life and Housing
    • Health Services
    • Marianist Leadership Center
    • Counseling Center
    • Campus Ministry
    • Campus Security
    • Dining Services
    • Bookstore
  • About
    • Chaminade University News
    • Our Story
    • Leadership
    • Strategic Plan 2024-2029
    • United Nations CIFAL Honolulu
    • Mission & Rector
    • Association of Marianist Universities
    • Facts & Rankings
    • Commencement
    • Accreditation & Memberships
    • Montessori Laboratory School
Search
×

Search this web site

Forensic Sciences

Dr. Lorin Ramocki and Dr. Katelyn Perrault Recognized for their Passion and Innovation in Teaching

September 24, 2021 by University Communications & Marketing

Motivated. Innovative. Passionate. A trailblazer.

Those were some of the words used to describe this year’s faculty honorees of the Chaminade Excellence in Teaching and Scholarship awards, which recognize those going above and beyond to ensure student success in the classroom and contribute to their area of study in meaningful ways.

Lorin Ramocki

Dr. Lorin Ramocki, an assistant professor in the School of Nursing and Health Professions, received the Chaminade’s 2021 Excellence in Teaching Award for her tireless work to create hands-on simulations that promote “learning by doing.”

The simulations—which ranged from a mock homeless camp on campus to a COVID vaccination clinic to an “unfolding case study” into a Hepatitis A outbreak—were especially vital during the pandemic because COVID made some community placements for Nursing students impossible.

“The COVID pandemic created a loss of clinical rotations in both hospitals and community settings and faculty pivoted to simulation on campus as well as supporting COVID vaccination efforts,” said School of Nursing and Health Professions Dean Rhoberta Haley, PhD, who nominated Ramocki for the award.

Haley said Ramocki ensured experiential learning continued for students during the pandemic. “Dr. Ramocki is a truly creative, innovative, motivated, and effective teacher,” Haley said, “who makes Public Health content and clinical experiences come alive for each of our Nursing students.”

Ramocki said she is honored by the recognition and takes joy in using her creativity to develop “engaging learning environments to give students the best experience possible.” She added that her teaching philosophy is rooted in “developing a community within the classroom.”

“My philosophy on teaching students is really embedded in trying to inspire them to find their own interests—and then connect it back to something in public health to help them enhance their understanding and how they can impact the health of their own communities,” she said.

Katelynn Perrault

Meanwhile, the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics’ Dr. Katelynn Perrault was recognized with the 2021 Fr. John F. Bolin Excellence in Scholarship Award for substantial contributions to her field of study. The associate professor of Forensic Sciences and Chemistry was also recently honored with the John B. Phillips Award, which recognizes early career researchers who are making advancements in the field of two-dimensional gas chromatography, which involves separating chemicals present in complex samples.

Perrault is studying odors produced by bacteria associated with decomposing bodies.

Dr. Hans Chun, director of Education Leadership Programs at Chaminade, nominated Perrault for the honor and said she has been a “trailblazer in research” since she arrived at the University. “Kate embodies the concept that teaching and research are not mutually exclusive,” Chun said.

Chun also said her work has helped to “raise Chaminade’s scholarly profile.”

Perrault said receiving the award is a “landmark moment for me” at the University and has driven her to reflect on her work—and on the work of the student researchers she is mentoring. “Seeing their contributions to science recognized gives me great joy as a mentor,” she said. Perrault added that while many people think of research as something that’s done outside of the classroom, she sees it as something central to classroom learning. “Great things can be accomplished within a class when students are set with the task of creating new knowledge on their own accord. There is something about that experience that cannot be learned in any textbook.”

Filed Under: Campus and Community, Faculty, Featured Story, Natural Sciences & Mathematics, Nursing & Health Professions Tagged With: Chemistry, Community and Public Health, Forensic Sciences, Honors and Awards, Nursing

Alumna Creates Scholarship to Pay It Forward

August 16, 2021 by University Communications & Marketing

Caylee Orsinger '11 posing for the camera in her work uniform

Caylee Orsinger ’11 may live and work in Oklahoma, but her heart is still in the Islands. To prove that, you need look no further than the name she gave her medical distributorship company—Aloha Medical—or the slogan she puts on her business cards: “Where aloha meets medicine.”

It’s that passion for Hawai‘i and its people that drove her to think about ways to give back.

And after reaching out to a mentor at Chaminade, Biology Assistant Professor Dr. Jolene Cogbill, she made up her mind: she decided to establish a scholarship at Chaminade to help STEM-focused students achieve their dreams. The Caylee Orsinger Scholarship will help support 10 STEM students in Fall 2021 and Spring 2022. The funding is available to rising juniors or to incoming transfer students.

It’s not every day someone celebrating the 10-year reunion of her college graduation sets up a scholarship fund. But Orsinger said her upbringing in Hawai‘i and her time at Chaminade solidified her resolve to pay it forward. “It’s a full circle. We get out what we put in,” she said.

“I always wanted to donate to science technology and invest in other people.”

Just like people invested in her.

Caylee Orsinger '11 scrapbook page of her graduation from Chaminade

Orsinger said the scholarships she was awarded at Chaminade made a significant difference, and sometimes all the difference, in helping her accomplish her goals. “I worked my way through college and tried to make my way through school,” she said. “Scholarships were huge. They helped me a lot.”

Orsinger grew up on Maui and graduated from King Kekaulike High School in Pukalani.

She knew she wanted to pursue the sciences, but didn’t see herself flourishing in lecture halls with hundreds of students. That’s when she learned about Chaminade and jumped at the chance to pursue a degree in Biology at a campus with smaller class sizes and a strong public service mission.

And once enrolled, she learned about the University’s leading Forensic Sciences program.

She ended up double majoring, with an eye toward eventually becoming a doctor.

After graduation, she moved to Oklahoma to begin preparing to apply for medical school. But while there, her life took another path. She was bartending when she ran into someone who owned a medical distributorship company. She ended up getting a job there to gain valuable experience.

“I fell in love with it,” she said.

Orsinger’s work takes her into operating rooms, where she ensures surgeons and other healthcare professionals have the tools and equipment they need for complicated procedures. She is also proud to serve the community of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, the capital of two Cherokee tribes.

And she’s excited about continuing to grow her company.

She said she’s hopeful her trajectory since graduation—from her small Maui upbringing to a rising entrepreneur—offers inspiration to Chaminade students just beginning on their path to a profession.

She has some advice for them, too: remember all the support and encouragement you got as you sought to accomplish your goals so you can do the same for someone else one day. Facing a group of young people seeking degrees in STEM, she would tell them to “never get discouraged.” She would also leave them with some food for thought: “how are you going to give back later?”

Filed Under: Alumni, Featured Story, Institutional, Natural Sciences & Mathematics Tagged With: Biology, Forensic Sciences, Scholarship

“Forensic Microbiology” Goes International

January 3, 2020 by University Communications & Marketing

In 2017, Chaminade Professor Dr. David Carter co-authored a textbook on the emerging (and groundbreaking) role of microbes in forensic science. Three years later and “Forensic Microbiology” is not only a seminal text in the field, but an Arabic version is slated to be published in December 2021.

Dr. David Carter

Carter, director of the Forensic Sciences program at Chaminade, co-wrote and served as one of the book’s four co-editors to focus on the emerging role of microbiology in forensic science investigations.

As he notes, microbes (or microorganisms) don’t replace more mundane forms of evidence – think fingerprints or cell phone records – but they can prove vital in establishing a cause of death, estimating when a person has died, and analyzing changes to a body after death along with evidence at a scene.

Using microbes – one of the “trendiest” areas of forensic science – can involve cutting-edge DNA analysis or tools and procedures that were invented more than a century ago, Carter previously told Campus News. ““There were folks using microbes in the 19th Century as evidence,” Carter said, adding that some of those techniques were forgotten and then recently unearthed to determine their efficacy.

Why microbes? Because they’re “present everywhere a human goes,” Carter said.

They’re always on us – and in us – “and not all forms of evidence do that.”

Forensic Microbiology Book

The planned Arabic translation of “Forensic Microbiology,” which is already in use at institutions nationally and around the globe, underscores the growing utility of microbiology in forensic science – and how Chaminade’s Forensic Sciences program is at the forefront of that effort.

Indeed, the focus of Carter’s research is the structure and function of the postmortem human microbiome and the process of human decomposition, especially in tropical environments. In his decades of work analyzing crime scenes, Carter has consulted with investigative agencies around the globe, published in high-profile scientific journals, and served as a leader in the academic field.

He has also mentored scores of Forensic Sciences students, including two Chaminade University graduates who contributed to “Forensic Microbiology”: Emily Junkins (’16) went on to pursue a doctoral degree in microbiology while Whitney Kodama (’17) joined the Honolulu Office of the Medical Examiner.

Filed Under: Faculty, Featured Story, Natural Sciences & Mathematics Tagged With: Forensic Sciences

Alumna Pursues Passion at Chaminade and Beyond

October 23, 2019 by University Communications & Marketing

Jennifer Lai Hipp became a forensic sciences buff in high school, but she never saw it as a career path.

Forensic Sciences CSI class at Kaimana Beach

That is, until the college program she was in – studying American Sign Language – was put on hold.

Hipp, who graduated from Chaminade in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in forensic science, is now pursuing a master’s degree in human biology at the University of Indianapolis and has her sights set on a future in forensic anthropology. She said she’s even considering getting a doctoral degree.

“I took it as a sign I should follow my true passion and knew that Chaminade had one of the best forensic science programs in the country,” she said. “I decided to apply and luckily I got in.”

Hipp said she’s thankful for the strong educational foundation she built at Chaminade, where she thrived with small class sizes and engaging learning opportunities.

“The lab courses at Chaminade are built to give us hands-on experience that we can take into the real world,” she said. “I learned crime scene investigation techniques, including crime scene mapping and photography, latent fingerprint processing, and bloodstain pattern analysis.”

Along the way, she was able to build strong relationships with her professors and her peers.

Dr. David Carter and Jennifer Lai Hipp '17
Dr. David Carter and Jennifer Lai Hipp ’17 had a chance to catch up while Dr. Carter was in Indianapolis.

One of those mentors was Dr. David Carter, director of the Forensic Sciences program at Chaminade.

Hipp said Carter was “integral” to her success at Chaminade — and beyond.

“He helped me with everything from registering for classes and planning out my academic year to giving me advice about careers and applying for graduate school,” she said.

“I was nervous about attending college, but Dr. Carter was always positive and supporting. He was also great to talk to when I needed a break from studying.”

Hipp said that Chaminade’s Dr. Robert Mann also helped her immensely in the program, including by serving as a “source of inspiration” and advice about jobs in the field.

She said Mann even helped her secure internship opportunities and encouraged her to pursue her dream of becoming a forensic anthropologist.

“The faculty of the Forensic Sciences program at Chaminade integrated their work experience in the field into the classroom, which I believe was an important part of my education. They were able to relate the material in the textbooks to the real world,” Hipp said.

“They also worked closely with all the forensic sciences students to create a resume, critique scientific journal articles, and practice giving professional presentations.”

All that preparation proved key to Hipp’s next steps: Seeking a graduate degree in pursuit of a career.

“Being a non-traditional student, I did not have the typical college experience,” Hipp said.

“But I found my professors very easy to relate to and had a wealth of knowledge about both college and the working world.”

Filed Under: Alumni, Featured Story, Natural Sciences & Mathematics Tagged With: Forensic Sciences

Crime Scene Investigation Camp

August 9, 2019 by University Communications & Marketing

Over the summer, Chaminade Forensic Sciences Professor David Carter and colleague Carlos Gutierrez led a group of high schoolers in a not-so-typical hands-on activity. After some intensive instruction, the teens spent hours poring over a mock crime scene to find “human remains.”

CSI camp in Maui - in the field

While the crime scene and remains weren’t real, the learning absolutely was.

And Carter believes the experience is also an innovative recruitment tool, helping students envision themselves in a forensic science career. “It’s neat for these students,” Carter said, “the hands-on activity, the experience with teamwork and documenting observations.”

The innovative exercise was part of the Maui Police Department’s 2019 CSI Camp, a unique week-long program of events aimed at giving high schoolers a taste for the work that criminal investigators do every day, from crime scene photography to blood stain pattern analysis.  

Chaminade’s Forensic Sciences department has been participating in the camp for four years alongside representatives from the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Maui Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division, and Maui’s Medical Examiner.

Tony Earles, an MPD crime scene investigator and evidence specialist, runs the program annually. He said students have come from across Hawaii and even the mainland to attend.

CSI camp in Maui - in the classroom

This year’s camp had 12 students selected after a competitive application process. Students submitted essays explaining their interest in the program and were required to submit letters of recommendation. And before the week even begins, the students go through training online.

“With the effect of CSI television shows, there’s a lot of interest in crime scene investigation careers,” Earles said, in an interview. “Of course, you can’t have kids in an actual crime scene.”

The CSI Camp is the next best thing.

“We try to cover everything – from what happens when the call is dispatched to 911, the investigation by the detective, beginning to end,” Earles said. “By the end of the week, the thing they always say is they would like to make it longer. They always say, ‘I learned so much.’”

Hands-on activities, like the one that Carter and Gutierrez lead, are particularly popular.

Maui Police Chief Tivoli Faaumu called this year’s CSI Camp, which ran from June 17 to 21, a “tremendous success” and said Chaminade’s presentation and hands-on activity triggered lots of questions and interest from students. “It is through collaborative efforts such as this Camp that we continue to inspire our youth to dedicate themselves to careers which support our community,” he said, in a letter to Chaminade Provost Dr. Lance Askildson.

Carter said he uses the camp to clue students in on what they need to do to pursue a career in forensic sciences. He also helps them understand the related offerings at Chaminade. But he’s quick to note that the University’s participation in the camp isn’t merely a recruitment tool.

It’s an opportunity to give back. “The camp is a really important community service,” he said. “It’s not at a high school or college campus, but a forensic science facility. And students participate in actual investigative work and experience being a scientist in the field.”

Filed Under: Faculty, Featured Story, Natural Sciences & Mathematics Tagged With: Forensic Sciences

HUMAN OR ANIMAL BONES? LECTURER CARLOS GUTIERREZ SHARES HOW TO TELL THE DIFFERENCE WITHOUT DNA TEST

February 5, 2018 by University Communications & Marketing

When crime scene investigators discover small bone fragments, it’s often difficult to initially determine if the remains are animal or human.

Conducting a costly and time-consuming DNA analysis in a laboratory is one way to resolve the question. Or, as Chaminade University lecturer Carlos A. Gutierrez points out, a much simpler and far less expensive examination could reveal the answer on site that same day.

Gutierrez specializes in forensic microanthropology, a new field of study with broad implications for crime scene investigators around the world – especially those working in economically disadvantaged countries and in small towns with limited resources.

As part of his research, Gutierrez developed a bone identification technique involving polarized microscopy analysis.

Carlos A. Gutierrez (NSM, Forensic Sciences)“You can get very good information and quick answers for families,” according to Gutierrez, who earned a master’s degree in Forensic Sciences from Chaminade in 2016. “If the bone fragments are from a human, you go to the next step – DNA analysis.” But if the remains are from an animal, he said, the probe can stop there.

“Lots of police departments could use forensic microanthropology for crime scene investigations,” Gutierrez added. “That’s my goal – to spread the word.”

Along with spreading the word among Chaminade students, Gutierrez recently presented his research and conducted workshops at the third UCENM International Forensic Sciences Conference in Honduras, and at the fifth Forensic Sciences, Law and Public Safety International Conference in Acapulco, Mexico.

Before coming to Chaminade, Gutierrez served as director of a criminalistics laboratory in his native Chile, where he notably led efforts to identify victims of two massive disasters. One tragedy involved a deadly fire in 2007 at a hostel in Punta Arenas, and the other was a 2010 earthquake and tsunami that devastated the city of Constitution.

Two years ago, Gutierrez and his wife Ana Acuna founded Honolulu-based True Forensic Science, LLC with guidance from the Hogan Entrepreneurs Program at Chaminade. Their company provides training, consulting and products in the forensic sciences, especially for clients in Latin American countries.

Chaminade University’s Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics offers a bachelor of science degree and a minor in Forensic Sciences. Students enrolled in these programs can prepare for careers in biology, medicine, pharmacy, anthropology, criminal justice, psychology, law and other fields.

Filed Under: Faculty, Natural Sciences & Mathematics Tagged With: Forensic Sciences, Hogan Entrepreneurs Program

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Go to page 4
  • Go to Next Page »
Chaminade University Logo

3140 Waialae Avenue
Honolulu, Hawaii 96816

Contact Us
Phone: (808) 735-4711
Toll-free: (800) 735-3733

facebook twitter instagram youtube linkedin

Visit

  • Plan a Visit
  • Campus Map (PDF)
  • Events

Resources

  • Campus Security
  • Student Consumer Information
  • Institutional Review Board
  • Title IX / Nondiscrimination Policy
  • Emergency Information
  • Careers
  • Campus Incident Report
  • Privacy Policy

People

  • Students
  • Parents
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Staff
US News Badge US News Badge US News Badge

Footer

© Chaminade University of Honolulu

Terms and Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy