ANALYTICAL TOPICAL GROUP
2009 REPORT
submitted by
Dr. Robert Nolan
The Analytical Topical Group continues to benefit from improve
attendance (consistently 20 or more) and interest since the partnership
was formed with John Jay School of Criminal Justice. The students
in the graduate program in analytical chemistry at The City University
of New York are required to attend the seminars and the forensic science
students from John Jay can get seminar credit for attending. Last
year we only had one seminar as we are changing the format this year.
We have scheduled the three-fall 2009 seminars for January 22, 2010. New
CUNY faculty will be presenting the seminars as part of the Chemistry Doctoral
Programs Seminar Day.
Minutes of Meetings: No formal meetings were held.
SEMINAR
Wednesday February 11, 2009, at 6 PM
Analysis of Crystals Resulting from
Different Catalysts used in the
Manufacture of Triacetone Triperoxide
Peter Diaczuk
Director of Forensic Science Training,
Center for Modern Forensic Practice
John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY
New York, NY
The use of improvised explosives for criminal, domestic,
and international terrorism is an ever-increasing problem. Methods
for homemade manufacture of these non-military and non-industrial explosives
often require little-to-no background in chemistry. The clandestine
manufacture of triacetone triperoxide (TATP) is no exception. This
rather exotic explosive is currently receiving considerable attention because
of its ease of synthesis and procurement of starting materials. The
research presented here was spawned by earlier work detailing the optical
properties of two identified TATP polymorphs (Hietpas et al. 2005; Speir
et al. 2006), and a preliminary study by Miller et al. (2006) examining
the crystal morphology of TATP synthesized using different acid catalysts.
This presentation expands on the work of Miller et al. (2006) by further
detailing the potential linkage between crystal morphology and the specific
acid catalyst used during synthesis. This linkage could be used as
an investigative lead when attempting to determine provenance of a TATP
sample submitted as evidence.
Peter Diaczuk is the Director of Forensic Science Training,
Center for Modern Forensic Practice at John Jay College of Criminal Justice,
CUNY. Active in several professional organizations, including the New York
Microscopical Society (life member, fellow and current president), Northeastern
Association of Forensic Scientists (Board of Directors), Diplomate of the
American Board of Criminalistics, and Full Member of the Criminalistics
Section of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. Has given over
50 presentations on forensic science topics, and conducted six workshops
on scientific firearm and toolmark examination.
The Graduate Center of the City University of New York
365 Fifth Avenue, New York NY
Science Center Room 4102
OFFICERS FOR 2009
Chairman Robert P. Nolan, PhD
International Environmental Research Foundation
Post Office Box 3459
Grand Central Station
New York, NY 10063-3459
Tel/Fax (800) 709-0028
E-mail rnolan@ierfinc.org
Chairman Emeritus William E.L. Grossman
Department of Chemistry
Hunter College of The City University of New York
695 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10021
Tel (212) 772-5338/5330
Fax (212) 772-5332
Board
Thomas Kubic, Director, and Program Chair
John Jay School of Criminal Justice of The City University
of New York
899 Tenth Avenue
New York, NY 10019
E-mail: ujans@ccny.cuny.edu
David C. Locke, Chairman
Department of Chemistry
Queens College of The City University of New York
65-30 Kissena Boulevard
Flushing, NY 11367-1597
Tel (718) 997-3271
Urs Jans, Director
Department of Chemistry
The City College of The City University of New York
Convent Avenue & 138th Street
New York, NY 10031
Tel (212) 650-8369/6052
Fax (212) 650-6107
E-mail: ujans@ccny.cuny.edu
Emmanuel Chang, Director
Department of Chemistry
York College of The City University of New York
AC-3F01
Jamaica, New York 11451
E-mail: echang@york.cuny.edu