URI researchers encouraged to test equipment on LECO systems

WHO: Officials from LECO Corp., St. Joseph, Mich., and the University of Rhode Island Forensic Science Partnership, researchers from the Rhode Island State Crime Laboratory at URI, and from URI’s programs in chemistry, pharmacy, engineering, marine, life and environmental sciences, oceanography and other members of the campus community.

WHAT: The LECO Corp. Separation Science Demonstration Bus features the company’s gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer, which is used to identify substances within a test sample in such disciplines as drug detection, fire investigation, environmental analysis, explosives investigation, and identification of unknown samples. The instrumentation has been used to test samples from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The bus features an 8-seat auditorium with projection system, two small lab benches, a computer table and other LECO equipment. Dennis Hilliard, director of the Rhode Island State Crime Laboratory at URI, helped bring the bus to the Kingston campus to give researchers a chance to see the equipment firsthand without having to travel. According to the company, the bus has traveled more than 88,000 miles and has run more than 600 demonstrations.


WHEN: Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2010, 9 a.m. to noon

WHERE: In front of the Memorial Union, 50 Lower College Road, Kingston Campus

TO MAKE COVERAGE ARRANGEMENTS: Contact Dave Lavallee, URI Department of Communications and Marketing, 401-874-2116.