KINGSTON, R.I. – October 31, 2008 — A former chief of the FBI Bomb Data Center who investigated the bombing of Pan American Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland will discuss “Explosive Incidents” at the University of Rhode Island’s Forensic Science Seminar.

The lecture by Tom Thurman, now a professor at Eastern Kentucky University, will take place Friday, Nov. 7, at 3:30 p.m. in Pastore Hall, Room 124. The seminars are free and open to public.

Dec. 21, 2008 marks the 20th anniversary of the bombing, which killed all 243 passengers and 16 crewmembers. Eleven Lockerbie residents were killed by falling debris. Thurman played a key role in the investigation.

Thurman has worked in the explosives field for more than 30 years as an Army bomb disposal technician and then as a special agent for the FBI. Before his retirement from the FBI, Thurman was chief of the FBI Bomb Data Center. In addition to the Pan Am 103 bombing, Thurman has conducted investigations of the bombings of the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon and the bombing of the World Trade Center.

Thurman lectures and provides training on the methods of bomb scene investigation and explosive avoidance to domestic and international training schools.

Thurman earned his bachelor’s degree from Eastern Kentucky University and master’s degree in forensic science from George Washington University.

Organized by URI’s Forensic Science Partnership, the Forensic Science Seminar Series has brought hundreds of international, national and regional experts to the Kingston Campus each semester since the partnership began in 1999. Speakers representing the many different specialized areas of forensic science are brought in to present their real-life experience in their fields. These seminars have fueled greater interest in the academic forensic programs.