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Using sophisticated technology, Bingqing Wu analyzes a blood sample for hydrogen sulfide, a noxious gas that can be deadly to humans. If there was any foul play involved in this person’s "death," Wu will know.
Since this compound breaks down and is hard to detect, she has her work cut out for her. Donning laboratory gear, she conducts the "crown ether method," which can help test the level of exposure.
Wu, using equipment costing close to $250,000, can now report her findings to the proper authorities.
Such complex analyses, performed by highly skilled professionals, might occur in forensic labs across the country. But Wu, a recent South Philadelphia High grad, got the chance to experience them herself.
The 20-year-old took part in a nine-week program carried out by the Forensics Mentors Institute in Willow Grove that provides a taste of this science to underprivileged high school students. Funding for the institute partly stems from the Frederic Rieders Family Renaissance Foundation.
Today, Wu wrapped up the lab-heavy opportunity with a summary of her experience during a presentation at the institute.
The resident of the 1900 block of South 13th Street always had an interest in science. But what makes this field more intriguing than others, Wu said, is its relationship with the law.
While the samples used during her experiments might not have been from a real cadaver, Wu still was in awe of the process.
As high school students, we didn’t have enough opportunities to work in the lab," she said, "but here, we work in the lab almost every day.
"We also met so many educated people and learned so much from them," Wu, who was born in China before relocating to the United States four years ago, said.
SUBMITTING AN APPLICATION, transcripts and letters of recommendation, Wu was among one of 12 selected for the program, beating out nearly 70 candidates in the Philadelphia region. At the advice of her guidance counselor, Wu applied for the program.
The participants were paired up and worked on six unique projects with assistance from graduate students from Arcadia and Drexel universities.
"Sometimes we’d spend hours on one question because I didn’t understand," she said.
The resident also was trained on various instruments. She utilized a gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer — to determine what compounds were prevalent in blood samples — and a centrifuge, which separates red blood cells from blood plasma.
Wu got the chance to detect hydrogen sulfides, as well as cyanide, from human blood, sheep’s blood and water using samples "spiked" with these poisons.
Through trial and error, the analyst attempted to find the results she was looking for.
"One thing I learned is, in the research area, if you find something that didn’t work this is an accomplishment," Wu, who received a $2,000 stipend from the institute, said. "If you found out that it didn’t work, other people don’t have to try it again."
Students must adhere to the institute’s rules, which means arriving at 8 a.m. on the dot. They "gain the knowledge of how to do research and how to handle themselves," Dr. G. John DiGregorio, executive director of the institute, said. "Most of them are from high schools where they’re responsibility is pretty limited because of the type of school they go to. It’s more of a disciplined and controlled environment when they come here."
Five days a week and eight hours a day, students spend the bulk of their time in the lab. Groups must give a PowerPoint presentation once a week to discuss their findings.
Since the program attempts to create well-rounded students, their public speaking and socializing skills improve, DiGregorio said.
"They come in very quiet, their vocabulary is poor and they’re very introverted. We force them to talk. We force them to interact with each other," he said. "If you could take a recording of them before the program started and take another recording after the program ended, they’re totally different people. It’s a great accomplishment."
Wu, like many Americans, is fascinated with forensics. Prime time television now includes three "CSIs" that highlight this field.
"It’s like a detective story you read in a book," DiGregorio said. "You got a situation that’s developed that has legal aspects to it and you try to solve the problem."
Possibly making a career out of what she has learned, Wu might major in forensic science when she attends Cedar Crest College in Allentown in the fall. Or maybe she’ll take the chemistry or biology route.
Regarding science, "there’s always a lot of stuff I don’t know," she said. "I think I would like to study science for the rest of my life."
