This Week At CART – Navi Nop

Hi! My name is Navi Nop, and I am currently a senior at the Center for Advanced Research and Technology. This is my second year at CART, and this year I am in the Forensic Research and Biotechnology lab. My class is currently working on our second project of the year which is all about collecting, handling, and analyzing different types of evidence at a crime scene. The class is divided into groups and each group gets a different topic. I received toxicology, and I am learning how to test for different types of intoxication and to determine how intoxicated a person is.

My class has also learned about other topics this week. One thing we’ve learned how to do is complete tests to determine unknown substances found at a crime scene. We take known samples, test them, and watch how they react. Then the unknown sample is taken, tested, and compared to the known samples to determine which one it matches. We’ve also learned about how headlights can tell us a lot about a car accident. We can tell if headlights were on or off during the accident as well as if the driver used their brakes or not. A metal piece inside the headlight breaks in certain ways when the brakes are pressed abruptly. Then, that metal piece bends or snaps when a person is braking depending on if the headlights are on or off.

I am learning a lot through this project in both English and Science, and I can’t wait to see what else Forensics has in store for this year!