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Biography:

Dr. Patrick Buzzini joined the faculty of the Department of Forensic Science at Sam Houston State University as an associate professor in forensic science in 2015. Dr. Buzzini obtained a four-year degree (eq. BS+MS) and a doctoral degree in forensic science from the oldest forensic science academic institution in the world, the School of Criminal Sciences at the University of Lausanne, in Switzerland. He has developed courses in various areas of criminalistics including trace evidence, questioned documents, and physical evidence interpretation at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Dr. Buzzini has organized workshops and training sessions to practitioners in the field (i.e., forensic laboratory personnel) nationally and internationally as well as continuing education courses to the legal community (defense counselors, prosecuting attorneys, and judges).

In April 2019, Texas State Governor Greg Abbott appointed Dr. Buzzini as a Commissioner with the Texas Forensic Science Commission. Dr. Buzzini is an appointed member of the Chemistry/Instrumental Analysis Scientific Area Committee of the Organization of Scientific Areas Committees (OSAC) by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the US Department of Justice. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) where he serves as the 2019-2020 Criminalistics Section Chair. He is also a member of the American Society of Trace Evidence Examiners (ASTEE), an associate member of the International Association for Identification (IAI), and was an active participant to the European Textiles and Hair Group (former European Fibre Group) and the European Glass and Paint Group of the European Network for Forensic Sciences Institutes (ENFSI).

Research Interests:

His research interests are geared toward the forensic applications of microscopical and instrumental analysis methods (i.e., spectroscopy) to various types of trace materials (e.g., paint and fibers) and questioned documents (e.g., ink analysis). He is also interested in problems of physical evidence interpretation and experiments in the context of crime reconstructions. His main previous research focused on the application of micro Raman spectroscopy in trace materials analyses. For example, my doctoral work was on the discriminating analysis of fiber dyes using this technique. Some of the questions that he is interested in are how this technique responds to samples made of mixtures of dyes or pigments, how it complements other methods such as microspectrophotometry or infrared spectroscopy and how it can be implemented in forensic casework.

• The development of a baseline survey of aleatory presence of glass and paint fragments on individuals' clothes and shoes for the interpretation of trace evidence. This is a collaborative project with Dr. Tatiana Trejos at West Virginia University.
• The use of magnetic flux measurements to the differentiation of toner inks in questioned documents.
• The study of the properties of blending markers inks in comparison with regular felt-tipped marker inks.
• The data fusion of highly dimensional chemical data to maximize the efficiency of the differentiation of automotive paint in the context of comparative examinations.
• The joint use of dichroism and UV-Vis microspectrophotometry to the discrimination of colored textile fibers.
• The characterization and value of automotive fluids for sourcing purposes.

Recent Publications:

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