Dr. Eric C. Person is a Professor of Forensic and Analytical Chemistry and the Chemistry
Honors Program Coordinator with interests in Chemical Education Research. Dr. Person
advises students interested in pursuing careers as criminalists or forensic scientists
in crime laboratories or as chemists in environmental and quality control laboratories.
Dr. Person specializes in assessment and curriculum development to support experimental
design in open-inquiry and project-based introductory chemistry laboratory programs.
Dr. Person has taught a wide variety of introductory, general, analytical, and forensic
chemical courses at the lower-division, upper-division, and graduate level. He is
currently focused on introductory chemistry for non-science majors (CHEM 3A, CHEM
10) and instrumental analysis for chemical majors (CHEM 106S). Dr. Person seeks to
develop and enhance collaborations and partnerships that provide unique and authentic
experiences for students:
Dr. Person has developed an award winning academic-industrial collaboration with Agricultural
and Priority Pollutants Laboratory (APPL, a local environmental laboratory) which
allows students in CHEM 106S to obtain authentic and valuable job experience while
analyzing water samples for a variety of community projects using standard methods
in an accredited environmental laboratory.
Dr. Person led a group of faculty and staff to develop and run a bi-annual symposium
for students to present their work on Course Based Undergraduate Research and Projects
(CUREs). This symposium supports learning outcomes in a wide variety of courses across
the College of Science and Mathematics and will be scaled to the entire university.
Dr. Person worked with Dr. Ulrike Muller and Dr. John Constable to develop a STEM
First Year Experience (CSM 10 and 15S) that has now been scaled by a new team of faculty
into the CSM signature BOND program.
Dr. Person developed and leads the Chemistry Honors Program, which supports students
in becoming involved in faculty sponsored undergraduate research.
Dr. Person earned a BA in Chemistry from Carleton College, an MBA in Technology Management
from the University of Phoenix, and a Ph.D. in Biophysics from the University of California
- San Francisco where he worked with Dr. Thomas Scanlan. He has four years of post-doctoral
industrial experience as a Forensic Scientist in the Seized Drugs section of the Washington
State Patrol Crime Laboratory. In this capacity, he analyzed seized drugs and clandestine
laboratory samples, responded to suspected clandestine laboratory scenes, and provided
training and support for law enforcement officers in safely investigating clandestine
laboratories. He has published more than 10 papers and presented more than 50 times
on the investigation, processing, and analysis of clandestine laboratories. He is
lifetime member of the Clandestine Laboratory Investigating Chemists Association and
serves as a core committee member of the Scientific Working Group for the Analysis
of Seized Drugs (SWGDRUG).
Dr. Person is a member of the American Chemical Society, National Science Teachers
Association, California Science Teachers Association, and Clandestine Laboratory Investigating
Chemists Association.
Areas of Specialty
Dr. Person teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in both analytical chemistry
and forensic science including CHEM 102, 106, 106S, 225, and 251 as well as directing
student research projects in analytical and forensic chemistry.
Dr. Person's principle research interests lie in the area of understanding how inquiry
laboratory structures affect their engagement and understanding of science practices.
He also works with staff at the California BFS Fresno Regional Crime Laboratory on
a variety of forensic research projects.
Forensic fire debris analysis, clandestine laboratory investigation, water quality
testing. Forensic chemistry including fire debris and drug analysis; applied analytical
techniques and instructional materials
