Linda C. Rourke
Linda C. Rourke is a board certified criminalist and a life-long science geek. She studied biochemistry in college but hadn’t found her career passion until she learned about forensic science. She is now a lecturer of criminalistics at John Jay College of Criminal Justice where she teaches undergraduate and graduate students about physical evidence analysis. Rourke also works as a consultant in forensic science casework and education. Her research has spanned several areas including gunshot residue analysis, whole genome amplification, DNA admixture analysis, and familial DNA analysis. She began working with the World Science Festival in 2009 and curated the CSI Experience/Beyond CSI at the Street Fair for 5 years. For those exhibitions, Rourke brought microscopy, fingerprinting, DNA extraction, forensic anthropology, and firearms analysis to the streets.