Return to Forensic Training Home Page
Dr. Brian C. Smith is Founder, CEO, and Chief Technical Officer of Big Sur Scientific. For over 30 years Dr. Smith has taught thousands of forensic scientists how to improve their chemical analyses. He has written three books on infrared spectroscopy, Fundamentals of Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Infrared Spectral Interpretation: A Systematic Approach, and Quantitative Spectroscopy: Theory and Practice. Dr. Smith is a member of the faculty of the California Criminalistics Institute, the state agency responsible for training California’s forensic scientists. Previous clients include the NYPD, DEA, LAPD, NY State Police, US Dept. of Homeland Security, and the Midwest Association of Forensic Scientists. He earned his Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Dartmouth College.
In recent years Dr. Smith has performed pioneering research in the application of infrared spectroscopy to cannabis analysis. He sits on the editorial board of Cannabis Science and Technology (Cannabis Science and Technology (cannabissciencetech.com) and writes a regular column for them called Cannabis Analysis Cannabis Analysis | Cannabis Science and Technology (cannabissciencetech.com).
Dr. Smith has invented and patented a portable mid-infrared analyzer that helps law enforcement accurately distinguish hemp from marijuana in the field in 2-minutes with no sample preparation, the BSS 3000 LE. For more information go to our website: www.bigsurscientific.com and read this peer reviewed paper on how well the BSS 3000 LE works: Distinguishing Hemp from Marijuana by Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy (cannabissciencetech.com)