MOUNT VERNON — A Cornell College alumnus and forensic scientist, who helped identify victims of the World Trade Center attacks and the November crash of an airliner after takeoff from New York, will talk about his experiences on Sept. 11, 2001, and his role in the recovery efforts Tuesday, March 5, at Cornell.
Jason Kolowski, a 1998 Cornell graduate, will lecture on “Aftermath: Forensic Science and the 2001 NYC Disasters” at 8 p.m. in Hedges Conference Room of The Commons. Admission is free.
Kolowski works in the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of New York City, where he is a criminalist in the Department of Forensic Biology, the DNA lab for the city. He examines evidence collected in violent crimes and identifies stains that might contain DNA, which he extracts from the stain. After the DNA is tested, the findings can assist in prosecuting suspects.
After the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, Kolowski began several 12-hour days examining the remains of the victims.
“What countered this dark task was the most unbelievable outpouring of support and encouragement that I have ever witnessed in New York,” he wrote in a message posted with other alumni reactions on the Cornell Web site (www.cornellcollege.edu). “I have seen people drop off boxes of food, clothes, flags, cots, blankets, raincoats, scented candles, gallons of water and toiletries. People from all over the country have shown up to volunteer for the Salvation Army, to help in the morgue, to drive trucks, to help take out trash even, just to try to help.”
The lecture is sponsored by Cornell’s biology department. Kolowski majored in biochemistry-molecular biology and philosophy with a chemistry minor.