2008 Woodie Awards
Blood spatters, phones shatter
Students attracted to forensics class by professor's personality
Chelsea Cameron
Issue date: 4/28/08 Section: News
The students in the lecture hall are taking notes from the overhead when a cell phone rings, loudly. The professor, clearly irritated at being interrupted, walks over to the offender and motions for him to hand over the phone. He takes it and throws it against the opposite wall, where it shatters. A collective gasp rushes through the room as students try to subtly turn off their own phones.
Irving Kornfield, known to students and colleagues as Irv, found a way to lower the number of interruptions during his forensics class. His sense of humor is dry, and sometimes it is hard to tell if he is joking or not.
In his office, located on the second floor of Murray Hall, he explains the cell phone trick is a stunt. He uses a fake phone, and the teacher's assistant receives a fake call. He got the idea from fellow marine science professor David Townsend.
"I cannot claim originality for that," he said. "It's a wonderful tool. In a large class, you're on a stage, and for that class in particular, there is a lot of showmanship involved."
His unique teaching style has attracted students, many of whom are not in the biological sciences. Alongside a fake skeleton, bottles and jars of specimens, books and papers stacked helter skelter, Kornfield looks pulled together with gold-rimmed glasses and a crisp button-up shirt.
Kornfield's classes are some of the most popular on campus, especially forensics. He attributes this to the "CSI effect," but "I think with the absence of the shows, the subject is intrinsically interesting." Kornfield didn't start out in forensics, and is still a member of the zoology department.
He received his undergraduate degree from Syracuse in Paleontology. He then switched to Biology and got his graduate degrees from SUNY-Stony Brook in ecology and evolution. Post-doctorate, he worked for the Smithsonian and traveled to Israel with his wife to study the genetics of fish. When he looked for a job, one of the first offers he got was from UMaine.
Irving Kornfield, known to students and colleagues as Irv, found a way to lower the number of interruptions during his forensics class. His sense of humor is dry, and sometimes it is hard to tell if he is joking or not.
In his office, located on the second floor of Murray Hall, he explains the cell phone trick is a stunt. He uses a fake phone, and the teacher's assistant receives a fake call. He got the idea from fellow marine science professor David Townsend.
"I cannot claim originality for that," he said. "It's a wonderful tool. In a large class, you're on a stage, and for that class in particular, there is a lot of showmanship involved."
His unique teaching style has attracted students, many of whom are not in the biological sciences. Alongside a fake skeleton, bottles and jars of specimens, books and papers stacked helter skelter, Kornfield looks pulled together with gold-rimmed glasses and a crisp button-up shirt.
Kornfield's classes are some of the most popular on campus, especially forensics. He attributes this to the "CSI effect," but "I think with the absence of the shows, the subject is intrinsically interesting." Kornfield didn't start out in forensics, and is still a member of the zoology department.
He received his undergraduate degree from Syracuse in Paleontology. He then switched to Biology and got his graduate degrees from SUNY-Stony Brook in ecology and evolution. Post-doctorate, he worked for the Smithsonian and traveled to Israel with his wife to study the genetics of fish. When he looked for a job, one of the first offers he got was from UMaine.
Viewing Comments 1 - 5 of 5
ryan
posted 4/28/08 @ 10:13 PM EST
Woah... Where is the rest of the story? This was well-written, but it abruptly ends.
hoola
posted 4/29/08 @ 9:19 AM EST
Did you read all three pages?
ryan
posted 4/29/08 @ 5:21 PM EST
Yes, I did. I'm still wondering where the rest of it is. It's as though the writer just ran out of time and stopped writing. There's no conclusion.
Lemonade Diet
posted 7/13/08 @ 7:56 PM EST
It is good to have an exciting class in college. That phone stunt helps to remind people that they are alive. It would be great if all classes could be this good. (Continued…)
Ellie Barker
posted 9/11/08 @ 2:46 PM EST
I LOVED SMS 120. I wish there was a forensics lab course. It would be great to be able to learn more about such an interesting subject. If someone is looking for a great class take SMS120 I also hear that the evolution course Kornfield teaches is really good. (Continued…)
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