April 4, 2000

Forensic scientist Henry Lee will discuss new tools to address human rights abuses on April 11 at 7:30 p.m. in the Konover Auditorium of the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center.

The lecture is the fourth in the Sackler Distinguished Lecture Series, supported by a gift to the Dodd Center from philanthropists Raymond and Beverly Sacker.

Widely recognized as the nation's premier forensic scientist, Lee is Connecticut's Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety. He has been called upon to investigate many of the country's biggest legal cases during his 20 years in the business: testifying in both the O.J. Simpson and William Kennedy Smith trials; the aftermath of a federal raid of the Branch Davidian compound outside Waco, Texas; the 1986 Woodchipper Murder; and the 1980 murder of Scarsdale diet doctor Herman Tarnower.

Lee has had a longstanding interest in how forensic scientists can help unravel potential abuses of human rights. For the last several years, he has been helping identify the remains of war victims recovered from mass graves in Bosnia. Classic methods of forensic identification have been limited, and Lee has been using new, more sophisticated techniques to identify the dead.

Lee was born in China in 1938, the youngest of 13 children. When he was six, his family moved to Taiwan. When Lee was 18, he was accepted into the elite Central Police College in Taiwan, and became one of the country's youngest police captains. In 1965, he came to the United States, earning a bachelor's degree in forensic science from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York in 1972. Combining his passion for science and police work, Lee continued his education, earning a doctorate in biochemistry from New York University School of Medicine.

Lee joined the University of New Haven in 1975, creating the school's forensic science department. He is still a professor there, and teaches as an adjunct professor at several other universities.

The Sackler Distinguished Lecture Series was established to bring internationally renowned speakers to the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center to discuss human rights issues.

The Sacklers are long-time supporters of philanthropic activities, particularly in the areas of art, medicine, biological and natural sciences, mathematics and archaeology. Raymond and his wife, Beverly, are patrons of museums and galleries around the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the British Museum in London and the Louvre in Paris.

Sherry Fisher