Justice, chemistry come to life in hands of IVCC professor

Illinois Valley Community College students in Professor Matthew Johll’s classes learn a valuable lesson about what science can do that stretches beyond their classroom to courtrooms on both sides of the Atlantic.

When he started teaching, Dr. Johll developed a successful classroom formula that changed the entire chemistry of the room. He introduced forensic crime-solving techniques to illustrate scientific principles, and a textbook he authored on the subject got noticed and earned him invitations to apply his scientific knowledge to real crimes.

Now, Dr. Johll – who teaches chemistry and forensic science at IVCC – hopes his lessons show students that science is not just something confined to microscopes and test tubes, but is practical, life-changing and can do good.

“I am always looking for applications – how we can use this or that principle. What better way to learn science than in the context of solving cases and righting wrongs?” he said.

In the past year, Dr. Johll’s science has helped unravel a 30-year-old mystery in La Salle County and he has contributed to a campaign for justice reform in Britain.

While science has not yet unveiled who killed Paula Ann Lundgren and left her body in a La Salle County cornfield, knowing who she is might reveal new leads, Dr. Johll said. Dr. Johll and IVCC chemistry and criminal justice students proposed a method that had not yet been tried – genetic genealogy – and paid for the DNA analyses that led investigators to Lundgren’s family.

Dr. Johll is satisfied that she now has a name. “If we were able to give her a name, we would restore that humanity to her. And my students at the time learned firsthand how the science they learn here can be put to use outside the classroom. And I know we helped in a small but critical part.”

So far, three criminal cases in England have called on Dr. Johll to review the forensics. Most recently, an international panel of medical and scientific experts is challenging evidence that led to the conviction of Lucy Letby, a neonatal nurse linked to the deaths of several babies. The case has become one of the most notorious and contentious in the country.

Dr. Johll recently traveled to England to film a documentary about the case. “Lucy Letby: Beyond Reasonable Doubt?” can now be viewed on YouTube and a book is expected to be published later this year.

“It is not just about freeing Lucy, it is about reforming the system,” he said. “When science is done properly it can prevent a lot of errors. People cannot get a fair trial if the evidence is not fairly evaluated.”

Decades ago, as “CSI” began to dominate the TV schedule, Dr. Johll felt its presence in his classroom. He had been looking for ways to connect to students, and to connect students to his subject, and found it in popular culture.  The show’s crime scene investigators and forensic examiners fascinated chemistry majors and even appealed to beginning students.

Students came to class with questions about the show’s scientific authenticity. "They would ask, is this how that works? They were excited to be in class, and when students are having fun in class and their excitement inspires their curiosity, students will learn so much more.”

One day Dr. Johll transformed his lab into a crime scene, and his students responded enthusiastically to solving the mystery. “I ‘murdered’ the geologist in the office next to me. All the evidence was there in that room, and we used all the methods we would use in the lab that semester to process the crime scene, collect evidence and do the analysis.”

When he realized no existing textbook produced examples that fit his new teaching process, he wrote one in 2005. It is now in its fifth printing.

Dr. Johll did not plan to be a chemistry major or a teacher. He never expected to go to graduate school or publish a textbook. He advises students to be persistent and tenacious.

“What I hope my students come out of this with is, do not let the fear of ‘no’ stop you from trying. When you see someone who is successful, ask where they were 10 or 15 years ago. Probably sitting in a classroom. Then they took some risks. The ones that are successful were not always successful – they just did not give up.”