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In this episode, Dr. Kirk Yeager, the FBI’s Chief Explosives Scientist, reviews his experiences working as a Physical Scientist/Forensic Examiner for the FBI Laboratory’s Explosives Unit, analyzing many of the world’s biggest explosive crime scenes.
Kirk is the FBI’s top bomb expert. He and his team are tasked with analyzing explosives made by terrorists and developing advanced techniques to detect and prevent them.
He has nearly 30 years of experience with improvised explosives and IEDs and has deployed as a bombing crime scene investigator to dozens of countries around the world.
Kirk has worked many of the most notable terrorism bomb attacks in recent history, like Bali, October 2002; Beirut, June 2005; and the Boston Marathon bombing in April 2013.
Over the course of his career, Kirk has served as a subject matter expert for the National Academies of Sciences, worked as a technical adviser for Mythbusters, and been the subject of a feature article in Popular Mechanics.
Chief Explosives Scientist
Dr. Kirk Yeager
June 2000 – Present
Prior to joining the FBI, Kirk received his BS in Chemistry from Lafayette College and PhD in Inorganic Chemistry from Cornell University.
He worked as a research scientist and became the associate director of R&D at the Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center (EMRTC) in Socorro, New Mexico. He was also an adjunct professor in the New Mexico Tech chemistry department.
Kirk has co-authored with his sister, Selene Yeager, The Bomb Doctor: A Scientist’s Story of Bombers, Beakers, and Bloodhounds.
Within the book, he takes readers inside the confines of the yellow caution tape and behind the “do not enter” signs on the laboratory doors to be given a front-row view of the scientific forensics it takes to solve cases and bring bombers to justice.
The following are articles about Dr. Kirk Yeager’s work as an explosives scientist and the investigative process at a bomb crime scene:
Popular mechanics – 3/14/2017: The Bomb Detective
Winner (Video) – 2016 Safety, Security and International Affairs: Kirk Yeager
FBI Website – 3/9/2022: Understanding Bombers’ Motivations: A Historical Study
FBI Website (Video) – FBI Post-Blast Investigation Training
FBI Website – Hazardous Devices School: FBI Takes Lead Role in Training Nation’s Public Safety Bomb Technicians
To learn more about improvised explosives, IEDs and bombing crime scenes around the world, listen to these FBI Retired Case File Review episodes:
086: Kevin Miles – Master Bomb Technician, Khobar Towers Attack
308: Barry Black – Accountant to Master Bomb Tech
Case Review Related Images:
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