The forensic sciences department will move into newly renovated classrooms in a Mount Vernon Campus residence hall this fall, giving the department more breathing room to hire more faculty.

An interior design studio in Somers Hall will be converted into office space and a new laboratory for the department. It will also house advanced technology that measures masses of atoms and molecules, known as mass spectrometry.

Graduate students and faculty will use the equipment for forensic chemistry, trace evidence, forensic DNA studies and forensic toxicology studies. The 1,000-square foot space will also accommodate new faculty hires, part of an expansion that began in 2012.

GW’s forensic sciences department is one of the largest in the nation, said Victor Weedn, the department’s head.

“We are very proud and excited to bring our students into this new universe of mass spectrometry. We recognize that mass spectrometry is a really key technology for the future of forensic sciences,”  Weedn said. “The department needed to grow to achieve its next level of excellence.”

The Acheson Science Center on the Vern is also awaiting an expansion. It will soon house more classroom space for the departments of biology and forensic sciences.