Harold R. Messler, BS 1970, was Director of the St. Louis Police Department Crime Laboratory for 37 years. He is a widely known forensic scientist and has impacted the field not only locally but also, due to his involvements in the American Academy of Forensic Scientists and the Midwestern Association of Forensic Scientists, across the country. During his 40-year career he has received awards and accolades for both his expertise in forensic science as well as for helping solve some of the more heinous crimes committed in the St. Louis area. In addition, he has been an enormous resource to young people, running programs for the St. Louis Science Center and the American Chemical Society, for students and teachers in areas schools and colleges, in giving talks to community groups, and in mentoring summer intern students. He has served as a faculty member for the Medicological Death Investigator Training Course at Saint Louis University for 29 years and in other forensic programs at that institution. In 2008 he was honored with a Science Educator's Award by the Academy of Science-St. Louis. He retired in 2010.
