Signature Science
Arlington
VAUSA
22201
Biographical Sketch: Mr. Zussman is a Senior Chemist with Signature Science, where he is an expert in sensitive site exploitation of suspect rogue homemade explosives and chemical warfare agent production facilities. His principal responsibility is to design and deliver sensitive site exploitation training to elements within national security and federal law enforcement. Mr. Zussman’s training courses focus on the chemistry, production, and improvised weaponization of homemade explosives and chemical warfare agents, poisons, and toxic industrial chemicals and the use of instrumentation to detect the chemicals at all stages of the process. Mr. Zussman designs and fabricates functional clandestine laboratories in addition to didactic training.
In addition to training, Mr. Zussman generates custom user libraries in field portable instrumentation associated with chemical warfare agent production where the chemical signatures, hallmarks, and indicators of production aren’t present in the commercial libraries. Performance includes custom synthesis of extremely toxic materials unavailable commercially, validation of the syntheses using orthogonal gold standard analytical techniques, and addition of the compounds to the instrument’s libraries.
Mr. Zussman is an adjunct instructor at the United States Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School (USAJFKSWCS) Operators Advanced Course. He teaches Special Operations Forces to perform safe and effective sensitive site exploitation of suspect homemade explosive laboratories.
Prior to joining Signature Science, Mr. Zussman was a Visiting Scientist at the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Counterterrorism and Forensic Science Research Unit. He characterized a novel forensic trace air sampler to quickly collect and desorb volatile organic compounds.