Source: Betty Layne DesPortes, JD, MS, AAFS President On August 7, 2017, after reviewing input from the membership and convening by conference call to discuss the matter, the AAFS Board of Directors voted to adopt the position statement on access to naloxone at the worksite proposed by the Synthetic Opioid Ad Hoc Committee. The Board […]
Source: Betty Layne DesPortes, JD, MS, AAFS President The American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) looks forward to working with the Justice Department and others to advance forensic science. Forensic science is a crucial tool in the search for the truth that must be available to all participants in the justice system. Collaboration with the […]
Source: Betty Layne DesPortes, JD, MS, AAFS President The DOJ today announced two new projects relating to forensic science. The projects will develop guidelines for examiner testimony and reports and will implement a testimony-monitoring program to ensure compliance with the uniform language standards. The DOJ press release announcing the projects is here. Deputy Attorney […]
Source: Betty Layne DesPortes, JD, MS, AAFS President On July 17, 2017, the Board of Directors notified the membership that the AAFS Synthetic Opioid Ad Hoc Committee had submitted a committee report and a proposed position statement for consideration by the Board of Directors concerning access to naloxone by first responders and forensic service providers […]
Sources: Jeremy Manheim, BYOP Chair, Alexandria Anstett, MS, BYOP Co-Chair, Alyssa J. Badgley, MS, BYOS Chair, and Ashley E. Foster, MAS, BYOS Co-Chair The BYOP and BYOS organizers are excited about your abstract submissions for the 2018 AAFS Annual Scientific Meeting in Seattle, WA! The BYOP and BYOS sessions provide young forensic scientists the opportunity […]
Source: Christine Haskell, JD, Section Program Chair There are only a few more days until the August 1 deadline to submit an abstract for the Academy’s 70th Annual Scientific Meeting in Seattle, WA (February 19-24, 2018)! Your submission may be for an oral presentation, a poster presentation, a workshop, or even a breakfast seminar. Presenting at […]
Source: Christine Haskell, JD, Section Program Chair There are only a few more days until the August 1 deadline to submit an abstract for the Academy’s 70th Annual Scientific Meeting in Seattle, WA (February 19-24, 2018)! Your submission may be for an oral presentation, a poster presentation, a workshop, or even a breakfast seminar. Presenting at […]
Program Chair Patrick Buzzini and Co-Chair Noelle Umback are eager to begin reviewing the plethora of abstracts submitted for the upcoming 2018 AAFS annual meeting in Seattle, WA. They have lined up 30 reviewers in various areas of criminalistics who will dedicate their time and expertise to help select the best abstracts. If you are […]
Source: AAFS Board of Directors The American Academy of Forensic Sciences wholeheartedly commends its membership who provided expertise, wisdom, and guidance to the National Commission on Forensic Science (NCFS) since its 2013 origin. There are 14 Commission Members, 3 Ex-Officio Members, and numerous sub-committee members who are also members of the Academy and the work […]
Source: Dayle L. Hinman, BS Our Future Reflects Our Past: The Evolution of Forensic Science Many people spend their careers immersed in the day-to day-activities and challenges of their chosen profession. Special indeed are those individuals who have the ability to share effectively their knowledge and abilities to better the wider professional community. Remarkable is […]
The Department of Justice and the Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has announced the appointment of Randy Hanzlick, MD (AAFS Fellow, Pathology/Biology Section), to the National Commission on Forensic Science (NCFS). Dr. Hanzlick also accepted the invitation to serve as the NCFS Medicolegal Death Investigation subcommittee co-chair alongside NCFS Commissioner John […]
Source: Betty Layne DesPortes, JD, MS, 2017-18 President As President of the Academy, I have had the honor of talking to a wide variety of audiences about forensic science and the mission of the Academy. I often describe the greatest strengths of the Academy as the extensive knowledge base of our members and their level […]
Source: Betty Layne DesPortes, JD, MS, 2017-18 President Forensic science is a field with no borders, and it is a field that provides a vast platform for collaboration among scientists throughout the world. Meetings and conferences this spring and summer have highlighted these characteristics. The AAFS has been well represented at these meetings, but I […]
Source: Betty Layne DesPortes, JD, MS, AAFS President On August 7, 2017, after reviewing input from the membership and convening by conference call to discuss the matter, the AAFS Board of Directors voted to adopt the position statement on access to naloxone at the worksite proposed by the Synthetic Opioid Ad Hoc Committee. The Board […]
Source: Betty Layne DesPortes, JD, MS, AAFS President The American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) looks forward to working with the Justice Department and others to advance forensic science. Forensic science is a crucial tool in the search for the truth that must be available to all participants in the justice system. Collaboration with the […]
Source: Betty Layne DesPortes, JD, MS, AAFS President The DOJ today announced two new projects relating to forensic science. The projects will develop guidelines for examiner testimony and reports and will implement a testimony-monitoring program to ensure compliance with the uniform language standards. The DOJ press release announcing the projects is here. Deputy Attorney […]
Registration will soon be available for the 2018 AAFS Annual Scientific Meeting. The online registration system requires payment with a credit or debit card. Please contact Tracie McCray (tmccray@aafs.org) with any questions regarding the registration process.
We are pleased to announce the launch of a new “Committees” search feature page on the AAFS website. In addition to up-to-date contact information, you will be able to see any member’s current participation in all AAFS committees. To access this new feature, go to http://www.aafs.org/about-aafs/aafs-commitees/. Let us know if you have any questions by contacting Jeff […]
Source: Mary C. McKiel, PhD, ASB Communication Liaison This is the first in a series of articles that will delve into the inner workings of standards development that are underway through the American Academy of Forensic Sciences’ subsidiary, the Academy Standards Board (ASB). The purpose is to share information with the broader AAFS community on […]
Source: Teresa Ambrosius, ASB Technical Coordinator Each year, the AAFS Standards Board (ASB) reviews the membership rosters for the active consensus bodies. We must ensure that there are between 7 and 25 members and that the membership reflects a good distribution across our interest categories (defined on the application form). We had hundreds more applicants […]
Sources: Amanda R. Hale, MA, YFSF Special Session Chair and Zain Bhaloo, MSc, YFSF Special Session Co-Chair The 2018 YFSF Special Session is coming along great. This year’s Special Session organizers, Amanda Hale (arhale@ncsu.edu) and Zain Bhaloo (zainbhaloo.yfsf@gmail.com), want to thank everyone who volunteered to present at this year’s meeting! There were many fantastic volunteers […]
Source: Alex Krotulski, MSFS, Breakfast Session Chair YFSF Breakfast Session This year’s Breakfast Session Chair and Co-Chair, Alex Krotulski and Erin Houston, have been hard at work planning the 2018 Breakfast Session set to take place in Seattle, WA. The chairs have come up with a creative theme and agenda for the session, started to […]
Source: Lucy A. Davis, BHS, Chair, FSF International Association of Forensic Sciences (IAFS) Scholarship Committee The Forensic Sciences Foundation (FSF) is pleased to announce the 2017 recipient of the FSF IAFS Scholarship–Gulnaz T. Javan, PhD. Dr. Javan, Member of the AAFS General Section, is an Assistant Professor of Forensic Science at the Alabama State University. […]
The 18th Annual Forensic Sciences Foundation (FSF) Emerging Forensic Scientist Award paper competition was hosted in New Orleans, LA. The following presenters were selected as the 2017 winners by a panel of judges: D’Nisha D. Hamblin, MSFS, was selected for her presentation entitled Evaluation of a New Technology for the Collection and Analysis of Breath Components […]
Source: Nancy J. Jackson, AAFS Director of Development and Accreditation Pursuant to the Forensic Science Education Programs Accreditation Commission (FEPAC) Policies & Procedures, Policy 4.10 Review of Standards states that FEPAC is tasked with conducting ongoing and comprehensive reviews of its accreditation standards in order to verify that they adequately evaluate educational quality and are relevant […]
The Forensic Science Education Programs Accreditation Commission (FEPAC) is asking for your comments on and reaction to the proposed standards shown below for academic programs in forensic investigation and related areas. Background: FEPAC has recently been discussing the possibility of expanding the scope of its accreditation activities to areas other than classic forensic science/criminalistics. A […]