Source: Kristy Kadash, PhD, Section Program Co-Chair As scientists, we appreciate that our fields are constantly evolving. New information leads to improved understanding of what evidence can tell us. And as scientists, we are accustomed to the process of peer and technical review before our results are presented. This provides an opportunity to double check […]
Source: Jim Caruso, MD, Section Secretary As members of the Pathology/Biology Section, the vast majority of us have backgrounds that include, well…biology. It is very difficult to get through a biology course, at least at the basic level, without an exposure to evolutionary theory. President Victor Weedn has declared the theme of the 2016 Annual […]
Editors: Brianna B. Bermudez, BS, and Jacob Griffin, BS A Letter from the YFSF President The Young Forensic Scientists Forum (YFSF) is hard at work planning for the AAFS 68th Annual Scientific Meeting in Las Vegas, NV! The Academy’s August 1 abstract deadline is steadily approaching and the YFSF has important abstract deadlines in December. […]
The Forensic Sciences Foundation (FSF) is pleased to announce the first winner of the 2015-16 FSF Warren-Young Scholarship: Nancy Iaukea, MEd. Ms. Iaukea is a science teacher at Pahoa High and Intermediate on the Big Island of Hawaii. She teaches grades 7-12 in a community that has faced many challenges due to lack of infrastructure, public transportation, […]
Source: Marcus K. Rogers, PhD, Section Secretary As we roll into the dog days of summer, there has been some pretty interesting activity related to our section. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Digital/Multimedia Scientific Area Committee (SAC) has formed a task force to look at defining how our discipline fits into the world […]
Source: Angi M. Christensen, PhD, Section Secretary Angi Christensen, Nick Passalacqua, and Eric Bartelink are pleased to announce that their recent book, Forensic Anthropology: Current Methods and Practice, has received the “Most Promising New Textbook Award” from the Text and Academic Authors Association (TAAA). The award was conferred at the TAAA annual conference in June. […]
Source: David Pienkowski, PhD, MBA, Section Program Chair It is time to begin abstract preparation for the 2016 Annual Scientific Meeting in Las Vegas. Those submitting abstracts are encouraged to adhere to the general rules for abstracts as found on the AAFS website. In addition to these general rules, please consider crafting the abstract so that […]
Source: Christine Funk, JD, Section Chair Roderick Kennedy chairs an ad hoc committee looking at the structure of the Academy and is soliciting ideas anyone might have, regardless of how far-fetched or impossible those ideas may be. Plural section membership is a topic that has come up recently with members having primary and secondary memberships […]
Source: Sarah Kerrigan, PhD, Section Chair By now, we hope you are beginning to prepare for the upcoming AAFS Annual Meeting in Las Vegas, February 22-27, 2016. Section Program Chair Fiona Couper and Co-Chair Nikolas Lemos are hard at work assembling what is sure to be a spectacular program! This year, the section will be proposing […]
Source: Dean De Crisce, MD, Section Secretary We are looking forward to creating a fantastic meeting this coming February 22-27, 2016, at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas! The theme, chosen by AAFS President Victor Weedn, is Transformation: Embracing Change. As you know, the paper/poster submission is due by August 1, so […]
Source: Joanna L. Collins, MFS, Section Secretary While many of us are still sharing stories and pictures from Orlando, it is time to get serious about planning for the 2016 Annual Meeting in Las Vegas, NV (February 22-27). The August 1 deadline for presentations will be here before you know it. Section Program Chair Steve […]
During the 2015 Annual Scientific Meeting, Academy members conducted an Evening Session entitled “Keep It Simple, Stupid.” Topics included Knowledge, Investigation, Sharing, and Spirit (ethics); to add a bit of whimsy, the panel dressed in authentic KISS costumes. Afterward, members of the audience who wished to have photos taken with the “KISS” presenters were asked […]
LEGISLATION Source: Victor W. Weedn, MD, JD, AAFS 2015-16 President At the end of May, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations approved a $54.1 billion Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) appropriations bill that made significant cuts to several Department of Justice assistance programs for state, local, and tribal law enforcement […]
Source: Julie A. Howe, MBA, 2016 Annual Meeting Program Co-Chair This is an exciting and challenging time for forensic science as substantive changes are being proposed for all disciplines with the formation of the National Commission on Forensic Science (NCFS) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSACs). […]