Source: Mary C. McKiel, PhD, ASB Communications Liaison Officer On August 30 of this year, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) issued a Request For Information (RFI) on potential organizational changes to the Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC). NIST, along with the Department of Justice, established OSAC to facilitate development of sound […]
Source: Steven C. Clark, PhD, Section Secretary Another summer is history, and fall is here. Now is the time to make your plans to attend the 2018 AAFS Annual Scientific Meeting in Seattle, WA. Hotels around the Washington State Convention Center fill up quickly because Seattle is such a great meeting site! There are […]
Source: Betty Layne DesPortes, JD, MS, AAFS President The following statement has been submitted in response to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) request for input on the future structure of the Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC). STATEMENT OF THE AAFS BOARD OF DIRECTORS The American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) Board […]
Source: Mary C. McKiel, PhD, Communications Liaison Officer Not all standards are developed in a process that requires consensus, balance, openness, and due process. For example, industry standards, consortia standards, and regulatory standards are developed through their own unique documented procedures and are incredibly useful for their intended purposes. However, in the larger United States and […]
Announcement: The public comment period has opened for ASB Best Practice Recommendation 021, Best Practices for the Preparation of Test Impressions from Footwear and Tires, First Edition (Comment period closes Monday, October 23, 2017). A reminder that the public comment period is also open for ASB Technical Report 025, Crime Scene/Death Investigation – Dogs and […]
Source: Betty Layne DesPortes, JD, MS, 2017-18 President The week of August 21-25, 2017, I had the pleasure of attending the 21st Triennial Meeting of the International Association of Forensic Sciences (IAFS) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The opening ceremony highlighted the global span of the 1,440 delegates from 86 countries and 6 continents. IAFS President Michael Pollanen […]
Source: Teresa Ambrosius, ASB Technical Coordinator The public comment period has opened for ASB Technical Report 025, Crime Scene/Death Investigation – Dogs and Sensors – Terms and Definitions, First Edition. (The comment period closes Friday, October 6, 2017). Please visit the Notification of Standard Development and Coordination area of the ASB website to view the […]
The following is a request for public comment on revisions to the FBI National QAS for Forensic DNA testing laboratories. The Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods (SWGDAM) has posted the proposed revisions on their website at https://www.swgdam.org/public-comments. The SWGDAM is a group of scientists representing federal, state, and local forensic DNA laboratories in […]
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: 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: 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 […]
Source: Teresa Ambrosius, ASB Technical Coordinator Announcement: The public comment period has opened for the following four AAFS Standards Board (ASB) documents. The two documents shown below were posted in the May 19, 2017, issue of the American National Standards Institute’s (ANSI’s) Standards Action (the comment deadline is July 3, 2017): ASB Standard 011, Scope […]
Source: Mary McKiel, PhD The American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) Standards Board (ASB) standardization work began a little more than a year ago with the process of establishing and populating Consensus Bodies (CB) to conduct the work of standards writing. Since that time, progress has been outstanding. There are 33 standardization projects well underway […]
Source: Jan Seaman Kelly, BA, Section Secretary The 69th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences meeting in New Orleans was an exciting one for the Questioned Documents Section members in attendance. The week began with the Fundamentals of Printing and Graphic Arts Examinations workshop taught by Lindsey Dyn and Peter Belcastro. […]
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE One month into my term as your President, I am even more thankful to Immediate Past President John Gerns for his leadership and mentorship. Without John’s diligent planning, the New Orleans meeting would not have been a success in his absence. Without his transparency about the issues and decisions he faced during his […]
Source: Mary McKiel, PhD ASB, the Academy Standards Board of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS), was instituted in 2015 and accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as a provider of consensus-based forensic standards, guides and technical reports. Since its inception, the 13 new consensus bodies of the ASB have initiated more than […]
Source: Mary McKiel, PhD In less than a year, the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) standards developing organization, the Academy Standards Board (ASB), has established 13 consensus bodies with more than 27 standards projects underway. Seven documents are already at the working draft stage and include best practice recommendations for such areas as Mass Fatality […]
Source: Teresa Ambrosius, ASB Technical Coordinator The public comment period has opened for ASB Standard 017, Standard Practices for Measurement Traceability in Forensic Toxicology. (Posted on January 10; comment period closes February 24.) This Standard Practices for Measurement Traceability in Forensic Toxicology was developed to provide guidance on minimum requirements for establishing measurement traceability in Forensic Toxicology […]
Source: Teresa Ambrosius, ASB Technical Coordinator The public comment period has opened for ASB Standard 017, Standard Practices for Measurement Traceability in Forensic Toxicology. (Posted on January 10; comment period closes February 24.) This Standard Practices for Measurement Traceability in Forensic Toxicology was developed to provide guidance on minimum requirements for establishing measurement traceability in Forensic Toxicology […]
Source: Brad Wing, MS, Secretariat, AAFS Standards Board As you may know, in 2015 the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) agreed to establish the Academy Standards Board (ASB) for the development of forensic standards when approached by the Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC). The ASB has been up and operational since the beginning […]