Ten Members of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences Appointed to Forensic Science Standards Board (FSSB)

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., June 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) announces that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Department of Justice have appointed 10 of its academic research and forensic science expert members to the Forensic Science Standards Board (FSSB).  The Board is an element of the NIST's Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC). These AAFS members are among the first appointments made to the new FSSB that has been established to improve the scientific basis of forensic evidence used in the justice system.

Two AAFS past presidents, Douglas Ubelaker, Ph.D., and Barry Logan, Ph.D., are among the AAFS forensic experts who represent the research community and national forensic science professional organizations.

"AAFS is committed to the advancement of the forensic sciences and its application to the legal system.  Our focus is to promote integrity, competency and education, foster research, improve practice and encourage collaboration in the forensic sciences.  The Academy shares the common goals of the FSSB and we commend our members for their appointment to this board.  We are confident their knowledge, leadership and expertise in their respective disciplines will advance the directives of this important effort, which is intended to strengthen the practice of forensic sciences through improved practices and more consistent quality work protocols," said Daniel A. Martell, Ph.D., AAFS president.

AAFS member appointed are:

Research community representatives:

Sarah Kerrigan, Ph.D., Forensic Science Department chair, Sam Houston State University Douglas Ubelaker, Ph.D., curator, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Division of Physical AnthropologyNominated by their professional associations:

Andrew Baker, M.D., National Association of Medical Examiners standards committee chair and Hennepin County Medical Examiner, Minn. Laurel Farrell, B.A. Society of Forensic Toxicologists director and past president and American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board instructor Steven L. Johnson, B.S., International Association for Identification first vice president and Ideal Innovations Inc. certified latent print examiner/facial examiner Barry Logan, Ph.D., American Academy of Forensic Sciences past president and NMS Labs vice president of Forensic Science Initiatives and chief of Forensic Toxicology Jeremy Triplett, M.S., American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors advocacy committee chair and Kentucky State Police Forensic Laboratory supervisor Chairing the OSAC scientific area committees (SAC):

Richard Vorder Bruegge, Ph.D. – SAC IT/Multimedia; Federal Bureau of Investigation, senior photographic technologist Gregory G. Davis, M.D. – SAC Crime Scene/Death Investigation; University of Alabama at Birmingham, professor, division director, and chief coroner/medical examiner George Herrin Jr., Ph.D. – SAC Biology/DNA; Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Division of Forensic Science deputy director The American Academy of Forensic Sciences is a multi-disciplinary professional organization that provides leadership to advance science and its application to the legal system. The objectives of the Academy are to promote integrity, competency, education, foster research, improve practice, and encourage collaboration in the forensic sciences. Organized in 1948, AAFS serves a distinguished and diverse membership of 6,600 forensic science professionals who are the focal point for public information when forensic science issues are addressed in the public domain. AAFS publishes the internationally recognized Journal of Forensic Sciences. For more information visit www.aafs.org

SOURCE American Academy of Forensic Sciences

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