Lessons from forensics expert to be examined live

Published On Tue 19 Feb 2019 by Dominic Glasgow

A forensic anthropologist who helped identify victims of the 9/11 terror attack on the Pentagon, will share his lessons from the field with members of the public next week when he comes to the University of Dundee.

The internationally-renowned Bob Mann, a Professor of Anatomy and Pathology at the University of Hawaii’s School of Medicine, will deliver his talk to the public on Thursday 28 February during a visit to Dundee.

Professor Mann, who has written five books and more than 120 scientific publications, was the Deputy Scientific Director of the largest forensic skeletal identification laboratory in the world, the US Army Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii.

During his career, he has helped to recover and identify American military members killed in battle or missing in action in areas such as Vietnam, South and North Korea, Laos, Cambodia, Poland, Japan, and Russia.

He said, “Our life histories and mysteries of our deaths are written in our bones and are there for all to read if we look closely enough.”

Professor Mann will spend three weeks at the University’s Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification (CAHID) to share his extensive knowledge of forensic anthropology with students and staff, including lessons from his role in identifying victims of the Poughkeepsie murders in New York as well as the first victim of the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer and those killed in the Korean Airlines crash in Guam in 1997.

Professor Tracey Wilkinson, Cox Chair of Anatomy and Director of CAHID, said “We are delighted to have such a prestigious and experienced forensic anthropologist with us for a few weeks here in Dundee. Bob’s public lecture looks fascinating and we’re really looking forward to hearing about his work in this field.”

The lecture to the public will take place at 6 - 7pm on Thursday 28 February in the University’s Dalhousie Building. 

For media enquiries contact:
Dominic Glasgow
Media Relations Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
Tel: +44 (0)1382 385131
Email: d.w.glasgow@dundee.ac.uk