26 January 2010
Forensic art seminar links FBI and Dundee experts
Forensic art experts from the University of Dundee and the FBI Laboratory will present a seminar at the University of Maryland in the United States next month.
Forensic art work includes disciplines such as 3D and 2D facial reconstruction, recreating facial appearance from post-mortem images or illustrations of trauma for use in court and the creation of facial composites from eye witness description. The work has widespread use, from human identification purposes, to archaeological investigations, to work for museums and media.
The seminar will be aimed at both professional practitioners already working in the field, and students who are interested in studying forensic art. The University of Dundee and the FBI Academy are among the world leaders in the provision of forensic art services and education.
The seminar is taking place on February 11th and 12th at the Department of Art at the University of Maryland.
The professional section of the seminar will include a discussion on developing standards for professional practice in forensic art and communicating the latest research results.
The second day is open to students and will include presentations on the MSc Forensic Art course at the University of Dundee and the courses available at the FBI Laboratory.
'This is a great opportunity to establish areas of best practice across the field and also to reach out to potential new students,' said Dr Caroline Wilkinson, Senior Lecturer and Facial Anthropologist in the Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification at the University of Dundee.
NOTES TO EDITORS
The Forensic and Medical Art Research Group was formed from a dynamic collaboration between the Centre for Anatomy & Human Identification and Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, both part of the University of Dundee. Forging a link between these two disciplines the group's work has widespread applications, including human identification, archaeological investigation, medical illustration and museum & media exhibition.
The Centre is perhaps most well known for work in facial reconstruction, the process of rebuilding a face from the skull, both to aid forensic identification and archaeological investigation.
Research is at the forefront of the Centre's values and facial reconstruction methods are constantly evaluated and refined with regards to accuracy, reliability and reproducibility. In addition the Centre undertakes related research in facial recognition, anthropology, anthropometry and taphonomy.
Staff members are trained in a range of art skills from the traditional to state-of-the-art technologies. These include the application of virtual reality sculpture systems for facial reconstruction. The Centre provides forensic and medical art services both in-house and to the wider community.
For media enquiries contact:
Roddy Isles
Head, Press Office
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384910
E-MAIL: r.isles@dundee.ac.uk
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