Pattern evidence

The NIJ Forensic Science Research and Development Symposium is an open meeting where attendees can learn about NIJ-funded research across a variety of forensic science areas. This is one of five videos from the 2024 symposium, which was held September 19, 2024.

Welcome to our virtual poster session! The Forensic Technology Center of Excellence (FTCoE) would like to highlight student research in the forensic sciences! The FTCoE is grateful for all the universities, faculty, and students who took the time to prepare poster presentations for submission to this year’s event. We recognize your hard work, and we are here to celebrate and learn from your research.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on September 22, 2022.

Firearms identification is undergoing a major change in capability with the adoption of optical topography, which provides a 3D view of the surface of a bullet or cartridge case to capture the full range of subclass and individual characteristics.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on January 10, 2018.
 

This webinar will explore the interaction of blood with the multiple structures that occur within a simple textile and how these structures affect small bloodstains.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on September 12, 2018.

The results of a bloodstain pattern analysis are communicated through written reports and courtroom testimony.  Principles of communication science will be discussed and explained to develop the audience’s ability to transfer meaning through writing and verbal testimony.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on December 11, 2019.

This Webinar presented a fully-automated 3D imaging technology that can capture 3D fine features at approximately 137 ppi (pixels per inch) within a couple of seconds. This technology was tailored for tire and shoe impression capture but with the potential for other evidence collection.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on October 23, 2019.

Forensic science research and development plays a key role in the advancement of the practice of forensic science, as noted by the 2009 National Academies of Science report “Strengthening Forensic Sciences in the United States: A Path Forward.”

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on February 26, 2019.

This webinar will discuss the challenges and opportunities regarding the implementation of the NIBIN program. The NIBIN program has the potential to find links in cases involving firearms that can quickly assist in an investigation.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on January 24, 2019.

The webinar will introduce those laboratory managers with fire debris analysis sections to the nuances of fire debris analysis. This is the third webinar in the ASCLD Train the Director Webinar Series.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on February 7, 2019.
 

Residential structure fires are predominantly fueled by synthetic contents and commonly become ventilation-limited.  Therefore accounting for the impact of ventilation on fire is important. Examining flow paths within the structure can aide in fire pattern analysis.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on June 10, 2020. 

This presentation described, presented the results of, and discussed a recent black box study to establish an error rate estimate for palm comparisons. These results provided the first step in establishing the foundational validity of palmar comparisons, as defined by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) report.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on March 12, 2020. 

In this study, firearms examiners were asked to use traditional microscopic methods to identify unknown bullets to the appropriate barrels. Additionally, 3D scans of these bullets were used in a matching algorithm to find similarity scores between bullets. Error rates were determined and the potential for subclass carry-over among the barrels was evaluated. 

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on December 16, 2021.

This webinar will expand examiners' awareness of additional areas of interest for identification purposes. Two previously undocumented toolmarks were observed in Glock pistols and could potentially be used for other make/model pistols. These new toolmarks will expand an examiner’s ability to compare fired and unfired ammunition components to each other or to a suspect firearm.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on December 12, 2021.

This study assesses the production of subclass characteristics during the manufacturing of breech faces. Observations on how well subclass characteristics persist on manufactured breech faces with and without any finishing methods as well as the effect of the primer on the quality/quantity of the breech face impressions will be discussed.    

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on December 9, 2021.

This webinar will provide an opportunity to discuss some of the post-SWGTREAD considerations for articulating findings (interpretations, limitations, opinions, and results) as well as a platform to exchange thoughts, consider suggested conclusion structures, and observe examples related to articulating footwear evidence conclusions.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on September 30, 2021.