agenciessitelink

fessionaldevelopment.
Manyofthepeoplewetrainaretransitional,notnecessarilynewtoscience,butnewtoforensictechnology.
Forexample,agreatenvironmentalchemistwhohasbeendoingworkonthefringeofforensicsciencemightnowdecidetoworkinalaboratorythatworksfororsupportsthegovernmentinenvironmen-talforensicscience.
Thatpersonalreadyhasthescientificbackground,butneedsfurtherprofessionaltraininginaspecificdiscipline.
Buttermore:Manyuniversitieshaveanaccreditationbody.
IsthereanequivalentkindofbodyforprofessionaldevelopmentoutsideofacademiaLothridge:Certificationofforensicanalystsisvoluntaryandnotmandated,exceptforafewstates.
ThisiswhythereisnorealContinuingEducationUnit(CEU)approvalbody.
Yearsago,theNSFTCcreatedaCEUprogram,butitnevertookoffbecauselawdidn'trequireit.
Thereisnolicenserequired,butthismaysoonchange.
However,thisisnottrueofDNAanalysis,whichisthefieldwherethelargestnumberofnewcandidatesisbeinghired.
TheU.
S.
hasfederallymandatedlegislationthatrequiresDNAanalyststohaveatleasteighthoursofcontinuedprofessionaldevelopmenteachyear.
Nootherforensicdisciplinehassuchamandate.
Forotherscientificworkinggroupssuchasdrugidentificationspecial-ists,eighthoursofcontinualtrainingissuggested,butnotmandated.
Buttermore:HowdoorganizationsliketheNFSTCbringbenefitstotheforensiccom-munityandhowdothesebenefitsrelatetoyourmissionstate-mentRecently,WayneButtermore,MarketingManagerforForensicMicroscopy,LeicaMicrosys-tems,hadthedistincthonorofinterviewingKevinLothridge,ExecutiveDirectoroftheNationalForensicScienceTechnologyCenter(NFSTC)tohearhisperspectivesoncontinuingeducationintheforensicsciencecommunity.
AstheExecutiveDirectoroftheNFSTC,Lothridgeisresponsibleforoverseeinggovernmentalrelationsandnewbusinessopportunities.
LothridgehasaBSinForensicScienceandanMSinManagement,andhehasheldthepositionsofchiefforensicchemistandlaboratorydirector.
Hisexpertiseincludestheareasofdrugchemistry,firedebrisanalysis,anddetectiondogs.
Lothridge,aformerPresidentoftheAmericanSocietyofCrimeLaboratoryDirectors(ASCLD),isalsotheformerActingChiefoftheInvestigativeandForensicDivisionofTheNationalInstituteofJustice(NIJ)andstillworkscloselywithNIJtoensurethatprogramsdeliveredbytheNFSTCmeettheneedsoftheforensiccommunity.
WayneButtermoreandKevinLothridgediscusstheopportunitiesthatexistincontinuingeducationtodayandhowtheNFSTCusesitsexpertisetoprovidebenefitsandovercomechallengesincontinuingprofessionaldevelopmentamongtheforensicsciencecommunity:Buttermore:WhatarethechallengesthattheNFSTCfaceswithregardtothechangingtechnologiesofforensicscienceLothridge:Everyyeartechnologychangesandthepeoplewhoarecurrentlyinthefieldperformingforensicworkneedcontinuingpro-1April2008No8continuedonpage2APowerfulVisionScienceServingJusticeAnInterviewwiththeExecutiveDirectoroftheNFSTC,KevinLothridgeByWayneButtermore,LeicaMicrosystemsProductManager,ForensicMicroscopyKevinLothridgeContentsAPowerfulVision.
page1"Crime360"page3TipsandTricks.
page3IndustryNews.
page4NothingRemainsInvisible.
page42APowerfulVisioncontinuedfrompage1OOOLothridge:Ourvisionis"fortheforensicsciencecommunityanditsuserstohavecompleteconfidenceinthequalityofthescienceservicesprovidedtothejusticecommunityasitstrivestoensurethepublicsafety.
"Ourjobistoprovidetechnicalassistanceandtrainingtosupportthepublic-fundedcrimelaboratory,whichinturn,supportsthegeneralpublic.
Ourmissionstatesthat,"wearededicatedtosupportingthejusticecommunityinensuringthepublicsafetybyassistingtheforensicsciencesintheachievementofthehighestlevelofqualityservices.
"Ourgoalistohelpthebenchworkertoaccuratelydohisorherjob.
Ienjoythefeelingofprovidingsupporttothenation'scrimelaboratoriessotheycanbetterassistinensuringpublicsafety.
Buttermore:IsthereanyothercomparableorganizationtoyoursintheU.
S.
orintheworldLothridge:TheNationalInstituteofForensicScienceinAustraliaissimilartotheNSFTC.
Wearebothgovernmentsupportedandnon-profit.
TheNSFTCistheonlyorganizationintheUnitedStates,thatIamawareof,thatiscomprisedofmembersintheforensiccommunityandacademicinstitutionsandledbyaBoardofDirectorstoguideanddelivertrainingthroughoutthe50UnitedStatesandtwoterritories.
MostotherforensicorganizationsintheU.
S.
arehostedbyuniversitiesorarecommittedtotheirmembershipbelongingtoaparticularstate.
Buttermore:WhatarethecurrenttrendsincreatingcontinuingprofessionaldevelopmentprogramsandhowdoesthataffectyourorganizationbothtechnicallyandthroughfundingLothridge:Historically,therehasbeenahighdemandfortrainingwithamentor/traineestructure,whereanexternalpersonprovidedthetraining.
However,therearesimplynotenoughtrainerstoaddresstheneed.
Furthermore,inmanylawenforcementagencieswherecrimelaboratoriesreside,budgetcutsoccur.
Trainingbudgetsareusuallythefirstthingtobecutbecausetrainingiscostly.
TheNFSTCtriestoaddressthisissuewithavarietyofonlinetrainingoptions.
Welookatablendedmethodologytohandlethischallenge.
Wetrainwiththemotto"teachonce;usemany.
"Weincorporateavarietyoftechnology-basedtoolsanddeveloptrainingusingpodcastsandwebsitesbecausethetrainee'sabilitytoaccesstrainingissignifi-cantlyexpandedwhenavarietyofdeliveryoptionsareavailable.
Thetrainingcanbedeliveredtopeopleattheirownworkstationsandthenreviewedbytheirmentors.
Traineescanlinktoatestbank,register,takeatest,andtheresultscanbedeliveredtotheirsupervisors.
Weenhancethelearningexperiencewithamixtureofanimation,videoclips,andinteractivetools,andstructurethecontenttobesuitableforinitialtraining,reviewtraining,andongoingcompetencytraining.
Theyoungergeneration,whogrewupwithlaptopsandmediaplayers,wantsinformationthatisaccessedviaindexmap;theywantinformationattheirfingertips.
(Seehttp://projects.
nfstc.
org)Buttermore:DoyouuseanonlineformattotrainlargergroupsofpeopleLothridge:Wehavetobeinventiveinthistechnologicalagetoensurethatwearemeetingtheneedsofabroadgroupofstakehold-ers.
Althoughitmightnotbeexactlythesameexperienceasaphysicalclassroom,WebExisoneconferencetoolwiththecapabili-tyofdisplayingmaterialonline,allowingustoprovideinstructiontohundredsofpeoplesimultaneously.
WebExalsopermitsparticipantstoaskquestions,whichcanthenbeansweredbyamoderatorfordisplaytotherequesteronlyortoallparticipants.
Thetraineecanarchivethesessionsandplaythemagainanytime.
Thematerialwecancoverinatwo-hourtrainingsessionisequaltothatofafulldayoftraining.
Thetraineedoesn'tloseafulldayofworkortraveltime.
Wearebigbelieversincollaborativetoolsthatallowyoutointeractwiththepersonandtheinstrumentationfromadistance.
LeicaMicrosystemswouldliketoexpressitsappreciationtoKevinLothridgeforhisinsightonqualitytrainingandeducationfortheforensicscienceprofessional.
"Ienjoythefeelingofprovidingsupporttothenation'scrimelaboratoriessotheycanbetterassistinensuringpublicsafety.
"–KevinLothridge,ExecutiveDirectoroftheNFSTCHistoryoftheNFSTCTheNationalForensicScienceTechnologyCenter(NFSTC)isa501(c)3not-for-profitcorporationestablishedin1995bytheAmericanSocietyofCrimeLaboratoryDirectors(ASCLD).
TheASCLDboardmembersenvisionedacompanythatwouldbeindependentoftheirorganizationandabletoprovidequalitysystemssupport,training,andeducationtotheforensicsciencecommunityintheUnitedStates.
TheLeicaGeosystemsScanStation,astate-of-the-artforensic3Dlaserscannerthatenablesinvestigatorstoremotelymeasure,model,anddiagramcrimesceneswithamazingdetailisprominentlyfeaturedinthenewA&EReal-Lifeseries,"Crime360.
""Crime360,"airingweeklyonThursdaysat10PMonA&E,takesviewersinsideac-tualinvestigationsastheyunfoldusingad-vancedcuttingedgeforensictechnologyincludingtheLeicaScanStation.
TheScanStationmakesmillionsof3Dmeasurementsinjustminutes,andbydoingsopreservesthecrimesceneexactlythewayinwhichthefirstresponderfoundit,forever.
Longafterthescenehasbeenforensicallyexaminedandreleased,investigatorscanvirtuallyreturntothesceneofthecrimetomakeadditionalmeasurementsortoverifywhatwitnessescouldhaveseenbasedupontheaccuratelymappedphysicalenvironment.
Thedatacanalsobeusedtocreatecompellingjuryexhibitsandanimationswhichenablejurorstoeasilyunderstandthelayoutofacrimescene.
ThetechnologyhasbeenadoptedbyleadinglawenforcementagenciessuchastheCaliforniaHighwayPatrol,theAlbuquerquePoliceDepartment,andtheLosAngelesCountySheriff'sDepartment.
ThroughCRIME360amuchbroaderaudiencewillcometounder-standthevalueofLeica3Dlaserscanningasaninvestigativetoolforhomicides,officerinvolvedshootings,crashinvestigations,andeventhepreventionandprotectionagainstterrorism.
LeicaGeosystemsrecentlylauncheditsforensicandpublicsafetywebsiteandtheresponsefromthelawenforcementcommunityhasbeentremen-dous.
Thesitelinkiswww.
leica-geosystems.
us/forensic.
3Crime360LeicaGeosystemsForensic3DLaserScannerShowcasedinNewA&EReal-LifeSeries"CRIME360"byTonyGrissim,PublicSafety&ForensicAccountManager,LeicaGeosystemsLeicaScanStationbyLeicaGeoayatemsLEDanddiffuserTipsandTricksWhenviewingcertainsamplesunderLEDillumination,therecanbespecularreflectionbecauseofthemultipleLEDelementsfocusedonthespecimen.
OnewayofdealingwiththisproblemistoplaceadiffuseroverthefrontoftheLEDelements.
Onesimple,inexpensive(free)waytodothisistouseaKimwipessheet(delicatewipersmadebyKimberly-Clark)overtheLED.
TheKimwipecanbeaffixedwitharubberbandorwire.
Thesecondmethodistousesmallfrostedcondimentcups(shownhere:soufflecup2.
0oz.
)fixedoverthefrontoftheLEDelementstodiffusethelight.
Thisquick-fixdiffusesthemulti-elementspotillumi-nationsystemandprovidessimilarilluminationtothefluorescenttubeilluminators.
Illuminationintensityisnotsignificantlychanged,andthecontrastimprovesbyreducingthefullysaturatedspecularreflection.
LEDwithoutdiffuserOOOOOOManagingLEDIlluminationbyWayneButtermore,LeicaMicrosystemsProductManager,ForensicMicroscopyWithcloseto200yearsofpioneeringsolutionstomeasuretheworld,LeicaGeosystemsproductsandservicesaretrustedbyprofessionalsworldwidetohelpthemcapture,analyze,andpresentspatialinformation.
LeicaGeosystemsisbestknownforitsbroadarrayofproductsthatcaptureaccurately,modelquickly,analyzeeasily,andvisualizeandpresentspatialinformation.
The2008MAAFSAnnualMeeting,hostedbyMarshallUniversity,withbeheldatthePullmanPlazainHuntington,WV,April28–May2,2008.
Moreinformation:www.
maafs.
orgWithtoday'sexplosionoftelevisionprogramsandmediacoverageofthelatestadvancementsintheforensicsciences,studentsarefasci-natedwiththeworkoftheforensicscientist.
Wishingtofosterastrongerinterestinsciencelearningamongournation'syoungpeo-ple,theAmericanAcademyofForensicSciencesnowco-sponsorsForensicScienceEducationalConferencestoincreasescienceteachers'knowledgeoftheforensicsciencesandtoassistthemastheyenrichand/ordevelopchallenging,innovativecurricula.
Thirteenconferenceshavebeenconductedthusfar,andthreemoreareplannedfor2008:FloridaGulfCoastUniversity:May2-4,2008SaintLouisUniversity:July21-23,2008MichiganStateUniversity:August4-7,2008Moreinformation:www.
aafs.
orgAFTE's39thAnnualTrainingSeminarwillbeheldMay18-23,2008inHonolulu.
OahuisthethirdlargestislandinHawaiiandishometonumeroushistoriclandmarks,suchastheIolaniPalaceandtheUSSArizonaMemorialatPearlHarbor,whichshedlightonthefascinat-ingpastofHawaii.
ThenewlyrenovatedAlaMoanaHotelisjuststepsawayfromtheAlaMoanaCenter,thelargestopen-airmallinAmerica,andconvenientlylocatedneartheAlaMoanaBeachParkandWaikiki.
Moreinformation:www.
afte.
orgTheMcCroneResearchInstitutecordiallyinvitesyoutoparticipateinInter/Micro2008,aninternationallyrecognizedprofessionalmeetingdedicatedtoappliedmicroscopy.
ThemeetingwillbeheldJuly7-11,2008attheMillenniumKnickerbockerHotelinChicago,IL.
Moreinformation:www.
mcri.
orgThe2008ASQDEMeetingwillbeheldAugust16-21,2008attheRenaissanceAshevilleHotelinAsheville,NC.
TheProgramChairforthismeetingisGrantSperry,andtheSiteChairisCharlotteWare.
Themeetingwillincludepresentationsandworkshopsrelatedtothefieldofforensicdocumentexamination.
Themeetingwillalsoincludeanoptionaleveningtriptotheworld-famousBiltmoreEstate.
Attendanceislimitedtomembersandinvitedguests.
Moreinformation:www.
asqde.
orgEditor-in-Chief:MollyBakerManagingEditors:PamJandura,WayneButtermoreGraphicDesign:M.
N.
KennedyContributingEditor:TonyGrissimSpecialThanks:KevinLothridgeEditorialStaffNote:Weareinterestedinyourcommentsandthoughtsaboutthenewsletter.
Pleasefeelfreetoemailyourcommentstomolly.
baker@leica-microsystems.
com.
OOO4IndustryNewsOOOThe2008AnnualMeetingoftheSouthernAssociationofForensicScientistswillbeheldSeptember21-26,2008atSam'sTowninShreveport,Louisiana.
Sam'sTownislocatedonthehistoricRedRiverindowntownShreveport,justblocksfrommuseums,BotanicalGardens,theIMAXTheater,andFestivalPlaza.
Moreinformation:www.
southernforensic.
orgThe2008MidwesternAssociationofForensicScientists37thAnnualMeetingwillbeheldSeptember28-October3,2008attheHotelFortDesMoinesindowntownDesMoines,IA,onlyashortdistancetomanyrestaurantsandentertainmentoptions.
Moreinformation:www.
mafs.
orgClickbelowtoentertheLeicaMicrosystemsPhotoContest!
Sendusyourmostbeautifulapplicationphoto,takenwithaLeicaMicrosystemsmicroscope,andhavethechancetowinourquarterlyprize!
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leica-microsystems.
comNothingRemainsInvisible!