Conference explores materials technology

'Materials in Forensic Science' is the theme of a conference being hosted this month by The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, supported by the Forensic Science Society.

The event takes place on Wednesday 7th May at the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, 1 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5DB.

As the field of forensic science becomes ever more sophisticated, new advances in materials technology and analytical techniques are set to play an increasingly important role.

Methodologies developed in the laboratory need to be optimised and fully developed for the forensic environment before they become suitable for practical use in forensic science, where often only minute quantities of materials are available.

In the area of fingerprint technology, the detection of latent fingerprints on a variety of surfaces, often affected by fire or heat damage has resulted from developments in the application of materials technology, and the use of nanotechnology has resulted in an increasingly detailed picture of such things as the ethnic background and lifestyle habits of the owner of the fingerprint.

Analytical Techniques, such as ion beam analysis, are highly sensitive to trace elements and show how minute traces of material can be identified to detect, for example, the result of poisoning, or the composition of inks in artwork or on bank notes. Surface texture analysis of quartz grains can identify material carried on the soles of shoes and be used to track a person's movements, and spectroscopy techniques can link shot from the scene of a crime to the criminal.

In the Forensic Archaeology an overview of developments in this discipline will be followed by some detailed descriptions of how human skeletal remains can be used to reveal incredible details about their owner, and also how bone can be used specifically as a forensic material.
Finally, the fraud and counterfeiting session looks at how carbon isotope ratio measurements can detect drug counterfeits, how the authenticity of artwork can be verified by the microscopic analysis of materials and pigments, and how counterfeit coins can be identified.

Registration details for this event are available at:
www.iom3.org/events/forensic

For further details contact:

Dawn Bonfield at
dawn.bonfield@iom3.org