Aspects of Forensic Science

Prof. Dr. Arian van Asten (UvA- FNWI)

“Duizend bommen en granaten” about forensic research of explosives

Explosives have many important legal uses, especially in a military and civilian setting. But like so many human innovations, explosives are also misused for criminal and terrorist motives. Explosive raids (plofkraken), extortion, murder and terrorist attacks are often carried out using explosives. Explosions and explosives investigation is an important area of expertise within forensic chemistry. In addition to knowledge of explosives, this research requires state-of-the-art analytical chemical methods. In this presentation you will be taken into the world of forensic explosives research and the latest scientific developments in this field.

Prof. Dr. Maurice Aalders (UvA- AMC)

Young and old, in the end everything gets cold … a combination of photo-grammetry and a 3D Thermodynamic Model to Determine the Time of Death

When a deceased victim of a crime is found and there are no witnesses who can or will say anything about the events, forensic investigation experts and doctors take action to determine the time and cause of death. Currently, a single rectal temperature measurement in combination with an empirical model (Henssge’s nomogram) is used. However, in practice, many forensic cases deviate significantly from the standardized conditions for which the model was developed, so that the model’s PMI predictions are often (too) inaccurate. We present a new method, a combination of photogrammetry, to make a 3D model of the victim, and a thermodynamic finite element model, with which a much more accurate estimate of the time of death can be made.

Where & when

Tuesday October 13th 2020,  19.00- 20.00h
Via Zoom, link available upon registration at gngh.nl

Please register for this meeting on the website https://gngh.nl/bijeenkomsten/