Syracuse University Project Advance (SUPA) brings two of Europe’s foremost forensic botanists to the United States this week for SUPA’s Forensic Science fall seminars. Patricia Wiltshire and David Hawksworth will be the featured speakers at the downstate seminar Wednesday, Oct. 13, on Long Island and at the upstate seminar Friday, Oct. 15, at Drumlins Country Club in Syracuse.
The professional development seminars are offered free of charge to SUPA faculty currently teaching Syracuse University’s “Forensic Science” (CHE 113) class in their high schools.
Wiltshire and Hawksworth also will speak about “the curious connections between fungi and criminal investigations” at a public lecture at 7 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 14, in room 001 of the Life Sciences Complex at SU. This talk is co-sponsored by SU’s Dialogues in Forensic Science program. SUPA teachers are invited to bring their students to Thursday’s talk.
“Patricia and David have done the seminal work to define the emerging field of forensic botany and mycology,” said James T. Spencer, Meredith Professor and associate dean for science, mathematics and research in SU’s College of Arts and Sciences. “Their expertise spans traditional biological disciplines into areas of application to the world of criminal investigations.”
Wiltshire, of the University of Aberdeen, has worked on more than 200 cases, including some of Britain’s most notorious murders, such as the Soham schoolgirl murders and the Ipswich prostitute murders. Her specialty is palynology, the study of plant pollen. Hawksworth, of the University of Gloucestershire, is a prolific author who specializes in the ecology of fungi, particularly those forming lichens.
In an article published this summer in Forensic Science International, the two—who are married—detailed how molds, mushrooms and other fungi can provide valuable evidence of location, time of death, cause of death and other key details of a crime.
“I would like to show how ecology and botany have helped in many aspects of criminal investigation and, more specifically, the role of palynological analysis,” Wiltshire says of her presentation. She and Hawksworth plan to share case studies to demonstrate both the benefits and challenges of the evolving discipline of forensic mycology.
June 05, 2012 The program, designed in collaboration with the Casting Society of America, was developed for casting students, including key professional components and core courses with fellow Tepper students.
Read more
August 24, 2012 Natalie Teale, a senior Earth sciences and geography major in Syracuse University’s College of Arts and Sciences, spent the summer as part of an immersive research experience in the cloud forest of Costa Rica.
Read more
September 13, 2012 Syracuse University today announced that it has surpassed its goal for the most ambitious fundraising effort in the institution’s history.
Read more
September 10, 2012 Civil engineering professor Cliff Davidson had a breathtaking view of the City of Syracuse from a rooftop garden recently. But it’s the possibilities of that prime location that made the experience memorable.
Read more
September 10, 2012 Trauma, psychiatric medications, family therapy, nutrition and systems reform are a sampling of the topics experts from across the country will discuss at the Children’s Mental Health Summit, September 27-29 in Syracuse.
Read more
