EPSRC Centre welcomes leading surface metrology expert
Tue, 30 Sep 2014 11:31:00 BST
The EPSRC Centre was delighted to welcome John Song, research engineer at NIST* (National Institute of Standards and Technology) to Huddersfield recently. Mr Song talked about NIST’s Forensic Topography and Surface Metrology Project which was established in 1997 to support U.S. forensic identifications by developing novel physical standards and measurement systems.
To date, the research team has developed NIST Standard Reference Material (SRM) 2460 and 2461 for bullets and cartridge cases respectively, which are being used in the United States and foreign crime laboratories as reference standards.
The team has also developed a 2D/3D ballistics signature acquisition and correlation system for ballistics signature measurements and correlations, which was used for the NIST Ballistics Imaging Database Evaluation (NBIDE) and the National Ballistics Imaging Comparison (NBIC) project, and produced superior correlation results. From 2008 to 2011, the team established a traceability and quality system to support ballistics identifications of the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN) in the United States.
The research team is currently working on the next generation ballistics identification system characterized by high accuracy, high speed and error rate report, in a manner similar to the error rate report used for the DNA identifications.
Katie Foster, a PhD student at the EPSRC Centre who is developing forensic metrology technology for ballistic tool mark identification, and attended the lecture said: "Being able to meet Mr Song today was a fantastic opportunity. His work in the field of forensic tool mark analysis has the potential to revolutionise the field, and I found his lecture very informative and inspiring. I feel very fortunate to have met someone who is a leading expert in the field during my PhD, and I am excited for the future opportunities it gives me."
* NIST is the US’s federal technology agency that works with industry to develop and apply technology, measurements, and standards. It is the equivalent to the National Physical Laboratory in the UK.
Katie Foster, EPSRC Centre PhD student; Prof. Paul Scott; Prof. Liam Blunt; Mr John Song, NIST
