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Forensic Science

Projects/Programs

Displaying 1 - 25 of 56

Aerodynamic Flow Visualization

Ongoing
Other videos: How Well Do Masks Work? (Schlieren Imaging In Slow Motion!) 3 Ways Of Seeing Invisible Air Flow (Veritasium) The Air You Share | All in This Together Publications "Filter Inserts Impact Cloth Mask Performance against Nano- to Micro-Sized Particles" James G. Radney, Jamie L. Weaver
footwear imprint image

Building Trust in Forensic Science: Footwear Analysis

Ongoing
Starting in 2015, SED staff members began reviewing published literature on the recommended practice for forensic examiners to provide likelihood ratios (LRs) as a weight of evidence to summarize their findings in reports or testimony. While several stated motivations for providing likelihood ratios
CADS Logo

Characterized Authentic Drug Samples (CADS)

Ongoing
Project Overview The CADS project aims to provide academic researchers, forensic practitioners, and industry with curated and characterized panels of authentic seized drug samples for research, development, validation, and implementation purposes. In addition to making authentic samples available
Cannabis Buds

Chemical Foundations for a Cannabis Breathalyzer

Ongoing
NIST's initial work in cannabis science was a series of measurements of the vapor pressure of two important cannabinoids: delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). Our current effort is funded in part by interagency agreements with the National Institute of Justice and by the NIST

Clinical and Forensic Reference Materials

Ongoing
Below is a listing of the reference materials currently produced by the Applied Genetics group. Clinical Diagnostics SRM 2393 - CAG Repeat Length Mutation in Huntington`s Disease SRM 2365 - BK Virus DNA Quantitative Standard SRM 2366a - Cytomegalovirus DNA (Towne Δ147 BAC) for DNA SRM 2367 - JC

Decontamination of Biological Threats in Water Supplies

Completed
The outcome of the project was to provide the EPA with a technical resource document that could be used to guide emergency responders and for longer-term microbial decontamination of building water systems. This project was done in collaboration with the Building and Fire Research Laboratory (BFRL)
Instrumentation that create and read droplets for digital PCR measurements.

Digital PCR

Ongoing
With appropriately validated assays, digital polymerase chain reaction (dPCR) determines the number of DNA targets (copies) per reaction partition, without the need for a standard curve. Reaction partitions can be in the form of fixed chambers in a microfluidic device, referred to as chamber digital
A plot of data representing the peaks from a three person DNA profile

DNA Mixture Interpretation

Ongoing
Interlaboratory Studies Mixture interlaboratory studies provide a means to assess a laboratory's ability to process and interpret DNA mixtures. Initial ‘Mixed Stain’ studies (published in 2001) provided physical samples for DNA profiling with the first commercial STR typing tests. Later, mixture
Graphic of a head shadowed by another head in blue and the inner head has where the brain would be has gold points with gold lines connecting them and there is a blue and gold double helix representing DNA on the left bottom of a circle going around both heads.

DNA Technical Leader Survey

Ongoing
Please click here to start the survey The survey is now live and will close on June 17, 2022 (deadline has been extended). It is open to both U.S. and international agencies. It is to be completed by one person from each DNA laboratory – the Technical Leader (or equivalent). Frequently Asked

Drug Analysis - Opioids and Emerging Threats

Ongoing
Package Interdiction Many synthetic opioids and novel psychoactive substances enter the country through international mail. Research in this area focuses on measurement challenges associated with detection and analysis of these packages at the point of seizure in international mail facilities
Graphic of a head shadowed by another head in blue and the inner head has where the brain would be has gold points with gold lines connecting them and there is a blue and gold double helix representing DNA on the left bottom of a circle going around both heads.

Expert Working Group on Human Factors in Forensic DNA Interpretation

Completed
Forensic DNA interpretation is widely regarded as a critical tool in modern criminal investigations, often seen as the gold standard of forensic evidence due to its potential to help link individuals to crime scenes. The process begins with the collection and preservation of DNA samples—from blood
Ammunition metal box with explosives sticker.

Explosives Decomposition Chemistry

Completed
Intended Impact Computational modeling and simulation will help in the invention of new explosives, the design of compounded mixtures of existing materials, and the engineering of delivered systems such as military ordnance. Objective Detailed chemistry is a necessary part of computational

Fingerprint Chemistry

Ongoing
Verification Test Materials (VTMs) for Fingerprint Developing Reagents The forensic community has no quantifiable QA/QC method for determining the efficacy of fingerprint developing reagents prior to use in casework. Reagents can be exposed to environmental conditions in the field that can expedite

Fire Debris and Explosives

Ongoing
Fire Debris Fire debris analysis involves the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data of debris collected from fire scenes. Samples are typically analyzed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry which results in a complicated chromatogram that must be interpreted. Projects in this area are
NMR-Tubes

Fluid Phase Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Spectroscopy

Ongoing
In-situ vapor-liquid equilibrium (VLE). We are applying vapor-phase NMR to measure VLE in-situ . We are currently applying this methodology to industrially important systems such as refrigerants and natural gas. The most widely used refrigerants have high global warming potential. Drop-in

Forensic Chemistry

Ongoing
Drug Analysis - Opioids and Emerging Threats This program primarily seeks to support the needs of the > 400 publicly funded state, local, and tribal forensic laboratories in the United States. The increased complexity of the analysis needed to keep pace with these emerging threats has resulted in
The inside of a DNA extraction robot hold tube in a rack

Forensic Genetics

Ongoing
Since the late 1980s, NIST has had scientists involved in DNA testing (aka "DNA Fingerprinting"). Early concerns over measurement accuracy and poor quality control of forensic DNA tests caused the Department of Justice to call upon NIST scientists to help with standards development and technology
Composite photo shows a holdup note on the left labeled "Questioned Handwriting," with two "Known Samples" on the right.

Forensic Handwriting Examination and Human Factors

Completed
For some 6,000 years, humans have made an indelible mark on history through the loops, strokes, and other characters that constitute the written form of language—handwriting. Whether it is the movement of a stylus inscribing wet clay or the motion of a pen across paper, handwriting is one of the
Photo of broken laminated windshield glass

Glass Evidence Analysis

Ongoing
Quantitative XRF Glass Database Recent research efforts in the forensic trace field have focused on the development of databases to assign a significance to forensic evidence (i.e., to report the strength of an association or exclusion). In the forensic analysis of glass using µ-XRF, samples are
Illustration with a stylized representation of an atom with electron orbits superimposed on a colorful periodic table of the elements.

High-Precision Isotopic Reference Materials

Ongoing
A new generation of multi-collector IRMS, utilizing both inductively coupled plasma and thermal ionization sample sources, is now capable of measuring isotope ratios with extremely high precision – a few parts in 10 6. This new measurement capability has caused a minor revolution in the use of
Blue fingerprints on a green and white background

Human Factors in Latent Print Analysis

Completed
Fingerprint analysis is critical to the success of the nation's criminal justice system. In fact, fingerprints left at a crime scene — referred to as latent prints — are the most common type of forensic science evidence and have been used in criminal investigations for more than 100 years. The

Illicit Narcotics Detection

Ongoing
“Method for evaluating ion mobility spectrometers for trace detection of fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances”, Jennifer R Verkouteren, Jeffrey Lawrence, R Michael Verkouteren and Edward Sisco, Analytical Methods, 11(47), 6043-6052 (2019). “Discriminative potential of ion mobility spectrometry

ITL Forensic Science Program

Ongoing
The principal goals of the Program are to develop standards, measurement methods, tests, validation studies, and technology to: Better understand and improve the accuracy and reliability of forensic science. Provide scientifically validated bases for forensic methods and standards. Establish
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