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Geological Materials Subcommittee
Officers | Members | Standards | Discipline-Specific Baseline Documents | Research & Development Needs | Presentations
The Geological Materials Subcommittee focuses on standards and guidelines related to the collection, analysis, reporting, and interpretation of soils and other geological materials.
Officers
Andrew Bowen, Subcommittee Chair, U.S. Postal Inspection Service
Brad Lee, Ph.D., Subcommittee Vice Chair, University of Kentucky
Kim Mooney, Ph.D., Subcommittee Executive Secretary, Defense Forensic Science Center (including U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory)
Members
Hal Arkes, Ohio State University (Human Factors Representative)
Christopher Bernhardt, Ph.D., U.S. Geological Survey
Jason Chin, Alameda County District Attorney's Office (Legal Resource Representative)
David Green, Lake County Crime Laboratory (Quality Infrastructure Representative)
Ethan Groves, Microtrace LLC
Jack Hietpas, Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University
Wayne C. Isphording, Self-employed
Heather Lowers, U.S. Geological Survey
Alex Rugh, State of Colorado
Ian Saginor, Federal Bureau of Investigation
William Schneck, Self-employed
Michael A. Smith, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Libby Stern, Ph.D., Federal Bureau of Investigation
David Szymanski, Ph.D., Bentley University
Roadmap of Documents
Standards
Tier 1: On the OSAC Registry
- None currently.
Tier 2: Published by an SDO
- None currently.
Tier 3: Sent to an SDO
- Standard Practice for the Determination and Comparison of Color by Visual Observation in Forensic Soil Examination (ASTM WK70035).
- Standard Guide for the Collection of Soils and Other Geological Evidence for Forensic Applications (ASTM WK70187).
The Geological Materials Subcommittee, in collaboration with the University of Kentucky, the FBI, and the IUGS-Initiative of Forensic Geology have developed a Forensic Soil Evidence Collection Training Video to accompany the draft Standard Guide for the Collection of Soils and Other Geological Evidence for Forensic Applications. Learn more about this project by reading our news story.
Tier 4: Under Development
- Standard Guide for Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)/ Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) Analysis of Soils and Geological Materials for Forensic Applications.
- Standard Guide for Polarized Light Microscopy of Soils and Geological Materials for Forensic Applications.
- Standard Guide for X-Ray Diffraction of Soils and Geological Materials for Forensic Applications.
Discipline-Specific Baseline Documents
- None currently.
Research & Development Needs
- See the Research & Development Needs identified by the Geological Materials subcommittee.
Presentations
- None currently.
In general, the development of standards and guidelines is transitioning from the Scientific Working Groups (SWGs) to the OSAC. Some SWGs will continue to operate to provide other resources within their discipline. The existing SWG documents will remain in effect until updated documents are disseminated by the OSAC or the SWG. SWGDAM will retain the responsibility for updating the FBI DNA Quality Assurance Standards.
– Forensic Science Standards Board: March 2015