Events

Conferences

FIRMS Conference 2016

Location: Auckland, New Zealand

When: 18-23 September 2016

The 6th FIRMS Network Conference was held in conjunction with the 23rd ANZFSS International Symposium on the Forensic Sciences. Prior to the formal opening of the ANZFSS/FIRMS conference, members of the steering group (Jim Carter, Lesley Chesson, Sean Doyle and Phil Dunn) presented a half-day workshop entitled “Crime and Stable Isotopes” (CSI). Attendees came from five continents and represented a broad cross-section of the stable isotope community including law enforcement, research labs, and instrument manufacturers. The workshop outlined areas in which stable isotope forensics have been successfully applied to solving crime, but the main focus was on what turns stable isotope data into reliable evidence – traceability, quality standards, measurement uncertainty and methods of data analysis.

 ANZFSS and FIRMS Conference
The official welcoming ceremony to the ANZFSS symposium included a brief welcome from FIRMS Chair Phil Dunn in which he encouraged non-isotope specialists to come along to the FIRMS stream of the conference as well as for FIRMS stalwarts to head over to other sessions to see if isotope analysis might be of use. There was a strong cultural element to the ceremony as New Zealand is rightly proud of its Maori heritage. The FIRMS conference kicked off with a Keynote from Gabe Bowen (Spatio-Temporal Isotope Analytics Lab group at the University of Utah). Sessions included talks on a variety of topics: illicit drugs; explosives; packaging materials; hair, fingernails and other human remains; and palm oil, as well as more general aspects of forensic IRMS analysis including new software and measurement uncertainty considerations. Researchers based in New Zealand also presented on isotopic analyses of Maori dog-coat cloaks as well as a project using analytical methods to trace the source of mud traditionally used to dye flax – again highlighting the history of New Zealand and linking modern analytical methods to historic traditions.

Conference Prize Winners
Jennifer Mallette – Best Oral
Christy Manusco – Highly Commended Oral
Brett Tipple – Best poster

Member Felicity Koens, who is a chemist for the Australian Federal Police, was presented with the prestigious Ian Riebeling Memorial Medal. The winner of this award is selected from a pool of presenters who are in the first five years (or part-time equivalent) of their employment as a forensic practitioner. Her presentation to the symposium was entitled “A background survey of polymers in the Australian Capital Territory – diversity in isotopic abundance values.”

See: Special issue of the journal Science & Justice published after the meeting