Press Release

1 May 2002
IDENTIFYING HUMAN REMAINS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF BRADFORD

The University of Bradford's Department of Archaeological Sciences will host a two-day conference on identifying human remains on Friday, May 3 and Saturday, May 4, 2002.

This is the second BAHID Conference to be held - the first was held at the University of Glasgow last year - and has been organised by the British Association for Human Identification (BAHID).

Although this conference is being constructed around forensic anthropology, the conference organisers have ensured that there are plenty of other presentations to keep all interested.

Around 90 people will be attending the event, including students and expert practitioners, police and scientific support personnel. Photographic opportunities include a workshop on Juvenile Osteology, where rare material will be presented to students, who will then examine each aspect of the developing skeleton from the perinatal to the adult state.

Presentations include those by former Chief Superintendent, John Middlemiss, retired from the RUC, who will discuss his role and the logistics of body recovery during the Omagh bombing, while one of the UK's leading mortuary managers, Mr Robert McNeil, will talk about the complications of setting up a temporary mortuary and the necessary health and safety issues.

Other diverse subjects include forensic podiatry, the Centre for International Forensic Assistance, the Council for the Registration of Forensic Practitioners, DNA analysis and juvenile facial reconstruction. The last session on Saturday will be an open floor discussion on the future of forensic anthropology within the UK, which is expected to produce an heated debate among academics.

Programme

Friday, May 3, 2002

9.30am - 12pm Chesham Building Room BO.22. Workshop on Juvenile Osteology. Louise Scheuer and Sue Black.

1pm - 1.30pm Examination of the effects of heating, burning and cremation on the skeletal parameters of human identification: some exciting preliminary results. Tim Thompson, University of Sheffield.

1.30pm - 2pm Racial identification of juvenile remains: a geometric study of the mandible. Trudi Buck, University of Durham.

2pm - 2.30pm Friends, Romans,Countrymen.....Mickey mouse theories on ear identification. Sarah Sholl, University of Glasgow.

2.30pm - 3pm An investigation into the spatial distribution and preservation of tool marks and footwear impressions at a clandestine grave. Simon Fowler, University College, London.

3.30pm - 4pm 'Missing the point'. Discerning perimortem injury from post-mortem damage in instances of cranial vault perforation. Martin Smith, University of Birmingham.

4pm - 4.30pm Life before death. Janet McNaught, University of Durham.

4.30pm - 5pm Estimating the trauma-death interval. Anna Williams, University of Sheffield.

5pm - 5.30pm Assisting the experts: Design and implementation of computing systems for remains classification. Brooke Magnanti, University of Sheffield.

Saturday, May 4, 2002

9am - 10pm The Omagh Bombing. Chief Superintendent John Middlemiss QPM, RUC.

10am - 10.45am The Temporary Mortuary. Robert McNeil, Western Infirmary, Glasgow.

11.15am - 11.45am Council for the Registration of Forensic Practitioners. Alan Kershaw.

11.45pm - 12.15pm The Development of Forensic Podiatry in the UK. Dr Wesley Vernon, Podiatry Service, Sheffield.

12.15pm - 12.45pm CIFA - The Centre for International Forensic Assistance. Professor Peter Vanezis OBE, Director General.

1.45pm - 2.15pm DNA-analysis from Belgium and the former Yugoslavia. Doris Eerhart, Netherlands Forensic Institute.

2.15pm - 2.45pm Juvenile Facial Reconstruction. Dr Caroline Wilkinson, University of Manchester.

2.45pm - 3.15pm Skeletal trauma and fracture patterns in abused children: A clinical study of battered infants and young children. Dr Robert Pastor, University of Bradford.

3.15pm - 3.45pm The Body in the Bag. Dr Martin Evison, University of Sheffield.

It is requested that press do not turn up to any of the workshops or presentations without pre-booking with the Press Office.

Any media wishing to attend should contact Rachael Ellis in the Corporate Communications office - see contact details below.

For further information, please contact Rachael Ellis in Corporate Communications on (01274) 233084/0787 9437986 or Luisa Sanchez on (01274) 233089. Alternatively, e-mail press@bradford.ac.uk or fax on (01274) 236280.

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