Research
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A helping hand for Midwest crime labs In the Midwest, as in most of the United States, crime laboratories struggle with growing caseloads, personnel shortages and a chronic space crunch. The criminalists who work in these labs have their hands full analyzing evidence as quickly as possible, leaving them no time to develop new equipment and techniques that could enhance the speed and accuracy of their investigations. That's where DOE's Ames Laboratory and Iowa State University's Institute for Physical Research and Technology hope to come in. The two organizations are collaborating on a proposal to establish a regional forensics support and research facility at ISU. The proposed Midwest Forensics Resource Center would draw on the expertise of faculty and staff members at Ames Laboratory and IPRT, a network of 11 multidisciplinary research and technology-development centers on the Iowa State campus. Ames Laboratory is part of the IPRT network. The forensics proposal has received $44,000 in seed funding from IPRT to begin developing the partnerships needed to launch the facility, and organizers are working to identify funding sources for the center. David Baldwin, director of Ames Laboratory's Environmental and Protection Sciences Program and a participant in the proposal, said the forensics center would serve three main purposes. First, it would be an arena for the development of new analytical techniques and tools for forensic investigators as well as providing an outlet for technologies developed at Ames Laboratory and other DOE laboratories. Second, Iowa State students could work at the facility to gain valuable training prior to graduation, making them more attractive as potential employees. Finally, the center would serve as a regional training facility and resource for local and federal agencies. The regional aspect of the forensics center will be crucial to its success, Baldwin said. "We don't want to be a burden to any of the states in the Midwest, especially Iowa," he said. "We don't want to be a drain on resources that might otherwise go to the crime laboratories. The center needs to be a regional laboratory that's funded nationally." Scientists at Ames Lab and IPRT have already begun laying some of the groundwork for the center through forensics research projects for the FBI, DOE and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations. To find out how the proposed center could best serve crime laboratories, Baldwin and the other organizers have invited forensic investigators from eight Midwestern states and four federal agencies to a meeting at Ames Laboratory on May 26. The crime-lab representatives will provide input on the types of research, services and training that would be most helpful to their facilities, as well as brainstorming about funding sources for the proposed center. One of the forensic investigators who plans to attend is Carl Bessman, a criminalist with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations. Bessman said the research assistance his crime lab has already received from IPRT and Ames Lab has proven valuable. "Ultimately, applying good science to the casework is our most important responsibility," he said. Submitted by DOE's Ames Laboratory
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