If you have followed this blog for a while, you know that forensic science as practiced today is not unlike the Wild Wild West. Here is a post on my thoughts and impressions on the NIST OSAC structure.

Why you should be impressed with the NIST OSAC structure: The taming of the Wild Wild West

The analogy used was that of a ship and NIST as a tugboat.

Applications will soon be accepted by the NIST OSAC structure. There are over 500 positions available. Here is the structure:

Here are the various OSAC subcommittees and Committees:

• Anthropology Subcommittee
• Bloodstain Pattern Analysis Subcommittee
• Controlled Substances Subcommittee
• Disaster Victim Identification Subcommittee
• DNA Analysis 2 (Interpretation) Subcommittee
• DNA Analysis 1 (Methods) Subcommittee
• Dogs and Sensors Subcommittee
• Facial Identification Subcommittee
• Firearms & Toolmarks Subcommittee
• Fire Debris and Explosives Subcommittee
• Fire Scene and Explosives Scene Subcommittee
• Footwear & Tire Tread Subcommittee
• Friction Ridge Subcommittee
• Geological Materials Subcommittee
• Gun Shot Residue Subcommittee
• Human Factors Committee
• Imaging Technologies Subcommittee
• Legal Resource Committee
• Materials/Trace Subcommittee
• Medical/Legal Death Investigation Subcommittee
• Odontology Subcommittee
• Quality Infrastructure Committee
• Questioned Documents Subcommittee
• Scientific Area Committee (SAC) Biology/DNA
• Scientific Area Committee (SAC) Chemistry/Instrumental Analysis
• Scientific Area Committee (SAC) Crime Scene/Death Investigation
• Scientific Area Committee (SAC) IT/Multimedia
• Scientific Area Committee (SAC) Physics/Pattern
• Speaker Recognition Subcommittee
• Toxicology Subcommittee
• Wildlife Forensics Subcommittee

To receive announcements about OSAC developments, please go to www.nist.gov/forensics and enter your email address in the brown box in the far left column of this page, under “Sign up to receive news about NIST Forensic Science” and click “submit.”