As many regular readers will recall, NIST is trying to end the Wild Wild West that is the modern practice of Forensic Science. Just moments ago, they released their latest appointees:

An initiative to strengthen and bring uniformity to forensic science standards took another step forward today as the National Institute of Standards and Technology appointed 35 new members to the Organization for Scientific Area Committees (OSAC).

The new members, selected for their expertise in law, psychology and quality assurance, will serve on three advisory committees. These OSAC Resource Committees will play a critical support role by advising the Forensic Science Standards Board, the scientific area committees and subcommittees focused on specific forensic science disciplines within OSAC as they adopt, develop and review standards.

“As our science-focused committees and subcommittees work to support the development of forensic science standards and guidelines, we expect that there will be many questions related to law, work flow processes and quality control. These resource committees will help address those,” said John Paul Jones II, associate director for OSAC affairs.

The Human Factors Committee will provide guidance on how systems design influences human performance, on how to minimize cognitive and confirmation bias, and on how to mitigate errors in complex tasks.

The Legal Resource Committee will review and provide a legal perspective on proposed standards.

The Quality Infrastructure Committee will assemble and update a Forensic Science Code of Practice, provide guidance on quality issues, and provide impact statements that inform agency management about how specific standards may affect laboratory operations. It will also work with outside standards development organizations and accrediting bodies as needed.

The resource committee members were chosen from among 1,300 OSAC applicants. They include public defenders, law school professors, prosecutors, judges, standards development experts, laboratory managers and human factors experts.

A NIST-DOJ membership selection team is reviewing applications for the remaining OSAC positions and will announce the appointments as they are completed.

To see the membership of each resource committee, please go to www.nist.gov/forensics/osac/resource-coms.cfm.

 

Human Factors Committee Members

• Deborah A. Boehm-Davis, Ph.D., Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, George Mason University
• Itiel Dror, Ph.D., Principal Researcher, Cognitive Consultants International
• Cleotilde Gonzalez, Ph.D., Associate Research Professor of Decision Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University
• Christian A. Meissner, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, Iowa State University
• Erin Morris, Ph.D., Behavioral Sciences Research Analyst, Los Angeles County Public Defender
• Sunita Sah, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Strategy, Economics, Ethics and Public Policy at Georgetown University McDonough School of Business
• Scott Shappell, Ph.D., Human Factors and Systems Department Chair, Emory-Riddle Aeronautical University
• Dan Simon, Professor of Law and Psychology, University of Southern California, Gould School of Law, and Department of Psychology
• Brian C. Stanton, cognitive scientist, National Institute of Standards and Technology
• William C. Thompson, Ph.D., Professor of Criminology, Law, and Society and Psychology and Social Behavior and Law, University of California Irvine

Legal Resource Committee Members

• Jennifer Friedman, Deputy Public Defender, Los Angeles County
• Christine Funk, General Counsel, Department of Forensic Sciences, Washington, D.C. (local government)
• Lynn Robitaille Garcia, General Counsel, Texas Forensic Science Commission (state government)
• Ted R. Hunt, Chief Trial Attorney and DNA Cold Case Project Director, Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office, Kansas City, MO
• John Kacavas, United States Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice
• David H. Kaye, Professor, Graduate Faculty, Forensic Science Program, Pennsylvania State University
• David A. Moran, Professor of Law, University of Michigan Law School
• Christopher J. Plourd, Superior Court Judge, State of California
• Ronald S. Reinstein, Judge and Judicial Consultant, Arizona Supreme Court
• Barry Scheck, Professor, Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University; Co-Director, Innocence Project; Commissioner, NY Commission on Forensic Science; Neufeld, Scheck, & Brustin, LLC

Quality Infrastructure Committee Members

• Karin Athanas, Program Manager, American Association For Laboratory Accreditation
• Sally S. Aiken, Medical Examiner, Spokane County, Washington
• Barbara E. Andree, Forensic Chemist, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
• Jason Bond, Quality Assurance Coordinator, Indiana State Police Laboratory Division
• Pamela L. Bordner, Sr. Accreditation Program Manager, ASCLD/LAB
• Kris Cano, Forensic Laboratory Manager, Scottsdale Police Department Crime Laboratory
• Deborah Friedman, Criminalist III, Broward Sheriff’s Office Crime Laboratory
• Matthew Gamette, Laboratory Improvement and Quality Manager, Idaho State Police Forensic Services
• Keith Greenaway, Vice President, ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board
• Arlene Hall, Commander, Illinois State Police, Division of Forensic Services
• Bruce Houlihan, Director, Orange County Crime Laboratory/Orange County Sheriff-Coroner
• Alice R. Isenberg, Ph.D., Section Chief, FBI Laboratory
• Timothy Kupferschmid, Laboratory Director, New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner
• Karen Reczek, Senior Standards Information Specialist, NIST Standards Coordination Office
• Frances E. Schrotter, Sr. Vice President and Chief Operation Officer, American National Standards Institute