2009 Annual Meeting —

Dr. Jason Byrd  NAFEA President, is investigating several bids for conference centers in Miami, FL to host the 7th Annual NAFEA Meeting in July 2009.

2008 Annual Meeting Highlights —

NAFEA 2008 – Atlantic City, New Jersey, Cesar's Hotel.  — Click here to see some photos

The 6th Annual NAFEA meeting was held June 8-10 at Caesar’s Atlantic City Hotel and Casino, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. On Sunday evening, a welcoming reception was held at the Trinity Irish Pub and Carvery in The Pier. A sampling of Irish dishes was available, along with the normal amenities associated with pubs. This was a great start to the meeting, as everyone was able to catch up with old friends and meet the new people in our ever-growing organization. The meeting officially began the following morning with registration and a welcoming address from the meeting host and NAFEA secretary, Ms. Diana Johnson. The Keynote Speaker, renowned forensic scientist Dr. Richard Safferstein, gave a presentation entitled “Forensic Science – A Look Back at Thirty Years of Progress”. In this presentation, Dr. Safferstein spoke on what he felt are the top 10 advancements in forensic science during the past 30 years of his career. The remainder of the day was filled with oral presentations on current research in forensic entomology. That evening, Dr. Safferstein invited us to his beach house for dinner. While there, we were able to walk along the beach and collect shells. We also had a great time relaxing and conversing with Dr. Safferstein and the other NAFEA members. Day two of the meeting began with a Q&A session for the submitted poster presentations and continued with oral presentations. When all presentations were finished, NAFEA President Dr. Jeff Wells gave a closing address and conducted the business meeting. After lunch was the workshop, the final portion of the meeting. Death Investigator John H. “Jack” Ingle, V.S.M., led a discussion workshop on the involvement of forensic scientists in criminal investigations. During this, we learned how to become involved as a forensic consultant to local law enforcement and medical examiner/coroner offices and various ways to facilitate these relationships. That evening, part of the group toured the “Bodies: The Exhibition” exhibit at the Taj Majal Casino before joining the rest of NAFEA for dinner at Opa Bar and Grille. Most of the group was still around for dinner, and a great time was had by everyone as we spent the evening enjoying each other’s company. The following day, the Texas A&M/ Clemson group had the opportunity to tour the New Jersey Regional Computer Forensic Laboratory (NJRCFL), New Jersey State Police Crime Lab, and the New Jersey State Police Museum.

As the associate member representative, I would like to extend a thanks and congratulations to all the students who attended this year’s meeting; we made up 43% of the meeting attendance and gave 63% of the meeting presentations. The future of NAFEA is in great hands!
Congratulations and thanks to Ms. Diana Johnson for organizing and hosting a great meeting!

Jonathan Cammack
Associate Member Representative

Member News

Dr. Jeff Wells, NAFEA President, has been appointed Chair of the Department of Biology at West Virginia University!  Congrats, Jeff!

Dr. Mark Benecke, NAFEA International Member Representative, will soon be travelling to India.  He will "try to knot even more international ties in the name of FE" during his stay.  Also, he has offered to collect blow/flesh flies.  If you need flies from India, feel free to let him know ( forensic@benecke.com ).

Member Announcments

Online Forensic Entomology Course at Michigan State University - contact Dr. Rich Merritt (merrittr@mail.msu.edu) or Ryan Kimbirauskas (kimbira1@msu.edu)
by Dr. Rich Merritt and Ph.D. Student Ryan Kimbirauskas both members of the ABFE (American Board of Forensic Entomology)

Forensic Entomology Educational Site - Forensic Flies and Other Arthropods of Forensic Importance, Forensic Entomology Evidence Recovery Website
by Michelle Phillips

Forensic Entomology at the XXIIIrd International Congress of Entomology - by Ian Dadour, Center for Forensic Science, University of Western Australia

The international meeting was held at the International Congress Centre in Durban South Africa from 5th July to 12th July 2008.  This was the first time that the conference was held in Africa. The theme of the conference was "Celebrating Entomology: Contributions to Modern Science" and hosted by the Entomological Society of Southern Africa.  The opening ceremony was a gala event with many different South African musical and dancing themes.  It was further enhanced with a speech by the South African Minister for Science Minister Mosibudi Mangena who dedicated the opening section of his talk to Forensic Entomology and its social impact. Special mention was made of Dr Mervyn Mansell and his contribution to solving the worst serial crime in South Africa comprising 69 victims and the conviction of Moses Sithole.

There were 2 main sessions dedicated to forensic entomology and a smaller spill-over session.  An opening address was presented by Rob Hall (USA) on ethical issues when presenting entomological evidence in court.  A series of papers were presented on various topics including blow fly oviposition, the significance of weather data, the DNA identification of blow flies, modelling insect development, some ecology based papers on decomposition in cars, a DVD on how to sample and some interesting case studies.

A list of presentations and posters related to forensic entomology can be downloaded here.

Recent Forensic Entomology Paper Announcments

Wells, J.D., J.R. Stevens, in press (scheduled for volume 53. 2008, available online). Applications of DNA-based methods in forensic entomology. Annual Review of Entomology.

A one-time, free download (for personal use only) is available at: http://arjournals.annualreviews.org/eprint/IFbkEVCIVVxvUM5rMdiK/
full/10.1146/annurev.ento.52.110405.091423