Good morning,
This posting is to advertise an EPSRC-funded, near-surface geophysics PhD
studentship entitled: Forensic geophysics and pathology at crime scenes.
The student would need at least a good first degree in a relevant
discipline, be keen and be able to start in a month or two. There will be a
lot of fieldwork involved.
The project outline is detailed below. This will be supervised jointly
between Keele and Staffordshire Universities and a commercial partner. If
you could forward to anyone you think may be interested and get them to
email me ([log in to unmask]), then that would be great.
Best Regards,
Jamie.
Outline proposal:
Near-surface applied geophysical investigations at forensic crime scenes
have the potential to rapidly locate buried material for subsequent site
investigation. However, due to obvious sensitivity issues and possible
criminal proceedings, there is a lack of published results and research. It
is proposed that a series of geophysical and pathology experiments are
undertaken over a variety of simulated crime scenes on different sites.
Using the existing ‘crime scene burial facility’ at Staffordshire
University, research will firstly use a suite of geophysical surveys over a
simulated crime scene in this urban setting. Repeat surveys will also be
conducted over time. Contemporary pathology sampling of buried material
will also be undertaken that may determine if fat and water content or
putrefactive processes differ, in order to understand why geophysical data
may change. Such data will be invaluable to the forensic scientist and
geophysicist when searching for human remains, especially in complex ground
conditions. Chemically sampling putrefaction products over time specific
periods will also allow a closer correlation between geophysical results
and chemical nature/decomposition of products. These experiments will then
be repeated in a variety of different environments (urban, rural, woodland
and marshland, for example).
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