Page 16 - CSLA_AnnualPublication

ffffffCSI: LOS ANGELES – ENGINEERS ENGAGING IN FORENSIC ANALYSISEngineering, anthropology, and criminalistics all play roles in solving forensic questions posed to students by David Raymond, assistant professor of mechanical engineering.Engineers are trained to be problem solvers, soDavid Raymond, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, sees a natural overlap with forensic science.“We engineers have a lot to offer in this regard,” says Raymond, referring to his students’ critical thinking and investigative skills. “And my students learn fundamentals in engineering by working backward to solve forensic questions.”Raymond’s research involves collaborations with the School of Criminalistics and Criminal Justice (with professors Don Johnson and Kathy Roberts) and the Departmentof Anthropology (with professor Elizabeth Miller), as well as with Cristina Gonzalez of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department crime lab.Raymond advises undergraduate and graduate students in engineering, as well as students studying anthropology and criminalistics, in these forensic studies.“The students have been very receptive to collaborating,” he says. “Neither group expected they’d be working with the other, but so far, they really seem to enjoy learning from each other.”Student researchers are currently analyzing blood-spatter dynamics and long bone fracture mechanics. Both are pilot projects, but the teams hope to obtain federal funding in the near future to grow them into multiyear research projects.ff14