Congratulations to Drs. Stephanie Madon (PI), Max Guyll (Co-PI), and Kristi Costabile (Co-PI) for receiving a National Science Foundation grant ($704,337) for their research titled “The Validity of Cartridge Case Comparison Conclusions Under Field-Based Conditions”.
Project Summary: In 2009, the National Academy of Sciences released a report that was highly critical of forensic science. One of the academy’s main concerns was that most forensic techniques are subjective. This study aims to quantify the validity of cartridge case comparisons — a commonly used forensic technique — under realistic, field-based conditions. The goal of this research is to underscore the point that subjectivity and invalidity are not synonymous. That is, even though the forensic analysis of fired cartridge cases relies on human judgment, it can still be a valid technique if the rate of accuracy is high under a variety of conditions that are present in the field. This grant is active from 2017 – 2020. More information about Drs. Madon’s, Guyll’s, and Costabile’s research can be found here.