Krista and Bart Kemper attended the first post-pandemic Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Scientists (AAFS), which was in Seattle, Washington 21-25 February. This is an international gathering of forensic scientists, engineering, medical professionals, lawyers, and others involved in the use of science in the courts. There were workshops, committee meetings for codes & standards, and papers presented on a wide range of subjects. The vendors supporting the event ranged from the Department of Justice to scientific testing equipment developers to universities.
Bart gave a presentation, “A Simulation Triad for Evaluating the Use of Engineering Simulations,” building upon presentations and writings for the National Academy of Forensic Engineers (NAFE). Engineering simulations like Finite Element Analysis (FEA), Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), Kinematic Modeling, and Blast Modeling are valuable tools in engineering, including forensic engineering. Poorly executed simulations can be excluded by the court and even cause the expert to be excluded under a “Daubert” or “Frey” challenge. Bart’s presentation linked the proper use of engineering simulation to Federal Rule 702 (Testimony by Expert Witnesses) in order for a simulation to be seen as a work product of the engineer and not a “black box” delinked from expert’s abilities. Verification, Validation, and Uncertainty Quantification (VVUQ) is a key practice the engineer should use to provide the framework for the proposed triad. This will be central to a paper Bart is developing for the Journal of Forensic Science.
President Krista Kemper and Principal Engineer Bart Kemper, P.E. attend the 5 day international educational and networking forensic event in Seattle, Washington.
Bart Kemper, P.E. gave a presentation, “A Simulation Triad for Evaluating the Use of Engineering Simulation.” Improper use of tools such as Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is vulnerable to Rule 702 (Daubert) legal challenges. The triad is a framework to keep the forensic engineer aligned with Rule 702.
Bloodsplatter workshop exemplar used to recreate past crime scenes for hands-on instruction
Examples of the papers and workshops presented at the AAFS meeting.
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