NIST sign outside, surrounded by flowers and trees, on a sunny day.

The entrance sign at NIST’s Gaithersburg campus. Credit: J. Stoughton/NIST

Posted December 6, 2022


The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) hosted Forensics@NIST virtually on Nov. 8–10, 2022.
Over the three days, NIST scientists gave presentations on how they are using advanced methods in metrology, computer science and statistics to strengthen forensic science.

As a NIST Center of Excellence, the Center for Statistics and Applications in Forensic Evidence (CSAFE) presented on Nov. 10, providing an overview of its resources and updates on firearms and toolmarks, bloodstain pattern and handwriting analysis projects.

Alicia Carriquiry, CSAFE director and Distinguished Professor and President’s Chair in Statistics at Iowa State University, started the session with a quick overview of CSAFE before going in-depth on the resources available to the forensic and legal communities.

Next, Maria Cuellar, assistant professor of criminology at the University of Pennsylvania, provided an overview of her work on developing an algorithm for forensic toolmark comparisons.

Tong Zou, a graduate student in statistics at the University of California, Irvine, discussed CSAFE’s work on developing likelihood ratios for bloodstain pattern analysis.

Lastly, Danica Ommen, assistant professor of statistics at Iowa State University, gave an update on CSAFE’s handwriting analysis work.

Watch the conference presentations at https://www.nist.gov/news-events/events/2022/11/forensicsnist-2022. You can find CSAFE’s presentations labeled “Day3.4.mov” in the list of videos.

 

From the Blog

Journal article titled "Challenges in Modeling...Images as Forensic Evidence" by Kafadar and Carriquiry.

Two Journals for Sharing Your Forensic Science and Statistics Research

If you’re looking for a journal to showcase your latest research findings, consider exploring these …

NIST sign outside, surrounded by flowers and trees, on a sunny day.

NIST Report Highlights Key Challenges in Forensic Science and Provides Strategies for Addressing Them

In September, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released a new report titled …

Recent Posts

ICFIS 2026 logo features a clock tower and the Forensic Inference and Statistics name.

Keynote Speakers Announced for ICFIS 2026

August 10, 2026

The Scientific Committee for the 12th International Conference on Forensic Inference and Statistics is pleased to announce the keynote speakers …

2026 Wisconsin NAFSB Conference logo on a dark blue background.

CSAFE Researchers will be Panel Speakers at NAFSB 2026 Conference

August 7, 2026

The annual National Association of Forensic Science Boards (NAFSB) Conference will be Oct. 13-16 at the Milwaukee Crime Lab Bureau …

ICFIS 2026 logo features a clock tower and the Forensic Inference and Statistics name.

ICFIS 2026 Moves Online, Abstract Deadline Extended to Aug. 17

July 27, 2026

The 12th International Conference on Forensic Inference and Statistics (ICFIS) will now be an online-only event, allowing participants from around the world …