News For 2022

News For 2021

Details of addtional upcoming workshops can be found on the IFG Student Chapter Website

News For 2020

News For 2019

News For 2018

Resources for Future Generations 2018

Vancouver Convention Center 

Vancouver, BC, CANADA
June 16-21, 2018

Currently scheduled for Tuesday 19th June, in the morning

Conference Session RS12 -
Forensic Geology: Ethics, Communication, Regulation and Opportunities.

In the past decade, forensic geology has experienced global expansion and development, facilitated by the success of groups such as the IUGS Initiative on Forensic Geology, established in 2006. As part of the ‘Conference Session RS12 - Forensic Geology: Ethics, Communication, Regulation and Opportunities’ we will discuss, debate and explore:

(i) ethical issues surrounding the use of forensic geoscience data and information

(ii) and expert opinion

(iii) effective communication

(iv) assessing the strengths and limitations of geoscience data in forensic investigations

(v) sampling strategies and geostatistics

(vi) ground search resources

(vii) application of geoscience databases

(viii) accreditation and regulation in forensic geology

(ix) alignment with forensic science

(x) case studies, including the illegal trade in geological commodities and international wildlife crime

(xi) dealing with sensitive human issues such as the handling of human remains, sensitive and confidential data and case intelligence.

   
Convenership: Duncan Pirrie, Rosa Maria Di Maggio, Lorna Dawson, Laurance Donnelly, Silvia Peppoloni, Giuseppe Di Capua.

Submissions were accepted though February 12, 2018!: http://rfg2018.gibsongroup.ca/abstract-submission.php
    
Click here to go to the Technical Program

News For 2017

Forensic Geology themed issue of Episodes: Journal of International Geoscience Episodes Vol 40 No 2 (Jun, 2017) 

Congratulations to Dr. Ruth Morgan

Ruth Morgan has been conferred with the title of Professor of Crime and Forensic Science at UCL, the first chair in Forensic Science at UCL. It is recognition of internationally leading research, excellence and innovation in teaching, developing channels for knowledge transfer and for service to the academic and stakeholder communities.
    
IFG congratulates Dr. Morgan on this will deserved promotion.

Soil Forensics Workshop on Forensic Examination and Interpretation of Soil Evidence  

    
Held in conjunction with the Trace Evidence Working Group (TEWG) at the 9th Asian Forensic Sciences Network (AFSN) annual meeting and symposium in Singapore from 5 to 9th September 2017.
    
For more information and registration visit https://www.afsn2017.sg/. 

Announcing the new collaboration between IUGS-IFG and IAPG       

We are pleased to announce a collaboration between the Initiative on Forensic Geology (IFG) and the International Association for Promoting Geoethics (IAPG)
    
Download a flyer of the poster by Dr Laurance Donnelly, Prof Lorna Dawson, Dr Alastair Ruffell, Dr Jennifer McKinley, Dr Rosa Maria Di Maggio, Dr Duncan Pirrie, Commander Mark Harrison, and Prof Sue Grayston Forensic Geology and Geoethics presented at the EGU - General Assembly 2017 Session EOS14 - Geoethics: ethical, social and cultural implications of geoscience knowledge, education, research and practice

 

 British Association for Human Identification (BAHID) 2017 SPRING CONFERENCE

Migration and Identification
19th – 21st May 2017
Chancellors Hotel and Conference Centre, Manchester, UK
    
Registration now open http://www.bahid.org/conference.

News For 2016

Symposium: Forensic soil science and geology: 5th International Conference on Criminal & Environmental Soil Forensics

Soil Forensic International (SFI-2016)
35th International Geological Congress,
Cape Town, South Africa 27 August – 4 September 2016
    
The programme for the soil forensic symposium on 29th August 2016 is now available.

 

 Find Your Oasis in Forensic Science CAC & ASTEE Joint Meeting

31 October 31 to 4 November 2016
    
Hosted by the California Department of Justice BFS Riverside Laboratory
Omni Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa, Rancho Mirage (near Palm Springs), California, USA
    
Featuring Workshops on:
• Fiber Dyes and Dyeing • Soil Recognition and Collection Field Exercise • DNA • Biology Workshop sponsored by Seratec • Controlled Substances • Firearms

To register or for more information please visit the California Association of Criminalists website.

Abstracts can be submitted via the Abstract Submission Form for General Session, Workshops, or Posters . All topics/disciplines welcome. General Session/Workshop presentations must be PowerPoint format.
9/09/16 Deadline: General Session/Workshops
9/09/16 Deadline: Posters
    
Download an event flyer here.

 

Announcing an IFG Sponsored Forensic Geology Seminar at the University of Catania

 

Symposium: Forensic soil science and geology: 5th International Conference on Criminal & Environmental Soil Forensics

Soil Forensic International (SFI-2016)
35th International Geological Congress,
Cape Town, South Africa 27 August – 4 September 2016
Informational Flyer

To submit abstracts: please read information on the website (http://www.35igc.org/Verso/211/Submit-an-Abstract) and follow the instructions. Abstracts can be submitted for Papers and Posters. The closing date for submissions has been extended to 29th February 2016. Acceptances of papers will be sent out by 31st March 2016. Only electronic submissions will be accepted via the IGC Abstract Submission Portal links.

News For 2015

 2015 IFG Newsletter

Download our 2015 IFG Newsletter!

 

 The IFG Workshop and Field Training is in full swing

    Attending members of the IFG Workshop and Field Training in Geology at the University of Messina on the first day.

 

 

Announcing the IFG Workshop and Field Training in Geology at the University of Messina

The first "Workshop and Field Training on Forensic Geology of IUGS-IFG" will be held Wednesday 10 and Thursday June 11 starting at 9:30 at the SIR "Faculty of Science and Technology" of the University of Messina.

     Full Announcement in Italian
     Announcement in (rough) English translation
    

 

Ruth Morgan in Hyderabad

Ruth Morgan from UCL delivered training in April 2015 as part of the Indian Police Service Mid Career Training Program at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy in Hyderabad.

The programme was for senior officers. The forensic science training covered the advances in forensic science research including the area of forensic geology and the role that soils and sediments can play in establishing provenance, journey histories
     and in crime reconstruction.
 
    The session incorporated a round table discussion concerning the role of forensic evidence in
    the Indian policing context at the strategic level.

 

 Colombia's Only Forensic Geologist's Search for His Country's Disappeared People

Read about the amazing work of Carlos Martín Molina on Vice.com.
 
Carlos Martín Molina, a 48-year-old resident of Bogotá who is the only forensic geologist in the country. ... [He] could use these same methods to find gold or oil deposits and make good money doing it. [Instead] He has dedicated his life to looking for those whom violence has silenced.
 
    Read the whole article at http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/the-grave-hunter-0000622-v22n4

 

 Lorna Dawson starred in a Nature News Feature!

Forensic science: The soil sleuth
Nature 21 April 2015
Forensic geologist Lorna Dawson has pioneered methods to help convict criminals using the dirt from their shoes. Read the whole article at http://www.nature.com/news/forensic-science-the-soil-sleuth-1.17373 

 

2nd Circular for the 35th International Geological Congress, Cape Town, South Africa (27 August to 4 September 2016)

The 2nd Circular can be downloaded here or visit the website at http://www.35igc.org/

 

Alastair Ruffell will be a Keynote Speaker at the Third International Conference on Engineering Geophysics, United Arab Emirates University

International Conference on Engineering Geophysics, United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain United Arab Emirates to be held 15-18 November 2015. For more information visit http://conferences.uaeu.ac.ae/iceg/en/

 

Elisa Bergslien was interviewed for a Radiolab episode broadcast on National Public Radio

Listen to the broadcast Episode: Fu-Go
Reporters Peter Lang-Stanton and Nick Farago tell us the story of a seemingly ridiculous, almost whimsical series of attacks on the US between November of 1944 and May of 1945. With the help of writer Ross Coen, geologist Elisa Bergslien, and professor Mike Sweeney, we uncover a national secret that led to tragedy in a sleepy logging town in south central Oregon.

News For 2014

2014 IFG London Business Meeting

IFG members posed in front of the Geological Society of London's display copy of William Smith's 1815 geological map of England, Wales and Scotland (the one described in Simon Winchester's book The Map that Changed the World).
The map further up the staircase is the one created by the Society's first President, George Greenough. Both are located at the foot of the east staircase of the Society's Burlington House location.

 

 

Competition Announcement Master Forensic Geology University of Messina, Italy

University of Messina
Department of Environment, Security, Territory, Food and Health Sciences (S.A.S.T.A.S.) "Carmelo Abbate"

First Level Postgraduate Master Class in Forensic Geology

Academic Year 2014/2015 Competition Announcement

The University of Messina has established a Masters Degree (Rectoral Decree) program starting in the 2014-2015 school year. The course is being sponsored by the Italian National Council of Geologists (CNG), The International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) Initiative on Forensic Geology (IFG), and the Municipality of Ali Superiore (Messina) and the program is sponsored by Ambrogeo, Alfatest, and Malyern. Based on above-mentioned (and possible further) sponsors, some scholarships will be provided. The scholarships will be based both on financial incomes (ISEE) and merits.

The Master is a specialization, higher educational, cyclical, and long-term course with a final First Level Postgraduate Master degree, after a final exam (Ministry Decree 22/10/2004 n° 270 “Modifiche al regolamento recante norme concernenti l’autonomia didattica degli Atenei” approved by the Decree of the Ministry of University and Scientific and Technological Research 3/11/1999 n° 509). The Master is realized due to the art. 20 of the University Didactic Rules.

More information along with the application forms - both in Italian and English - can be found at http://www.unime.it/dipartimenti/sastas/_bandi_e_concorsi_studenti/

The deadline was 6th October 2014 by 12pm

 

 2014 IFG flyer

Download our 2014 full color, printable Initiative on Forensic Geology (IFG) flyer!

 

Robert Fitzpatrick is featured in the Adelaidean!

Read the article Making soil talk: New forensics discipline helps solve major crime

 

 International School Science Fair (ISSF) 2013 Data

Pirrie, D., Donnelly, L.J., Rollinson, G.K., Butcher, A.R., Dawson, L.A. & Pirrie, H.A. (2013) Forensic geology at the International School Science Fair. Geology Today Vol. 29, No. 6, November–December 2013. Blackwell Publishing Ltd, The Geologists’ Association & The Geological Society of London. Data from this project is now available here

News For 2013