The Forensic Sciences: International Perspectives, Global Vision

Our theme this year—Global Research: The Forensic Science Edge—emphasizes the important role that international research plays in the goals of our organization and the direction of our disciplines. The theme acknowledges that a substantial amount of research in the forensic sciences is international in scope, increasingly involving multidisciplinary, international teams focusing on specific issues of global concern. The resulting project strategies and new forensic methodologies are of worldwide interest and deserve thoughtful consideration. The selection of this theme reflects my personal experience in the world of forensic science. My first research project, following completion of a Ph.D. in 1973, took me to the rural southern coast of Ecuador on an archeological excavation focusing on pre-European contact human burials within large ceramic containers. This complex excavation in an isolated area challenged me to work effectively within a different cultural context while communicating in Spanish. My success with that project led to many others in Ecuador and to an ongoing collaboration with international scientists working in that region. Although the cultural and linguistic differences presented challenges, the rewards of international collaboration were invaluable. In 1978, I was invited to participate in a small international conference in S rospatak, Hungary, focusing on the then-emerging field of paleodemography. Organized by the late Hungarian demographer J nos Nemesk ri, the conference included key researchers from many countries. This conference opened my eyes to the value of international perspective on research topics. All attendees shared concern with the central issues, but each brought a special approach shaped by their local academic environment and research direction. The participants learned a great deal from each other and developed collegial relationships that carried over into innovative research and future collaboration. Since the S rospatak conference, I have continuously been involved in workshops, training courses, professional conferences, and collaborative research projects in numerous countries, primarily in Latin America and Europe. In many of the associated gatherings, I have been the only representative from North America. These experiences have been uniformly positive and have cemented my impression that the forensic sciences are truly international in scope, and they thrive on global collaboration and interaction. Our theme this year celebrates the multifaceted nature of international work in the forensic sciences and builds on momentum developed in previous years. As recently as 2008, President Bruce Goldberger chose the theme ‘‘The Forensic Sciences—An International Treasure.’’ Previously, in 2007, President James Young focused Academy attention on ‘‘Forensic Science in a Global Community: Issues and Advances.’’ In 2001, President John McDowell’s theme, ‘‘War Crimes and Other Acts Against Humanity,’’ was clearly international in scope. These initiatives and others before them recognize the international context of our work in the forensic sciences, showing how the issues that we face are of shared global concern. In fact, international perspective can be traced to the very origins of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS). Our roots extend back to the First American Medicolegal Congress held in St. Louis, Missouri in 1948. According to Kenneth Field (1, p. 18), the concept leading to this foundational meeting developed from discussions between our first President, Rutherford B. Hayes Gradwohl, MD of St. Louis, and his friend and colleague Israel Castellanos, MD of Cuba. In particular, Field (p. 18) cites a meeting between Gradwohl and Castellanos in the latter’s office in Havana in 1947. Planning for the future meeting centered on it being multidisciplinary (all of the forensic sciences) and representative of countries of the Western Hemisphere. Field relates that the original title considered for the conference was the ‘‘First Pan American Medicolegal Congress.’’ Although the word ‘‘Pan’’ was eliminated, documents examined by Field suggest that the intention remained to include an entire Western Hemisphere perspective. Dr. Castellanos was an official Co-Chairman of the original meeting; Douglas H. Ubelaker, President, 2011-2012, American Academy of Forensic Sciences.