Last year I supervised a final year student, Alistair Bucknell, for his research project. We decided to look at the use of drones in forensic investigations and any affect they may have on crimescene evidence. Alistairs work was so thorough that we decided to submit it to a scientific…
Tag: university
Hair analysis in the laboratory
Today I decided to try something new in a forensic science student lab, taking small videos (Vines), creating a video lab script, see below. The students had seen a lab script before hand, but this is a dry description of the steps they need to complete. I have decided to capture…
Reflecting and moving onwards
I think it is fair to say I am not unhappy to see the back on 2015 but I am really looking forward to 2016! I found 2015 to be a rather unfortunate and frustrating year, I had some major health difficulties which took three or four months out…
Society launches Pre Employment Assessment of Competence for Forensic graduates
Today the Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences launched a “Pre Employment Assessment of Competence” for graduate students. All for the cost of £320 for a certificate. This is a new venture for the Chartered Society of Forensic Science (CSoFS). According to their website the “Pre Employment Assessment of Competence” (PEAC)…
The Science of Cycling – event review
On Monday evening Sheffield Hallam University hosted an evening of cycling chat with headline names Nicole Cooke and David Walsh, as well as three sports Profs from the Uni. There was also a surprise visit from a three time Tour de France Champion! David Walsh spoke openly and eloquently about…
The face of SHU
Any of you who have been on campus at Sheffield Hallam University recently may have noticed lots of pictures of a slightly hairy man watching you: that is me! Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) has recently started a campaign to show the added advantages of being one of our students, such…
Forensic Horizons – research conference 2013
One year ago I attended a Forensic Science Society meeting about research and wrote the post ‘Forensic Science Research – What Research?‘. That has been one of my most read pages and had many comments here and on Twitter. One year on – I went to the Forensic…
Fake alcohol – life imitating practical classes
Yesterday students in Sheffield were advised not to buy cheap ‘counterfeit’ booze, by Trading Standards and the City Council. According to reports on the BBC website today there have been around 2000 bottles of the phoney booze seized from 15 retailers in the city. They have chosen to particularly…
Testing students for smart drugs – not so smart
This week there have been a few interesting news stories. As a toxicologist and an academic the one story that caught my eye most was around the use of ‘smart drugs’ by university students at exam time and testing for their use. This week quite a lot of news…
Do students use drugs more than other young people?
Today and article in the Daily Mail caught my eye (no, I didn’t buy it, I got sent a link). It highlighted a survey asking students to declare their drug use. I was interested to see how this stacked up against the national figures… An article saying students use drugs…