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Forensic Science Institute

History of the Forensic Science Institute

center for the sciences
The Radford University Forensic Science Institute is located on the ground floor of the Center for the Sciences.

The Radford University Forensic Science Institute (RUFSI)  is a state-of-the art professional forensic science agency and affiliated laboratories housed on the ground floor of the Radford University Center for the Sciences. It was co-founded in 2008 by Drs. Cliff and Donna Boyd as an interdisciplinary institute dedicated to taking a leadership role in the support of forensic science.

Mission of the Forensic Science Institute

The Radford University Forensic Science Institute is an interdisciplinary institute whose goal is to promote and support forensic science education, research, and public service. The institute faculty are comprised of specialists in Forensic Anthropology and Forensic Archaeology. The FSI mission is to serve as a center for innovative interdisciplinary forensic science research and to provide, with integrity, the highest quality educational training, consultation, and public service in the forensic sciences. Its faculty also provide objective and unbiased court testimony in regard to medicolegal death cases in the Commonwealth and beyond. Learn more about the Radford University Forensic Science Institute [YouTube].

Forensic Science Consulting Services and Outreach

  • Dr. Donna Boyd with student conducing research
    RUFSI provides forensic science consulting and peer review for a diverse group of medicolegal entities, including the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the VOCME (Virginia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner), the District of Columbia OCME, the VSP (Virginia State Police), VDFS (Virginia Department of Forensic Science), and many other national and regional law enforcement agencies;
  • Its faculty have provided board-certified casework consultation (including court testimony) on over 250 death investigation cases, with a specialty in skeletal trauma evaluation and interpretation;
  • It regularly provides professional forensic training to law enforcement agencies;
  • It engages in extensive STEM-centered public outreach education about forensic science;
  • RUFSI faculty provide Emergency Response to disaster in the form of DMORT (U. S. HHS National Disaster Medical System Mortuary Operational Response Team), including deployment to Haiti following the 2010 earthquake;
  • RUFSI faculty play a major role in writing, reviewing, and evaluating new national standards for Forensic Anthropology, serving in executive positions on the Academy Standards Board (ASB) of AAFS (the American Academy of Forensic Sciences Academy Standards Board), and NIST’s OSAC (Organization of Scientific Area Committees—Anthropology division).

Forensic Science Institute Research

RUFSI faculty have produced a voluminous body of nationally recognized research focused on differential mortality, skeletal trauma and bone repair.

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