The head of the OCO Forensic Science Institute, Dr. Dwight Adams, will be our keynote speaker before the awards presentations at the Oklahoma Science Teachers Association Fall Conference on November 6th.
Dr. Adams retired with 23 years from the FBI after serving as Director of the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia. The FBI Laboratory consists of 700 scientific, technical and response personnel and an operational budget of more than $100 million. The FBI Laboratory is the largest and most complex laboratory of its kind in the world. In 2003, he was the recipient of the Presidential Rank Award as Distinguished Executive; the highest award given in the Federal Government.
Dr. Adams was a member of the FBI’s research team that developed the DNA techniques first used in 1988. He has testified as a DNA expert in federal, state and local courts for the prosecution and defense in excess of 130 times. He also served on the national DNA Advisory Board responsible for creating standards governing all DNA testing crime laboratories in the U.S and was a member of the Attorney General’s National Commission on the Future of DNA Evidence. Dr. Adams oversaw the creation of the National DNA database linking 175 crime laboratories and responsible for solving or aiding more than 80,000 cases nationwide.
He is the author of numerous scientific publications, mostly in the field of DNA technology applied to human identification.
In conjunction with Dr. Adams’ presentation, the UCO Forensic Science Institute will provide a morning strand with hands-on activities for teachers to be held in the new UCO Forensic Science Institute. Teachers will need to preregister for this strand as there are a limited number of seats and space is offered on a first come, first served basis. Preregistration for the Forensic Science Strand is a option that can be selected while you are registering for the conference using OSTA’s on-line conference registration system. If you have already registered for the conference and would like to attend the Forensic Science Strand, email Bob ASAP to get your name on the list. Registration for the stand will remain open until maximum class size is attained.