Eureka moment for Western Sydney University
Flying the flag for Western Sydney University, Professor Chris Lennard, from the School of Science and Health, has been nominated in the prestigious Australian Museum Eureka Prize for his ground-breaking research in forensic traces, particularly fingerprint detection technology.
Working in collaboration with University of Technology Sydney (UTS) for more than a decade, Professor Lennard’s work has significantly advanced the way fingerprints are detected and recorded in criminal investigations, and has contributed to the world-wide advancements in the field.
“The research work we’ve done in detecting fingerprints, particularly on paper surfaces, is used by police agencies across the globe. Our findings have helped solve major crimes by significantly improving fingerprint detection success rates in operational casework. We can now detect extremely weak fingerprints in a way that was not possible 15 or 20 years ago. Using one of the methods optimised here in Australia, I have seen the detection of fingerprints more than 26 years old,” said Professor Lennard.
Research into forensic traces provides intelligence agencies and first responders with critical clues on security threats. Dr Lennard, together with the Centre for Forensic Science at UTS, is now focused on developing a suite of next-generation forensic capabilities, including techniques to detect fingerprints using functionalised nanoparticles.
Prize winners will be announced in August. For more information, visit Australian Museum Eureka Prize.(opens in a new window)
ENDS
31 July 2018
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