Statistics and its Application in Forensic Science and the Criminal Justice System

Alicia Carriquiry, distinguished professor and President's Chair in Statistics and director of the Center for Statistics and Applications in Forensic Evidence (CSAFE), Iowa State University, will introduce some of the statistical and algorithmic methods proposed recently that have the potential to impact forensic practice in the United States.

About the Seminar

Forensic applications present unique challenges for statisticians. Much of the data that arise in forensics are non-standard, so even defining analytical variables may require out-of-the-box thinking. As a result, the usual statistical approaches may not enable addressing the questions of interest to jurors, legal professionals and forensic practitioners.

This presentation introduces some of the statistical and algorithmic methods proposed recently that have the potential to impact forensic practice in the United States. Two examples are used for illustration: the analysis of questioned handwritten documents and of marks imparted by firearms on bullets or cartridge cases. In both examples, the question we address is one of source: do two or more items have the same source? In the first case, we apply “traditional” statistical modeling methods, while in the second case, we resort to algorithmic approaches.

About the Speaker

Alicia Carriquiry received her Ph.D. in statistics and animal breeding from Iowa State University in 1989, and joined the faculty in statistics at Iowa State in 1990. She is currently distinguished professor and President's Chair in Statistics and director of the Center for Statistics and Applications in Forensic Evidence (CSAFE). She is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and of the American Academy of Forensic Science, and is also a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Statistical Association, the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, the International Society for Bayesian Analysis and the International Statistical Institute. She was elected fellow of the Hagler Institute for Advanced Studies at Texas A&M University in 2023. Carriquiry has published about 160 peer-reviewed articles in statistics and other disciplines and has mentored 23 doctoral students, about 45 MS students, eight post-doctoral researchers, and many brilliant undergraduates.

Contact

Contact Cheryl Patalano with questions about the event.