Activity 3.1.3 Forensic Engineer

1. Activity 3.1.3 Forensic Engineer Erin Hynd Block 3 9/30/12

2. Forensics • “the application of a broad spectrum of sciences to answer questions of interest in a legal setting”

3. Required Skills • Understanding of the legal process, especially evidence standards • Proficient in public speaking • Other engineering experience • Good writing skills • Good at explaining technical terms, processes, theories in layman’s terms

4. Duties Performed • Consultations with attorneys • Visits to scene of incident to analyze the case • Preparing reports of findings • Acting as a witness in court • Determining exactly what happened leading up to the incident

5. Education and Training • Specific Forensic Engineering degrees don’t really exist so instead: • Get a bachelor’s degree in engineering (i.e. chemical, mechanical, or civil engineering) • Get licensed as an engineer in the state that work will be done in • Additional certification offered through the International Institute of Forensic Engineering Science • Requirements for this include: degree in engineering, minimum number of experience years (varies depending on background), 3 professional references, pass a written exam on ethics and an oral exam based on actual case reports.

6. Responsibilities at Scene • Act like “science detectives” • Determine cause of incidents such as fires, system failures, or car accidents • Inspect evidence to determine a sequence of events • Put findings in a report and share them with the court if necessary

7. Conclusion Questions • An engineer contributes to the world of forensic science in many ways. They may testify as to how a device should work in an ideal situation and use this to determine what went wrong. Engineers also use their knowledge to reconstruct a possible series of events that led to a specific incident. • Instruments designed by engineers include: • Ballistics Identification System: 3D imaging that helps to analyze used bullets and cartridge cases found at the scene of a crime. • Comparison microscope: special microscope used in forensics labs to compare evidence samples including toolmarks and bullets • Gel electrophoresis: Basically compares the length of DNA fragments of known individuals with lengths of DNA found at the crime scene. • A forensic scientist gathers the evidence that the engineer can use to reconstruct the incident. The forensic scientist also analyzes the evidence which may help the engineer in their work as wells as help the case in general. The forensic technician may help to validate the events constructed by the engineer using data collected by the forensic scientist.