Ben Goodburn
Travel Bursary Report
American Academy of Forensic Science (AAFS) annual scientific meeting
Chicago 2011.
I attended the AAFS annual meeting staged in Chicago at the Hyatt Regency Convention Centre. A
generous contribution from the UCLAN travel bursary allowed me to do this. Chicago is a city of
impressive architecture and affluence. It does however have many street beggars and problems
which affect any large city. I thoroughly enjoyed my trip and gained a lot from it in an academic
sense as well as cultural. Below is a summary of the highlights.
Saturday 19th.February
I travelled to Chicago on the 19th of February on a direct flight from Manchester to Chicago O’Hare
International Airport. I arrived on a sunny clear day and enjoyed a spectacular view over the
sprawling city as the plane came into land. The silhouette of the downtown skyscrapers is an image I
will not forget. I met a fellow traveller from Uclan at the airport and we both took the busy train to
the city centre. It was good to have a fellow traveller and attendee; we also shared the sightseeing.
After locating our hotels we enjoyed a typical Chicago Hot dog meal. Chicago has a fantastic array of
skyscrapers and amazing buildings whose scale and design is breathtaking. The elevated train system
(the “L”) rumbles between the skyscrapers. The busy bustling streets and avenues reverberate to the
many taxi horns. The skyline reminded me of the Gotham city images of batman fame (figure 1).
Figure 1.
Sunday 20th.February
The weather on Sunday was cold and at times very wet. We walked the famous Magnificent Mile an
iconic shopping parade on Michigan Avenue in the heart of the city. We also visited another tourist
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attraction called Navy Pier and tried to orientate ourselves within the city centre. We also enjoyed a
visit to the cinema which helped us to avoid the worst of the weather.
Monday 21st.February
Monday was cold and it snowed. We walked to the southern parts of the city district. It was a public
holiday called the President’s day. Consequently our planned visit to the field museum was not
possible due to massive queues. We visited the famous football stadium Soldier Field and enjoyed
the sculptures of Grant Park instead (figure 2). In the afternoon I registered for the conference at the
Hyatt Regency Hotel and convention centre. It is a massive complex and I spent some time finding
my way round and locating where the presentations were going to take place. This reconnaissance
proved useful for later in the week. During the presentation sessions it is necessary to move quickly
from hall to hall between the different disciplines.
Figure 2.
Tuesday 22nd.February
On Tuesday I enjoyed a daylong symposium entitled, Eleven Sections One Academy. Many eminent
members of the academy gave half hour presentations. Each of the presenters covered one of the
boards that make up the academy. The presentations were very diverse and demonstrated the
many specialities that make up the academy. The particular presentations I enjoyed included a
senior FBI expert on digital media evidence; a criminal defence attorney and a forensic toxicologist. I
made a personal contribution to the event by asking several questions of the presenters.
Wednesday 23rd.February
On Wednesday I visited the Willis Tower the tallest building in Chicago to experience the spectacular
views from the top. Unfortunately the mist descended and visibility was zero. I also visited the trade
fair at the convention centre and was very impressed by the range of forensic technologies available.
I had the opportunity to speak to several representatives from independent forensic providers as
well as employees of JPAC. JPAC is an organisation that is involved in identifying the recovered
remains of US service personnel. These types of forensic identifications have always interested me
and it is an area I would like to work in. Later in the week JPAC employees made several
presentations covering the recovery of a WW1 American soldier from northern France. I took the
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opportunity to speak to the scientists and archaeologists involved. This was an enthralling
experience for me.
During Wednesday afternoon I walked to the northern district of the city to visit the History of
Chicago Museum. It contained many interesting exhibits and presented the many and notorious
aspects of the city’s past. The displays relating to the city architecture were fascinating. The city
grew up on formerly marshy swampland which is surprising when you see its modern grandeur.
Thursday 24th.February
Thursday started very early with a breakfast seminar (7am till 8.30am). The seminar was a head to
head debate between a home office pathologist from the UK and a forensic medical examiner from
Virginia. The differences in the working practices were explored and highlighted in an often amusing
discussion. I learnt that the US facilities are much better resourced.
The seminar was followed by a full day of scientific presentations. Each lasted about 15 minutes and
they covered a vast range of forensic specialities as well as Jurisprudence. The forensic odontology
section was particularly fascinating. Many of the presentations built on the material I have covered
at UCLAN. It allowed me to see how the scientific techniques are employed in the real world of
forensic and archaeological investigation. My undergraduate syllabus had prepared me well to
understand the scientific content of the presentations. I participated by getting up and asking
questions in front of the many delegates.
I also enjoyed talking to other delegates from the many different countries and the various
professions attending. The conference had several thousand people attending and the venue was
very impressive.
The quality of the presentations did vary and it was helpful to gauge them. Some presenters were
extremely professional whilst others made mistakes which I would hope to learn from. The best
presentations were presented with a modicum of technical detail and delivered with a degree of
passion. The poor presentations tried to fit too much into fifteen minutes and were delivered in a
monotonous fashion. The skill of some of the younger presenters in front of large audiences
containing eminent figures was very impressive. Three former UCLAN students presented at the
conference. It was also helpful to review some of the presentations with fellow students and take an
objective and sometimes critical view of others scientific methods.
Friday 25th.February
Friday was another full day of scientific presentations. I attended many of the Forensic Pathology
presentations (figure 3). I found these particularly helpful as I am currently studying a Forensic
Medicine Module. There were several presentations covering Mass Disaster Victim Identification
which focused on the international efforts in Haiti. These were particularly relevant to aspects of my
coursework and gave me a new perspective on current methods employed.
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Figure 3. In between pathology presentations.
On my last evening I visited the second tallest building in the city; The Hancock Observatory.
Fortunately it was a clear evening and the visibility of the illuminated city and its suburbs was
breathtaking.
Saturday 26th.February
Saturday was a half day session of presentations. I attended jurisprudence, criminalistic s and
pathology presentations. All were complimentary to my studies. The number of individual
presentations I attended during the week exceeded 40. It is a credit to my undergraduate course
that I could gain additional knowledge from all the sessions I attended.
My return journey was enjoyable despite the snowy weather (figure 4). The whole experience was
very interesting and rewarding. Chicago was very different to anywhere I have visited before and
was memorable for many things. I am eternally grateful to the UCLAN for facilitating my attendance
at the conference.
(Word count 1273)
Figure 4. De-icing the planes at Chicago O’Hare
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