Saturday – October 19, 9:30-11:00am

Milton J Rubenstein Museum of Science & Technology – Syracuse, NY

Courtroom environments, which have traditionally relied on people talking to each other, are now changing into cinematic display environments. CGI technology from movies and the computer game industry create compelling visual media displays to present a range of digital evidence in a convincing and credible manner. But take a second look!! This form of digital media warrants special attention due to its inherently persuasive nature, and the undue reliance that the viewer may place on the evidence presented. Dr. Damian Schofield’s talk will illustrate the use of video game technology in the courtroom (particularly forensic animation and virtual crime scene reconstructions), and conclude with a discussion of the potential benefits and problems of implementing this technology in courtroom settings.

People interested in learning more about forensics are invited to attend the free Junior Cafe presentation on Saturday, October 19, from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science and Technology (MOST) in Syracuse’s Armory Square. Walk-ins are welcome, but we ask that people RSVP by emailing jrcafe@tacny.org by October 16, 2013.

Presenters

Dr. Damian Schofield, PhD, is the Director of Human Computer Interaction and a Professor at SUNY Oswego, and an Adjunct Associate Professor at Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia. Dr. Schofield was the Associate Professor of Computer Games and Digital Media in the School of Creative Media at RMIT Univ. in Melbourne, Australia. Before moving to Australia, he was on the management team of the Mixed Reality Lab at the Univ. of Nottingham, UK, and the management boards of the Visual Learning Lab and the Learning Sciences Research Institute. Dr. Schofield remains a director and major shareholder of Aims Solutions Ltd. in the UK, which provides computer graphics visualization services and virtual reality based simulation training products to public and private sectors.

Dr. Schofield studies the use of digital evidence in courtrooms, e.g., virtual reconstructions and the representation and understanding of visual evidentiary information using computer game technology. He examines the prejudicial effect of digital evidence, validation and verification procedures, admissibility of digital evidence and mathematical uncertainty associated therein. Dr. Schofield serves as an expert witness in courts all over the world, including the UK, Australia, the USA and Malaysia. This work covers forensic visualization from computational fluid dynamics models to blood spatter patterns at crime scenes, from road traffic accident reconstruction to post-mortem pathology visualization. He worked on the facial reconstruction of an Egyptian mummy for a documentary, “Nefertiti Reserected,” on the Discovery Channel, and as well as research projects for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the USA.

TACNY Junior Cafe Scientifique

TACNY Junior Cafe Scientifique, a program for middle-school students founded in 2005, features discussions about topics in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics in an informal atmosphere and seeks to encourage students to consider careers in these areas. Students must be accompanied by an adult and can explore the MOST at no cost after the event.

Technology Alliance of Central New York

Founded in 1903 as the Technology Club of Syracuse, the nonprofit Technology Alliance of Central New York’s mission is to facilitate community awareness, appreciation, and education of technology; and to collaborate with like-minded organizations across Central New York.

For more information about TACNY, visit www.tacny.org.