Dr. Jose Almirall, to Serve as the Plenary Speaker at the 2019 Annual Research Symposium

By ASU News Services

Dr. Jose Almirall, professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Florida International University, will serve as the plenary speaker for the in the 2019 Annual Research Symposium. The symposium will be held from March 13 to 14 at the John Garrick Hardy Student Center.

As an outstanding teacher, a top scientist, and a world leader, Almirall, will present recent advances and perspectives in forensic science, including the achievements from his own laboratory at the Florida International University.  The title of the Plenary Talk is “Physical evidence examinations and comparisons: From basic research to standardized forensic practice.”

Almirall, also serves as the director of the NSF-funded Center for Advanced Research in Forensic Science (forensicresearch.org) and Emeritus Director of the International Forensic Research Institute (IFRI) at Florida International University (FIU). Before joining FIU, Almirall worked in the Miami-Dade Police Department Crime Laboratory for 12 years, testifying in more than 100 criminal cases in state and federal courts.

As the director of the Center for Advanced Research in Forensic Science, Almirall coordinates industry-driven forensic science research at four universities with more than 20 faculty and more than 100 undergraduate and graduate students working towards developing analytical chemistry, molecular biology and computer science tools for use in forensic science. His own research group has developed technology that was awarded three patents and he has started a company to commercialize his inventions.

Almirall has published one book and more than 140 scholarly articles based on his research. He is one of four academics to serve on the Forensic Science Standards Board (FSSB) of the Organization for Scientific Area Committees (OSAC), a national organization for setting standards in the forensic disciplines managed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and he currently serves as chair of the Chemistry Scientific Area Committee of the OSAC. He also serves as editor-in-chief of the Elsevier journal, Forensic Chemistry, and has been a consultant to the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and to the International Atomic Energy Agency on forensic science matters. Almirall also is a Fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Science and was the founding chairman of the Forensic Science Education Programs Accreditation Commission (FEPAC).

For more information, contact Dr. Harvey Hou at 334-229-5121, email: hhou@alasu.edu) and/or visit the website https://sites.google.com/a/alasu.edu/ars-2019/.