Sue Black visits BU

Date: 30 January 2012

Professor Sue Black OBE gives guest lecture to Applied Sciences students.

Forensic Anthropologist Sue Black gave a lecture to Applied Sciences students on 18 January to start off the 2012 Guest Lecture series.

Sue Black is a Professor of Anatomy and Forensic Anthropology at the Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification in Dundee.

Prof Black began the lecture by asking the students what an expert witness was and encouraged them to know and understand exactly what their area of expertise was before claiming to be an ‘expert’ in their field. She explained that as a Forensic Anthropologist you are there to serve the court, but the defence will try and catch you out so it is important to try to predict the kinds of questions that may be asked.

Professor Holger Schutkowski, Deputy Dean of the School of Applied Sciences said: “We had the great pleasure to welcome Prof Sue Black OBE from the Centre for Human Identification of the University of Dundee who gave the lecture series an excellent start.

Prof Black is the UK’s most renowned forensic anthropologists and on many occasions had the opportunity to serve justice in court trough the application of science and to practise expert knowledge in the field, for example on humanitarian missions to Indonesia in the wake of the 2004 tsunami or after the war crime atrocities on the Balkans.

Her talk about ‘The many faces of Forensic Anthropology’ gave a captivating insight into the fascinating field of forensic anthropology and the harsh reality that professional practitioners in the field are facing when the sometimes challenging task of human identification is called for.”

The guest lecture series continues with Francis Pryor, author and Time Team presenter on 15 February, Simon Reeve, presenter of Tropic of Capricorn, equator and Tropic of Cancer on 1 March, Author Stewart McPherson on 29 March and is open to all Applied Sciences’ students and staff.

Professor Schutowski continued: “The School of Applied Sciences is running a series of guest lectures, where we invite scientists from across the School’s subject areas who are outstanding representatives of their academic fields and who have gained wide public recognition, in short - celebrity scientists. Each lecture is followed by a reception, so that students get the opportunity to both listen and speak to eminent scientists and to find out that they are not only wonderful role models but also very approachable. We hope that this will give our students extra incentive and motivation for their course of study, and the chance to meet in person leading scientists who they would normally only know from textbooks.”