In the past few years, the interest in biometric techniques has increased exponentially. Biometrics is an important field of study in forensic science. Distinguishing human characteristics such as fingerprints, facial features, speech and DNA are used in the investigation and solving of serious crimes, among other things. The UT is the only academic institution in the Netherlands that conducts structural research into forensic biometrics. For the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI), the University of Twente is the connection to the academic world in this field. This collaboration is strengthened and expanded upon with the appointment of Didier Meuwly, NFI principal scientist, as Professor of Forensic Biometrics. On Thursday, 16 April he will be holding his inaugural lecture.
Thanks to popular TV shows such as CSI, forensic investigation has become well known in recent years. The NFI spends a large part of their research capacity on cases that have possibly been a criminal offence. As one of the four principal scientists of the NFI, Didier Meuwly (Switzerland, 1968) makes an important contribution to the education of experts and to the quality of case investigation. Meuwly recently became part-time Professor at the UT of the newly established Forensic Biometrics chair within the department of Services, Cybersecurity and Safety (SCS) of the Centre for Telematics and Information Technology (CTIT) research institute. He gives lectures on the subject of forensic biometrics within several master's programmes.
Meuwly is mainly going to perform research on fingerprint recognition and the application of biometrics in forensic cases. In the same department, Raymond Veldhuis, who was appointed Professor at the UT last summer, specializes in biometrics, including facial recognition. Veldhuis is, among other things, working on the Face Recognition project for the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), in which researchers try to automate and objectify the research methods of forensic experts in the field of facial recognition.
Scientifically anchored
"Forensic research is an important domain for the NFI, and at the UT we can continue to work on a scientific programme," Meuwly explains. "Biometrics can be applied to more than just the furnishing of proof in court. It is also useful in other stages of crime prevention, such as the locating of people or identity theft. The forensic methods have been further developed and the role of the forensic investigator has changed. We are much better able to translate certain scores from forensic biometric research into objective evidential value and distinction. In the field of forensic biometrics, developments are made at a fast rate. In this way, forensic research is scientifically anchored. The UT is one of the larger academic institutes in the field of biometrics in Western Europe. Several PhD candidates are working on a forensic subject in Twente. The UT proves its social relevance in part because of its connection to the NFI."
New standard for digital interpretation
Within the European Union's Horizon 2020 programme, a total of € 80 billion has been earmarked for research and innovation between 2014 and 2020. And the development of the digital side of forensic science is high on the agenda. Didier Meuwly is preparing a research proposal on the subject of a new standard (known as an ISO standard) that should become the new European standard in this field. "There are already European standards for both investigations at crime scenes and analysis and human interpretation of evidence. But there are no standards as yet within forensic biometrics for digital evaluation. This is what we are now working on. It represents a breakthrough in digital forensic science."
More information
Prof. Didier Meuwly will be holding his inaugural lecture at 16:00 on 16 April 2015 in the Prof. ir. M. P. Breedveld lecture theatre and in the foyer of the Waaier building at the UT campus in Enschede. The inaugural lecture is open to the public.
