Melanie Beasley
Please join me in congratulating Melanie Beasley, assistant professor of anthropology, for her invitation to serve as an isotope expert at a forensic workshop hosted by the International Committee of the Red Cross in South Africa and the University of Cape Town.
The goal of the workshop in Cape Town is to explore the use of isotopes to complement existing forensic tools to deliver humanitarian action in Africa. Thousands of migrants die each year along perilous routes and even upon their destination in Africa and beyond, many without identification.
The workshop is a collaborative humanitarian effort to help determine how stable isotope methods can be implemented across Africa to determine the country of origin in order to restore family links in cases involving unaccompanied or separated minors, but also to engage with families to obtain important personal information needed by authorities to forensically identify deceased individuals. Melanie is one of six isotope experts invited to the workshop and was the only junior faculty member invited.
Congratulations, Dr. Beasley!
David A. Reingold
Justin S. Morrill Dean
College of Liberal Arts