Research and Discovery

Since its beginnings, the Forensic Anthropology Center has been conducting research that continually pushes the boundaries of what the world knows about human decomposition. Take a look at three research projects that are helping to expand the world’s forensic knowledge.

A building lies in ruins, its smoky shell all that remains. As firefighters turn their attention from battling the blaze to figuring out what caused it, their first call goes out to . . . an electrical engineer? It might seem an odd place to start, but when that engineer is UT’s David Icove, it makes perfect sense.

From his first encounter with William Bass, P. Willey (’82) knew he wanted to become an anthropologist. You might even say his future was ordained.

A skeleton found in an abandoned house haunted Jennifer Love (’99 & 01) for months. As the forensic anthropologist for Shelby County, Tennessee, it was her job to piece together clues from those bones to figure out who this person was and return the remains to their family.

David Hunt (’83 & ’89) remembers visiting the Dickson Mounds State Museum, not far from his home in Washington, Illinois, as early as age six and being fascinated by the skeletons that had been excavated—some of them with arrow points still in them.

Before she had her diploma in hand, Katherine Van Hooser (’91) had accepted a job with NASA. Twenty-five years later, she’s risen to the ranks of chief engineer.

What happens to all the stuff that people send after a tragedy occurs, and why do they even send it? Digital Humanities Librarian Ashley Maynor wanted to know, so she made a documentary about it.

WUOT FM is building on its Tenn Words project by hitting the streets of local communities to document and report on important issues facing East Tennesseans.

Not only do Volunteers occupy every corner of the Earth, now they’ve taken over space, too.

With more than 30 years of experience in design, repair, and fabrication of scientific glass pieces, Bo Bishop’s work is crucial to research and instruction in the the chemistry department. Bishop…