The Forensic Program:

The focus of the program in forensic anthropology at CSU, Chico has been to apply skeletal and biological principles and techniques to the identification of skeletal and/or badly decomposed human remains. By assisting agencies and individuals throughout the country the program additionally fosters a learning environment in which faculty staff and students cooperate in learning and teaching. This Forensic Anthropology Conference is the fifth such conference organized through the efforts of the graduate students of CSUC since 1998. As in the past, the students invited each of the participants, and importantly, acquired the necessary grants from the University and others to organize the conference. The students scheduled the presentations, aided in selecting the topics addressed, and made all the necessary arrangements. The effort of all the student organizers, past and present, is commended by the faculty and staff of the Forensic Anthropology program and the Human Identification Laboratory at CSU, Chico.

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The Participants:

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The Schedule:

The 2007 Organizers:

Kyle McCormick, BA - Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI
Carrie Brown , BA - Lawrence Univ., Appleton WI
All the members of the Anthropology Graduate Student Association (AGSA)

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Past Conferences:

The 1999 Organizers

Amy Zelson-Mundorff, MA CSU, Chico. PhD program, Simon Frasier Univ.
Laura Morris, MA CSU, Chico.

The speakers:

Thomas D. Holland, JPAC, CIL, Hickam AFB, HI.
Paul Sledzick, AFIP, Walter Reed Army Hospital, Washington, DC.
Steven A. Symes, Forensic Anthropologist, Regional Medical Examiner Center, Memphis, TN
Douglas H. Ubelaker, Anthropology, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.

The 2000 Organizers:

Eric Bartelink, MA CSU, Chico. Ph.D. Anthropology Department, CSU, Chico, CA
Gina Hart, MA (2001) CSU, Chico. Forensic Anthropologist, Regional MEO, Newark, NJ
Tamara Leher, MA CSU. Chico. Osteo/Archaeologist, Woodland, CA
James Mangold, MA CSU, Chico. Osteo/Archaeologist, PG&E, Oakland, CA
Rebecca O'Flaherty, MA CSU, Chico. Ph.D. program, UC Davis, DBP, Sacramento, CA.
Carolyn Orbann, MA CSU, Chico. Ph.D. program, Univ of Missouri.
Jason Wiersema, MA CSU, Chico. Ph.D. Harris County MEO, Houston, TX

The speakers:

Glassman, David M., Anthropology, Texas State Univ. San Marcos, TX
Lee Goff, Entomology, Univ. Hawaii, Honolulu, HI
Robert Mann, JPAC, Central Identification Laboratory, Hickam AFB, HI
Tal Simmons, Anthropology, Western Michigan, Univ., Kalamazoo, MI
Steven A. Symes, Forensic Anthropologist, Regional MEO, Memphis, TN

The 2001 Organizers:

Ben Figura, MA CSU, Chico, Ph.D. program SUNY, Binghamton, NY
Renee Kosalka, MA CSU, Chico. Forensic Anthropologist, ICMP, Yugoslavia.
Mitchell Keur, MA CSU, Chico. Osteo/Archaeologist, Statistical Research Inc., Tucson, AZ
Carolyn Orbann, MA CSU, Chico. Ph.D. program, Anthropology, Univ. of Missouri.
Tamara Leher, MA CSU, Chico. Osteo/Archaeologist, Statistical Research Inc., Woodland, CA

The speakers:

Clark Davenport, Geo-Physicist, Necro Search, Denver, CO
Ian Hanson, Forensic Archaeologist, UNICTY
Jerry Melbye, Forensic Anthropologist, Univ. of Toronto, Canada
Norman Sauer, Forensic Anthropologist, Michigan State Univ. East Lansing, MI
Steven A. Symes, Forensic Anthropologist, Regional Medical Examiner Center, Memphis, TN
Roland Wessling, Forensic Archaeologist, UNICTY

The 2003 Organizers:

Ben Figura, MA CSU, Chico, Ph.D. program SUNY, Binghamton.
Renee Kosalka, MA CSU, Chico. Forensic Anthropologist, ICMP, Yugoslavia.
Mitchell Keur, MA CSU, Chico. Osteo/Archaeologist, Statistical Research Inc., Tucson, AZ.
Carolyn Orbann, MA CSU, Chico. Ph.D. program, Anthropology, Univ. of Missouri.
Tamara Leher, MA CSU, Chico. Osteo/Archaeologist, Statistical Research Inc., Woodland, CA.

The speakers:

Dennis Derkmaat, Forensic Anthropologist, Mercyhurst College, Erie, PA.
Hugh Berryman, Forensic Anthropologist, Regional Medical Examiner Center, Memphis, TN
Sharon Pagaling-Hagan, Criminal Profiler, California DOJ, Sacramento, CA
Marcella H. Sorg, Forensic Anthropologist, Univ. of Maine, Orono, ME
Dr. Norman "Skip" Sperber, Forensic Odontologist, San Diego Coroner's Office

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The Facilities:

The CSU Chico Human Identification Laboratory (CSUC-HIL) works closely with the Archaeology and Zooarchaeology Laboratories, as well as an Dental Increment/Archaeometric Laboratory.

CSUC-HIL

  The CSUC-HIL facility is on the ground floor of Plumas Hall, Plumas 115. The lab possesses nearly 2500 sq. feet with an ante-room, sink and administrative office. There are three networked computer stations and both a photography and microscope station. The autopsy room possesses a standard autopsy sink and table along with a three-body mobile morgue. The lab supports a library, two active dermestid beetle colonies, along with various osteological instruments and equipment. There is an adjacent Dental Increment Laboratory with microtome, embedding equipment and both histological light and oil-emersion microscopes as well as the equipment to perform isotopic analyses of bone. A 200 square foot secure evidence room is attached to the lab which contains a Hewlett Packard Faxitron x-ray cabinet, developing system, and an additional sink. Extensively used is a shelf-lined 500 square foot storage room where resolved case materials are curated.

Archaeology Laboratory

  The lab is located in Plumas 119 beside the PAHIL. The Archaeology Laboratory comprises approximately 3000 square feet and supports the on-going archaeological research and field methods classes offered by the Anthropology Department. The lab possesses seven student computer work stations, in addition to large storage areas. It supports a working obsidian hydration laboratory used to locate the geographic source of artifacts made from obsidian. Moreover, it contains all the GPS and related survey and excavation equipment necessary for excavation and recovery work.

Zooarchaeology Laboratory

  The lab is adjacent to the PAHIL in Plumas 117 and the two labs share a common door. The lab possesses approximately 800 square feet and contains approximately 1,600 skeletons of nearly 700 different species of fish, reptiles, birds and mammals. Most of the faunal skeletal collection represents indigenous northern California species although more recently a number of African species have arrived for analysis. In addition to being an important archaeological resource, the zooarch lab has been extremely valuable for its role in identifying non-human skeletal remains believed to be of forensic significance.

Dental Increment/Archaeometric Laboratory

  The lab possesses a vacuum oven and embedding equipment for fine incremental analysis. It supports research of minutia such as histological variation in tissues including human and non-human bone, the thickness of mammalian dental enamel, the extent of sexual dimorphism in fingerprint ridge breadth, as well as the degree of wear on stone tools.

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To offer suggestions on this web site please contact the CSUC-HIL Webmaster.
Call T. Murad at (530) 898-5492 or send a
FAX to (530) 898-6143.
Copyright © 2007 Turhon A. Murad

Anthropology Department
California State University, Chico
Created: 9/19/07
Last Revised: 9/19/07 by T. A. Murad