Tara Luther, Promega

Sylvain Hubac: Serve justice and protect citizens. In DVI context, the best reward is to have allowed families to find their relatives.

Abigail Bathrick: As a research scientist, I like having the opportunity to evaluate new technologies.

Nicole Richetelli and Austin Hicklin: Forensic science has a fascinating variety of details in its various disciplines, and the work is greatly rewarding. Every day is like a new puzzle.

Ray Wickenheiser: I really enjoy the passionate people who join our field of forensic science, bringing their energy, enthusiasm, and brilliance to help solve crime with objective science. We get to work with a great group of folks.

Julie Sikorsky: Knowing that what I do (and love to do) on a daily basis has the potential to make a difference in people’s lives, bringing them closure and security.

Nathan Scudder: I enjoy the people I work with, and the range of opportunities I’ve had over the last 23 years with the Australian Federal Police. I work with some fantastic teams, who all want to make a difference and make society safer.

Tim Kalafut: In my current job as an academic, I love the entrepreneurial component of it. I can do any project I want – as long as I find money to pay for it or collaborators to work with. I wasn’t expecting that after 23 years in the crime lab where I had to do either 1) get permission for every special project, or 2) do everything according to protocol. Although you didn’t ask, I had no idea that a new faculty member would be putting in 7-day work weeks of 14-hour days. That’s not exactly a dis-like, but it was unexpected.

Cheryl Carreiro: Making a difference and helping the community.

Sylvain Hubac: It was a menstrual cup during a DVI mission of a fighter jet air crash in France in 2019. I didn’t know what it was at this time but i found curious the presence of this object in the snow with nothing around.

I’ve collected it and used a swab to collect inside. I found the DNA profile of pilot whose body was fully disintegrated upon impact with the ground.

Ray Wickenheiser: I have been blessed to have worked on a host of interesting cases, but if I had to pick one item, it would be a fragment of contact lens that I picked out of a full vacuum cleaner bag. The assailant had tricked the victim to enter a location where he assaulted and beat her, knocking out her contact lens in the process. She eventually escaped and was too afraid to report the crime until days later. Hence, no other associative evidence was available. Once the police attended the scene, it had been extensively cleaned. In an effort to corroborate her story, investigators submitted the vacuum cleaner bag to the forensic laboratory. Working with my colleagues, we were able to obtain a full DNA profile from a contact lens fragment located within the pile of debris. The major component of the mixed DNA profile matched her, and the suspect plead guilty just prior to trial.

Julie Sikorsky: The first thing that comes to mind was a broken dreadlock left behind at a home invasion.

Tim Kalafut: An old case involving a blunt force trauma had a new lead years later, resulting in a search of the woods and a river. A pickaxe was collected from the river in a big old PVC section of pipe, capped at both ends. (The handle was sawed off so both the handle and the head would fit into the pipe.) It was really, really heavy because it was full of water. Turns out, because the axe was in the water, they wanted to capture any DNA that might have been washed off. Needless to say, I didn’t collect any DNA from it.

Sylvain Hubac: Leonard De Vinci. I totally agree with his way of thinking: “the simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”.

Abigail Bathrick: David Attenborough – I think he would have the most interesting stories from a lifetime of traveling and presenting nature documentaries.

Nicole Richetelli and Austin Hicklin: Leonardo, David Bowie, Bigfoot…if Bigfoot shows up, you know the legend is true!

Ray Wickenheiser: I would choose Dr. George Carmody, professor, forensic geneticist, and statistician. George was a great friend and colleague who could make the most complex concepts understandable, interesting, and fun. He had a passion for forensic science and loved getting out and meeting crime lab scientists and sharing his knowledge.

Julie Sikorsky: Ruth Bader Ginsburg. I have so much respect for a woman, a wife, and a mother who, facing and overcoming so much adversity in her own life, sought and succeeded at living a life dedicated to fighting the inequities levied on others. She also seemed accessible, so dinner with her would undoubtedly be an easy, relaxed affair with quality conversation and good wine.

Nathan Scudder: I could detect when someone was lying, honesty is something that is very important to me in both my personal and professional life. Although if I could detect lying, I should probably be an officer or a lawyer instead of a scientist.

Tim Kalafut: Al Capone. To find out what was really in that vault….

Sylvain Hubac: That I may be the only French guy to attend at ISHI. If someone has never seen a French guy, this is the opportunity!

Abigail Bathrick: I read over a hundred novels last year.

Ray Wickenheiser: I enjoy playing ice hockey and play in a hockey league and charity tournaments.

Julie Sikorsky: I was a Girl Scout from brownies through seniors (there were no daisies when I started) and was even a Boy Scout Explorer in high school.

Nathan Scudder: In my Year 11 school report, my physics teacher – while giving me a passing grade - strongly suggested I stay away from the sciences. So I instead embarked on studying law. Twenty-five years later, I completed my PhD and I now manage biometrics in a forensic laboratory.

Tim Kalafut: I got shot in the head with a bow and arrow as a kid.