A tribute to Dr. Ellis R. Kerley: the Kansas years.

Dr. Ellis R. Kerley, one of the founders of the Physical Anthropology section of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, was born in Kentucky and received his undergraduate degree at the University of Kentucky. Following the completion of his doctoral degree (University of Michigan) he was a visiting professor at the University of Kentucky before joining the faculty at the University of Kansas in 1966. At Kansas he was a major advisor for many graduate students who were to become leaders in the new area of Forensic Anthropology.     

Dr. Walter C. McCrone--his contributions to environmental microscopy

This paper briefly highlights Dr. McCrone's contributions to the recently emerging field of forensic environmental microscopy. Few, if any, criminalists are not familiar with Dr. Walter C. McCrone's voluminous contributions to the field of forensic microscopy and the analyses of micro and ultra micro transfer (trace) evidence. Dr. McCrone was renowned for his life long efforts in promoting the application of the Polarized Light Microscope (PLM) to problem solving. It is therefore not surprising that Dr. McCrone would also apply his analytical and deductive skills employing the PLM to problems in environmental analysis. He is well known for his many publications dealing with the analysis of asbestos and asbestos like materials by PLM. His philosophy of presenting intense professional training courses stressing the practical applications of the PLM carried over to a series of courses offered to students requiring education in other areas of microscopical analysis. Through McCrone Research Institute, Dr. McCrone can be said to have been responsible for the training of a large majority of microscopists who literally analyzed tens of millions of samples. These analyses were performed utilizing methodologies developed predominately by him and adopted by regulatory agencies in the United States and abroad. The methods he fostered are a major part of the arsenal of microscopical techniques employed by forensic environmental microscopists in their efforts to identify a manufacturer of an insulation product for the purpose of litigation.     

Archaeology, science and forensic anthropology: a tribute to Dr T. Dale Stewart

The name, T. Dale Stewart is synonymous with physical anthropology. To many members of the physical anthropology section, particularly those born in the latter half of this century, he is perhaps best known for his 1979 Essentials of Forensic Anthropology. Without a doubt, much of the foundation of this discipline rests upon his teachings and influence. Few knew him in the capacity that William M. Bass did, as T. Dale Stewart was a member of Bass doctoral committee. Bass was greatly influenced during the time he spent working with Dr. Stewart in the 1950's and the instruction and guidance Stewart instilled in Bass has and will continue to be passed on to subsequent generations. Research was Dale Stewart's main emphasis and he succeeded in demonstrating the value of investigation and how results were crucial in explaining many of the processes manifest on skeletal material. Clearly his hypothesis-based approach became essential to skeletal biology and numerous procedures and methods employed in the field are synonymous with the teachings of Dr. T. Dale Stewart. By reflecting on several recently completed interdisciplinary research projects, the far-reaching impact of his knowledge and instruction can be demonstrated.     

Dr. T. Dale Stewart's travels

Renowned forensic physical anthropologist Dr. T. Dale Stewart traveled extensively to countries all over the world. The reasons for his journeys were manifold. He did fieldwork, took part in congresses, visited scientific institutions, and lectured by invitation at various universities. This paper deals with his journeys in general and with his four visits to Czechoslovakia in particular. Three of them were undertaken in connection with scientific congresses dedicated to Dr. Ales Hrdlicka. Dr. Stewart, as Hrdlicka's successor in the Smithsonian Institution, always chose an appropriate topic for his lecture. His visits to Hrdlicka's native country and town contributed to better mutual understanding and exchange of ideas between physical anthropologists and anatomists from both countries, the USA and Czechoslovakia (the today separate Czech and Slovak Republics).