Prof Simona Francese brought together delegates from around the world for the International Fingerprint Research Group meeting at Sheffield Hallam University between 23-28^th June.

This meeting involved 46 delegates with a wide range of backgrounds from twelve countries presenting over 50 research papers over a 5-day programme. It is the only technical meeting devoted solely to the international interchange of research results on fingerprint technologies.

The round table format enabled effective exchange of views and detailed discussion on the wide range of issues. The technologies used in the detection and analysis of latent fingerprints now involves a wide range of chemical and physical technologies enabling forensic information to be obtained from fingerprints on a wide range of surfaces. There continues to be progress in automated fingerprint matching systems (AFIS) and the use of finer pattern detail to enable partial or fragmentary fingerprints to be identified.

Simona comments: “To host such a prestigious meeting where law enforcement from around the world and excellence in academia meet to progress this area of forensic science, at a speed and with a quality beyond imagination, is a dream come true.”

To read more about this meeting, see the SHU press office pages.