I-Corps Teams: Application of in situ Shallow Subsurface Soil Spectroscopy (S4) to the Discovery of Clandestine Human Burials

University Of Akron, Akron OH

Investigators

Abstract

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project will be quicker and more reliable discovery of human burial sites. The proposed product will help law enforcement officers at municipal, county, state and federal levels discover clandestine human burials thereby aiding in the solution of crimes and enhancing public safety. Likewise, applications in the military arena would enable discovery of the remains of soldiers missing in action (MIAs), mass graves created during genocide, and other casualties of conflict. Because the technology of the product has a very general capability, a product based on the same hardware and software may be customized for a variety of commercial applications. These include: (1) environmental mapping and remediation efforts; (2) cultural resource or heritage management, e.g., by documenting Native American burial grounds; (3) characterization of soil chemistry for agribusiness applications; (4) mapping of sites in archaeology. All of these applications would create greater demand with resulting commercial and employment opportunities. Finally, since successful applications will receive media attention, they will provide the opportunity to educate the public about the nature of the science, the value of scientific research to the public good, and technology involved in the product. This I-Corps project involves a novel adaptation of existing technologies (spectroscopy, push-probe soil tests) to a new application within forensic science. The basic concepts of the technologies are well-established. The product, a robotic mobile device, pushes a probe into the ground at the test locations. The probe has a window that allows the soil to be illuminated with visible and near infrared light. Reflected light is collected by fiber optics which carry the light to the surface to be analyzed. The fraction of each color of light that is absorbed by the soil carries the signature of the chemical content of the soil at each underground location. These data are then interpreted in terms of the decay products (mainly fatty acids) that indicate the presence of human cadavers. PI?s earlier research was successful in identifying burials in both controlled mock crime scenes and in real forensic contexts involving disturbed human graves. The proposed product will provide real-time, reliable interpretation of the data to indicate the presence of a 'hit', an essential part of the value proposition of the product for law enforcement applications. This marks a very significant improvement over current lab-based analyses. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.