Locating buried bodies using the latest technologies is the subject of a public lecture in Aberdeen tomorrow. The lecture entitled “Dead Men Tell No Tales: Geophysical imaging for buried bodies and foundations” will be held at the Macaulay Institute, Aberdeen on Wednesday 1 August.

Renowned international expert Dr David Nobes from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, will be explaining how these new techniques are already assisting forensic investigators in murder enquiries.

Dr David Nobes comments: “Graves need to be treated with care, and usually must be left undisturbed. These new imaging techniques allow us to see what is buried underground without the need for digging. This obviously saves police time, and minimises the loss of potentially vital evidence to disturbance.”

The examples in the lecture will involve some of the murder cases David has worked on over the last twelve years, as well as his work discovering the unmarked grave of atom-splitting physicist Ernest Rutherford’s brother, Percy.

The non-invasive search techniques, which include ground penetrating radar, reveal items under the ground that otherwise would remain undiscovered.

Such tools are also assisting archaeologists investigating sites of cultural interest, and the audience at the lecture will hear about David’s work in New Zealand on pin-pointing Maori burial sites.

The lecture, which begins at 2pm, is supported by the EPSRC funded GIMI research network, an international collaboration of forensic, police and legal professionals run from the Macaulay Institute.

The lecture comes ahead of a major international forensics conference organised by the Institute and to be held in Edinburgh at the end of October.

The Macaulay Institute is the premier land use research institute in the UK. Two hundred and seventy staff are based at the Macaulay Institute at Craigiebuckler in Aberdeen. The Macaulay Institute aims to be an international leader in research on the use of rural land resources for the benefit of people and the environment and is involved in research across the globe; from Scotland to Chile and China. More about the Macaulay Institute can be found at www.macaulay.ac.uk

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Dr Nobes will be available for interview from 1000 -1200h on Wednesday 31 July and after his lecture from 1530h -1630h.

Dr David Nobes is from the Department of Geological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand and is also a visiting scientist at the Macaulay Institute, Aberdeen.

The Geoforensics and Information Management for crime Investigation (GIMI) research network is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). It aims to find ways in which new technologies can help in the forensic investigations of crime scenes, such as locating the graves of murder victims, uncovering buried items of evidence and helping to narrow down areas of search for the police.

The network draws together the expertise of over 40 scientists and forensic professionals from around the world, who are reviewing evaluating the potential for using non-invasive methods in forensic investigations. Their assessments will lead the way for interdisciplinary research and development work which will provide innovative solutions to the challenges in this field.

Dr Nobes will be giving a second talk on Thursday 9 August, (1400h) about using these techniques to detect the effects of diesel and oil spills on the fragile Antarctic environment.

For further information please contact: Kelly Cromar Account Manager Tricker PR Aberdeen Tel: 01224 646491 Direct: 01224 654085 Mobile: 07795 522 010 Email: kcromar@trickerpr.com