Her Majesty The Queen opens Leverhulme Centre for Forensic Science

Her Majesty The Queen has officially opened the Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science at the University of Dundee.

The Queen and His Royal Highness, The Duke of Edinburgh, saw some of the world-leading forensic techniques being developed at the University, such as hands identification, innovative fingerprinting and a new generation of lifesaving smoke alarms.

The Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science has been established at the University with a £10 million award from the Leverhulme Trust.

The Leverhulme Centre builds on the University’s reputation as one of the world’s leading centres of excellence in forensic science. It is led by Professors Dame Sue Black and Niamh Nic Daéid, who led HM The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh on a tour of the forensic laboratory.

“We are delighted to welcome Her Majesty and His Royal Highness to our new Centre and to let them see how we are building a new future for forensic science,” said Professor Black.

“With the valued support of the Leverhulme Trust, our ambition with this new Centre is to strengthen the science behind forensic science and develop better, more effective evidence types that can support a modern criminal justice system.

“There is a research gap in many of the evidence types used in the court room. The Leverhulme Centre will raise the bar in the standards of science underpinning these vital techniques.”

To help meet that challenge, the Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science at Dundee is bringing together experts from the around the world – from the other leading academic centres and from across the criminal justice system.

“We are already building an international network around the new Leverhulme Centre and it is our privilege to work with key national and international partners on future research in a truly collaborative global alliance,” said Professor Nic Daeid.

“The first of these international partners are the University of Lausanne in Switzerland, the University of Technology, Sydney in Australia and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the United States.”

Professor Christophe Champod, Professor of Forensic Science at the University of Lausanne, said, “We are absolutely delighted to work with the new Leverhulme Centre for Forensic Science at the University of Dundee and look forward to much fruitful collaboration in the years to come.”

Professor Claude Roux, Professor of Forensic Science and Director of the Centre for Forensic Science at UTS, said, ”Along with my colleagues at the UTS Centre for Forensic Science, I am excited to collaborate with Sue and Niamh and this newly established research centre in forensic science to advance critical knowledge for our discipline and its end-users.”

Mrs Susan Ballou, Manager, Forensic Science Research Program at NIST, said, “NIST applauds the creation of the new Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science. We look forward to many years of productive collaborations for our two organisations in advancing measurement science, standards, and technology in the field of forensic science.”

The University of Dundee is ranked number one in the UK for forensic science, largely based on the work of the Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification (CAHID), one of the world’s foremost institutions for the study and application of human anatomy, forensic human identification, disaster victim identification, forensic science research and forensic and medical art. The Centre was awarded the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher Education in 2013.

Dundee was one of four UK universities – alongside Cambridge, Liverpool and Sheffield – to win the new Leverhulme Research Centre awards. The Centres are funded for up to £10 million over 10 years, to support fundamental cross-disciplinary research across the whole range of the STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects, humanities and social sciences.

About the University of Dundee

Founded in 1881, the University of Dundee is a traditional university with a world class reputation in areas ranging from education to politics to psychology and medicine. We are the only Scottish University which offers both English and Scots law, making it easier for you to practice back in Canada.

Over half the University’s research activity takes place in departments graded ‘research of international excellence’. Our staff-student ratio of 6:1 ensures a high level of interaction between staff and students, and career prospects for our graduates are amongst the best in the UK. The University of Dundee has over 18,000 students, of whom 15% come from countries outside the UK including Canada. We have a long history of welcoming students from Canada to Dundee, and at present there are around 60 Canadian students studying on our campus in Dundee.

About Dundee

Located on the east coast of Scotland around 60 miles north of Edinburgh, the city of Dundee enjoys stunning views over the banks of the River Tay. While at Dundee you can immerse yourself in Scottish culture and explore the scenic beauty of Scotland. Mountains, lochs and glens are all within easy reach, and the rest of the UK is also highly accessible, even without a car. If that’s not enough, you’ll only be a short flight away from mainland Europe too. We have a thriving International Student Society which has members from over 100 countries world-wide. They organize trips and tours, arrange social events, and work in conjunction with our international support service to make sure your time at Dundee runs smoothly.

Living costs in Dundee are lower than the UK average. We estimate that students need approximately £7000 to cover their living costs for the full academic year including vacations. This would include accommodation, food, clothes, travel, books and hobbies.

We guarantee to provide high-quality, affordable university accommodation to all single entrant international students who apply before the deadline. As a student in Scotland, you have access to the National Health Service, so you do not have to pay for health insurance while studying at Dundee.