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Forensic Anthropology in the News
MSU Forensic Anthropology continues to bring answers and closure for the families of tragedies. When unidentified human remains were found on private property in northern Kent County, Wyoming Department of Public Safety called in MSU forensic anthropologist, Dr. Joe Hefner to identify the remains. They were the remains of Charles Oppenneer, a victim of the ‘Craigslist killer’. Dr. Hefner and the MSU forensic anthropology team determined the cause of death and positively ID’d the man, offering closure for the family of Mr. Oppenneer, who had been missing since 2014. Hefner and the MSU team also provided invaluable evidence for the…
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Cities of the Arab World Conference
On February 14-15, 2019, the MSU’s Department of Anthropology, co-hosted an international and interdisciplinary conference entitled Cities of the Arab World: Theory, Investigation, Critique. In partnership with MSU’s Global Urban Studies Program (GUSP) and Muslim Studies Program (MSP), and the Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies (CMENAS) at the University of Michigan, the event brought together scholars from the United States, Europe, and the Middle East to explore urban life in the geographic Arab world, and the political, economic, and cultural presence of Arab communities in cities around the globe. Six panels were formed for the two-day conference,…
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Featured Alumna, Eve Avdoulos
Eve Avdoulos graduated from Michigan State University in 2012 with her degree in anthropology, going on to graduate from the University of Cambridge with a Master of Philosophy in 2013. In July of 2019, she will receive her Doctor of Philosophy from Cambridge where she was a researcher at the Centre for Urban Conflicts Research located within the Department of Architecture. Currently, she is applying to various postdoctoral and public sector positions. Ms. Avdoulos’ PhD, submitted in September 2018, investigated the complexities and contradictions of the phenomenon of urban decline. Through the study of Detroit and a close reading of…
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2019 Photo Contest Winners
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New Digital Heritage Imaging Lab Opens
There is a new space in McDonel Hall for digital applications in archaeology. The Digital Heritage Imaging and Innovation Lab, or DHI Lab, held its grand opening on Thursday, May 2nd, 2019. This lab, housed in E36 of McDonel Hall, offers three main types of imaging techniques: 3D scanning, RTI (reflective transformance imaging), augmented and virtual reality, as well as 3D printing stations, a photogrammetry station and other digitization methods. This new space also houses equipment and services for digital documentation, digital preservation, and digitally enabled public engagement. In addition to the technologies housed within, its primary work space is…
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Dr. Moniruzzaman appointed as WHO Task Force Member
As previously reported here, Dr. Monir Moniruzzaman, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Michigan State University has been appointed as a member of the inaugural Task Force on Donation and Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues at the World Health Organization (WHO). This Task Force was established by the Member States at the 70th World Health Assembly in 2017 to advise and assist the WHO and other Member States, in disseminating and implementing the WHO Guiding Principles. These guiding principles address the ethical aspects of organ transplantation such as the voluntary and unpaid donation of human tissues and organs, issues of universal…
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Adjunct Faculty, Dr. Amanda Tickner
Dr. Amanda Tickner is a librarian specializing in GIS in the Maps Library and an Adjunct lecturer in the Department of Anthropology. Amanda helps people find data, use GIS in research, teach GIS to beginners, and troubleshoot GIS problems, she also sits on several PhD committees in Anthropology. The interdisciplinary quality of her GIS work allows her to help people from all disciplines, which dovetails well with her anthropological background. Dr. Tickner received her PhD in archaeological paleobotany from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill in 2009 and began at MSU in 2015. Currently, Dr. Tickner is transitioning…
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Great Lakes Digital Cultural Heritage
Dr. Heather Howard, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Affiliated Faculty of the American Indian and Indigenous Studies program and the Native American Institute here at MSU, was awarded a grant from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada as co-Principal Investigator with Principal Investigator Heidi Bohaker (History, University of Toronto) and co-Principal Investigator Margaret Bruchac (Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania). Their project, “Widening the Circle: Building a Community Knowledge Sharing Digital Platform with Great Lakes Indigenous Cultural Heritage Research Data,” will provide just over $40,000.00 to create and test a new public website for the Great Lakes Research Alliance…
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Alumna, Dr. Megan McCullen
We are very proud to announce that our alumna, Dr. Megan McCullen, is the new Director of the Gordon L. Grosscup Museum of Anthropology & Planetarium at Wayne State University. Dr. McCullen’s position was created as a full-time position in 2017 by the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences at Wayne State. Prior to this, a faculty member in the Anthropology Department was the Museum Director in addition to their regular faculty duties, and the Planetarium had a similar set up within the Physics Department. The goal of creating a new position was to have a person who can take…
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Dr. Hefner and NIJ Helping to Identify Children
Dr. Joseph T. Hefner, Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Michigan State University, and Dr. Nicholas Herrmann, Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Texas State University, received a National Institute of Justice award to improve the accuracy of age estimates for unidentified remains of children and adolescents. The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio and Triservice Orthodontic Residency Program, 59th Dental Group will also collaborate on this research. The project entitled, “Investigation of subadult dental age-at-death estimation using transitional analysis and machine learning methods,” was funded for approximately $900,000 and focuses on tooth root and…