This document reports on a project aimed at developing new approaches for the analysis of trace forensic evidence on glass.
This final report of a project aimed at developing new approaches to analyzing trace forensic evidence on glass. It had three major goals. The first major project goal was to manufacture three new standards (CFGS1, CFGS2, and CFGS3) for use in forensic glass examination and comparison with the aid of Corning Inc. and NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) scientists. These scientists will aid in the certification and distribution of the three glass standards to the forensic community at a minimal handling cost. The composition of each of the three glass materials was informed by several factors: a successful application of the original. The second major goal was to continue to expand on the vehicle database from the current 420 samples to up to 900 vehicle glass samples of authentic, or known, origin by collecting samples at a salvage yard. The third major goal was to continue the work of the Glass Interpretation Working Group (GIWG) to provide the scientific foundations for generating consensus, objective and quantitative language that can be applied to describe the significance of a glass elemental profile match for commonly encountered glass case scenarios using a series of 2 inter-laboratory exercises. The research project resulted in eight publications, one manuscript submitted, and one additional manuscript in preparation that was expected, at the time of this final report’s publication, to be submitted to a forensic science journal by the end of 2022.