Forensic Science Laboratory Benchmarking

Max M. Houck, PhD, FRSC is an international expert in the forensic sciences. Dr. Houck has nearly 30 years of expertise in casework, research, teaching, and writing. His casework includes the Branch Davidian Investigation, the September 11 attacks on the Pentagon, the D.B. Cooper case, and the West Memphis Three case, among hundreds of others. His committee work includes the White House, the National Academies of Science, the Royal Society, and Interpol. Dr. Houck is one of the most published professionals in his field. He is Editor in Chief of Forensic Science International: Synergy and an Editorial Board Member of Nature Scientific Reports and has also co-authored numerous books, including the best-selling textbooks, Fundamentals of Forensic Science, Science of Crime Scenes, and Successful Expert Testimony. Dr. Houck is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Paul J. Speaker, PhD, is a Finance Professor in the John Chambers College of Business & Economics at West Virginia University. He earned his MS Economics and PhD from Purdue University and a BA in Economics from LaSalle College. Dr. Speaker also holds the position of Chief Executive Officer of Forensic Science Management Consultants LLC, a firm which specializes in the business of forensics using the forensics of business. He serves as a member of NIJ’s Forensic Laboratory Needs Technology Working Group. Dr. Speaker is the Principal Investigator for Project FORESIGHT, a business-guided analysis of Forensic Science Laboratories. His research activity is concentrated in economic modeling, including the role of public sector and not-for-profit institutions. These research projects include numerous studies in the business of forensics, including estimation of the return on investment from forensic laboratory analyses.