Achievement

Cara Fraser in an IGERT Trainee in Physical Anthropology. During her internship with the Erie County Office of the Chief Medical Examiner’s office, the crash of Continental Flight 3407 in Clarence Center, NY (near Buffalo) resulted in the deaths of 49 people on the plane and one on the ground. The ME’s office and the local first response teams, both of which included Ms. Fraser, worked the location, recovery, and identification of the remains. There was a large, interdisciplinary contingent involved in the investigation through all phases. GIScience played a role in the use of GPS and the Total Station, as well as formal mapping of the crash site. Her experience there also prompted her to narrow her dissertation topic to include the use of GIS, trace element location and analysis, and unidentified human remains.