Spring Break, March 13-17: Classes Canceled, Offices Closed:
The university is closed for spring break March 13-17. Normal operations resume March 20.
Dwight Adams, Ph.D.
Director
About
On July 1, 2006, Dwight Adams, Ph.D., became the first director of the University of Central Oklahoma Forensic Science Institute. The Institute leads continuing education in forensic science for professionals and leads UCO's undergraduate and graduate forensic science program. Adams retired with 23 years from the FBI after serving as director of the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia. The FBI Laboratory consists of 700 scientific, technical and response personnel and an operational budget of more than $100 million. The FBI Laboratory is the largest and most complex laboratory of its kind in the world. In 2003, he was the recipient of the Presidential Rank Award as Distinguished Executive; the highest award given in the Federal Government.
Adams was a member of the FBI's research team that developed the DNA techniques first used in 1988. He has testified as a DNA expert in federal, state and local courts for the prosecution and defense in excess of 130 times. He also served on the national DNA Advisory Board responsible for creating standards governing all DNA testing crime laboratories in the U.S and was a member of the Attorney General's National Commission on the Future of DNA Evidence. Adams oversaw the creation of the National DNA database (CODIS) linking 200 crime laboratories and responsible for solving or aiding more than 500,000 cases nationwide.
He is the author of numerous scientific publications, mostly in the field of DNA technology applied to human identification.
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. Botany, University of Oklahoma 1982
M.S. Biology, Illinois State University 1979
B.S. Biology, University of Central Oklahoma 1977
Professional and Community Involvement
Chair, DNA Subcommittee, New York Commission on Forensic Science (2015-2019)
Commissioner, FEPAC (2018-2021)
Chair, FEPAC (2019-2021)
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