
News|Videos|February 9, 2026
Career Advice for Aspiring Forensic Scientists: An Interview with Kelly Elkins and Jaden Force
In this interview segment, Kelly Elkins and Jaden Force of Towson University focus to the challenges forensic scientists face, including how to position themselves for a career in this field.
Advertisement
Advertisement
The American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) Conference is an annual event for the forensic science community, bringing together researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and instrument vendors to exchange knowledge and explore emerging trends (1). In 2026, the conference will be held in New Orleans, Louisiana, from February 9–14, offering a vibrant setting for discussions that shape the future of the field (1).
Related to this article

Jürgen Popp explains how head and neck surgeons in Jena use a Raman probe to locate tumor borders, why the technique could replace frozen section biopsies, and why optical tools must adapt to clinical workflows rather than the other way around.

At SciX, Marc Porter explains how a Thanksgiving batting lesson led him to compare a bat meeting a ball to light scattering off a molecule, and how his group is using simulations to test whether the analogy holds.

Alessandro De Giacomo argues that grounding students in scientific fundamentals, rather than rushing them toward applications, is what makes breakthrough ideas possible.

In this SciX interview segment, Siddhartha Das explains how his group’s simulations revealed a nanochannel scenario that produces energy and boosts flow at the same time. This overturns the classical electroviscous trade-off without breaking the laws of thermodynamics.

At SciX, Juergen Popp explains why a new infection test must fit hospital workflows, outperform the gold standard, and cost about a euro or less per test. He also describes a host-response test that could change how emergency departments treat suspected sepsis.

Jay Kitt of the University of Utah explains that his group’s platform for quantitative Raman measurements inside chromatographic particles didn’t come from a search for signal enhancement. It grew out of a decade of chromatography and biochemistry research.

In this segment of his SciX interview, Marc Porter explains why every step matters when measuring at picomolar and femtomolar levels, and how switching to proteinase K helped make his group’s tuberculosis work more clinic-ready.
Advertisement
Advertisement

