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TITLE: Scientific validation of the methods used by forensic document examiners for handwriting analysis
PRESENTER: Dr Graham Leedham, http://www.unswasia.edu.sg/staff/stafflist.html#AcademicStaff-DivisionEngineering,Science&Technology, G.Leedham@unswasia.edu.sg
AFFILIATION:Division Engineering, Science & Technology, UNSW Asia, http://www.unswasia.edu.sg/
DATE: Friday 24th November 2006
TIME: 12:00:00
PLACE: CSE Seminar Room, Level 1, K17
ABSTRACT:
For centuries, handwriting (frequently in the form of a handwritten
signature or mark) has been used as a means of authorizing documents.
Such authorizations, including the authentication of the writer of
handwritten documents like letters and wills, continue to be questioned
and challenged in courts of law throughout the world. The assumption is
that the handwriting is a unique biometric identifying the writer which
can be used to determine the author, and hence the acceptability and
authenticity, in law, of the documents.
When the authenticity of handwriting or a signature is questioned Forensic
Document Examiners are called upon to determine whether the questioned
handwriting/signature is genuine, forged or disguised. The techniques and
methods they use are well established and have become standardized over
the past 80-100 years. However, they are based on acquired skill and
experience rather than scientific fact. In recent years the expert opinion
of Forensic Document Examiners has been successfully challenged in the
courts because the techniques they use are considered to be lacking in
scientific rigour.
This presentation will explore the techniques used by forensic document
examiners and describe the recent research carried out in Singapore to
scientifically investigate and validate these techniques.
BIOGRAPHY OF SPEAKER:
Graham Leedham has recently joined UNSW (Asia) as Professor of Computer
Engineering and Information Technology. He was formerly with Nanyang
Technological University, Singapore from 1994-2006 where he was Head,
Division of Computing Systems and Director of the Forensics and Security
Laboratory from 2003-2006. He is Vice-President of PREMIA, the Pattern
Recognition and Machine Intelligence Association, which is Singapore’s
member organization of the International Association of Pattern
Recognition. He was a member of academic staff in the Department of
Electronic Systems Engineering at Essex University, UK (1984-1994) before
joining NTU. He has held visiting appointments at the Ecole Polytechnique
de Montreal, SUNY at Buffalo, the University of Western Australia and
Griffith University.
Much of his early research activities were associated with document image
processing, including on-line and off-line handwriting analysis and
recognition of shorthand, postal addresses and handwritten gestures.
This research later extended to other image processing and pattern
recognition areas such as medical and satellite image processing.
His current research is focused on the use of computers and novel
sensors in forensic analysis, biometrics and intelligent surveillance
for security applications. He has published over 150 articles in
refereed international journals, conferences and invited book chapters
as well as authoring or editing three books and two conference proceedings.
He has served as a Chair for 11 major international conferences,
workshops or colloquia (including General Chair of the 1997 Pacific
Asian Conference on Expert Systems, General Chair of the 1999 biennial
conference of the International Graphonomics Society, General Chair of
the 2005 Asia Computer Systems Architecture Conference, Publicity Chair
of the 2003 International Conference on Document Analysis and Recognition
and Publications Chair of the 2004 IEEE International Conference on Image
Processing) as well as serving on the Programme Committees of numerous
international conferences. He is a Fellow of the Institution of
Engineering Technology (UK) and a Member of the Editorial Board of the
journal Pattern Recognition.
Seminar information is also available at
http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/db/ai/seminars/list/index.html
Host:
Arcot Sowmya
Seminar Convenor:
Van Hai Ho
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