CHANDIGARH: A forensic scientist of Panjab University (PU) has been invited to work with other scientists towards a complex identification process of human skeletal remains of 9/11 World Trade Centre (WTC) attack victims. J S Sehrawat, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, Panjab University, Chandigarh has been invited as visiting scientist at New York City Chief Medical Coroner’s office (OCME), Manhattan (New York) for the entire month of February, the PU release said.
“He has been invited to work with OCME scientists towards complex identification process of human skeletal remain of 9/11 World Trade Centre (WTC) disaster victims,” the release said.
Sehrawat is among the top eight world forensic scientists who have been selected to this programme as a credit to their academic background and experiences.
OCME provides a full range of advanced services in forensic science with largest DNA crime laboratory in the world and the admission to this visiting scientist programme is highly competitive, the release said.
The programme is designed to provide training and professional development by providing access to hands-on experience. Interest in this programme has been extremely high and there are a limited number of openings each year, it said.
Sehrawat has already been working with identification strategies of human remains excavated from an abandoned well at Ajnala (Amritsar) in March 2014.
During his vist he will also participate and present an oral scientific paper at 70th Annual Meeting of American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) being held at Washington State Convention Centre, Seattle (Washington) from February 19-24, the release said.
The funding to his travel and accommodation expenses has been sponsored by some foreign organisations in Canada, USA and also by some alumni of the Panjab University, settled abroad in different scientific organisations and the universities, release said.
— PTI