Message from the Editor:

The Journal of the American Society of Trace Evidence Examiners (JASTEE) is always on the lookout for high quality contributions. If you have been sitting on a great idea for a paper, or if you presented at one of the past regional forensic association meetings or trace evidence symposia but have never written up your paper for publication, now is the time to act. Everyone benefits when these papers are published and shared with the broader community through a peer reviewed format. We have big plans for JASTEE, but we cannot do it alone, so get writing, and contact Heidi Prough if you have any questions at ProughH@michigan.gov.

Submission questions? See JASTEE's Guide for Authors and the JASTEE Article Template.

Article Title Authors Keywords Year Month Issue

Duct Tape Sourcing Examinations: Developing Investigative Leads using Multiple Resources

Diana M. Wright, Andria H. Mehltretter

Duct Tapes, Sourcing, FTIR, SEM/EDS, XRD, Py-GC/MS, Reference Collections

2013

January

4-1

Distinguishing Coal, Coke, and Other Black Particles

J.R. Millette, R.S. Brown, J.P. Kyle, W. Turner Jr., W. Hill, and W.R. Boltin

Opaque particles, coal, anthracite, bituminous, lignite, petroleum coke, peat

2010

June

1-1

Discrimination Power of Automotive Paint Comparisons using a Paint Analytical Scheme

Amy Reynolds, Kevin Roberts, Alex Thompson, Emily Runt

Forensic Science, Trace Evidence, Automotive Paint, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Comparison Microscope, Paint Analysis

2018

November

8-1

Discrimination of Retail Black Spray Paints

Scott Ryland

Forensic, Comparisons, Paint, Spray Paint, Discrimination Study

2010

December

1-2

Discrimination of Flat (Sheet) Glass Specimens Having Similar Refractive Indices Using Micro X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry

Scott Ryland

Forensic, Glass Comparisons, Discrimination Study, X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry

2011

December

2-1

Differentiation between Lip Cosmetics Using Raman Spectroscopy

P. Gardner, M.F. Bertino, Robyn Weimer

Cosmetics, Lip Gloss, Lip Balm, Raman

2015

January

6-1

Differential Sampling of Contact Surfaces of Footwear to Separate Fractions of Loosely, Moderately and Tightly Held Particles

David A. Stoney, Paul L. Stoney

Differential Sampling, Footwear, Contact Surfaces, Particles

2017

March

7-1

Determining the Minimum Weight of Soil Samples for Forensic Geological Analysis

Brittany Claassen, Emma Redman, Ted Schwartz, Thomas Brettell, Lawrence Quarino

Soil, Sample Size, Comparative Analysis

2022

December

12-1

Detection of Bullet v. Nail Damage to Textile Fabrics Using Polarized Light Microscopy

Katherine A. Roberts, Gregory Hogrebe, Galyn Fischer, Amanda R. Davis

Textile Fabrics, Ductile Fracture, Bullet and Nail Hole Damage, Fiber-end Deformation, Polarized Light Microscopy

2018

November

8-1

Conducting and Reporting Paint Data Query (PDQ) Searches

Diana M. Wright

Paint Data Query, Make-Model-Year, Spectral Search Libraries

2021

December

11-1

Comparison of Nylon, Polyester, and Olefin Fibers using FTIR and Melting Point Analysis

Anne E. Kisler-Rao

Fiber, Nylon, Polyester, Olefin, FTIR, Melting Point

2015

January

6-1

Chemical Properties of Selected Plastic-Tipped Bullets

Melisa C. Thompson, Cady A. Lancaster, Michele G. Banta, Crystal N. Hart, Michael D. Scanlan, Edgard O. Espinoza

Plastic-tipped Bullets, Ballistic-tip Ammo, FTIR, XRF, Discriminate Analysis

2012

August

3-1

Changes Observed in Human Head Hairs Exposed to Heat

Katherine Igowsky, Elizabeth Pangerl

Hair, Burnt Hair, Heat Exposure, Hair Exposed to Heat, Forensic Hair Examinations, Microscopic, Hair Characteristics, Arson

2015

July

6-2

Case Study: Not a Normal Hair Case - an Alpaca Hair Comparison

Emily Weber

Hair Comparisons, Alpaca, Microscopic Characteristics, Medulla

2022

December

12-1

Case Study: Expectations and Interpretations of an Alternate Known Fiber Sample

Michael J. Bertocchi

Fiber Comparison, Alternate Known Sample, Microspectrophotometry (MSP)

2024

February

13-1

Calcium oxalate crystal identification in kidney tissue

Larry Peterson

Ethylene glycol, kidney tissue, calcium oxalate crystals, refractive index, Fourier- transform infrared microspectroscopy (micro-FTIR)

2019

December

9-1

Analysis of Bicomponent Fibers Using Confocal Raman Mapping

Robyn Weimer, Jennifer Clary, Robert Heintz, Mark Wall

None

2012

August

3-1

Analysis and discrimination of colored pressure sensitive tape backing by microspectrophotometry

Susan Gross, Joshua Jorstad

Colored Tape Backing, Microspectrophotometry, Duct Tape, Electrical Tape

2019

December

9-1

A Method for Isolating Very Small Particles from Plastic Explosive Samples

Andrew M. Bowen

Composition C4, Dust, Explosives, Forensic Investigation, Plastic Explosives, Polarized Light Microscopy (PLM), Provenance, Scanning Electron Microscope-Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM/EDS), Small Particles, X-ray Diffraction (XRD)

2013

January

4-1

A Make-Model-Year Case Involving Unusual Primer Chemistry and Good Resources

Diana M. Wright

Paint, Make-Model-Year Determination, Automotive Databases, FTIR, Benzoguanamine, PDQ

2010

December

1-2

A Low-Cost Fiber Optic Visible Microspectrometer for the Small Forensic Science Laboratory

Thomas A. Kubic, Mircea A. Comanescu, Tiffany J. Millett

microspectrophotometer, forensics, forensic science, criminalistics, fibers, glass, polarized light, microscopy, color, metamerism

2024

February

13-1