LJMU features in Ri Christmas Lectures

Academics from LJMU will be helping to reveal the secrets of forensic science in the Royal Institution’s prestigious Christmas Lectures.

Professor Caroline Wilkinson, Director of Face Lab, and Dr Jessica Liu will feature alongside Professor Dame Sue Black in a lecture about human identification.

The Ri Lectures are the world's leading science lectures for young people and have been inspiring children and adults alike since 1825.

Initiated by Michael Faraday, previous lectures have been given by guests including Nobel Prize winners William and Lawrence Bragg, Sir David Attenborough, Carl Sagan and Dame Nancy Rothwell.

In this three-part series, Professor Dame Sue Black will reveal the secrets of the real-life scientific detective process she uses to identify both the dead and the living.

Professor Wilkinson said: “It was a great honour to be invited as one of the forensic scientists contributing to the 2022 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, where this year’s host, Prof Dame Sue Black, will be revealing the secrets of forensic investigation.

“Myself and Dr Jessica Liu from Face Lab, feature as craniofacial experts in the first lecture relating to human identification and we produced a facial reconstruction that features as the climax of this lecture.”

LJMU’s Professor Wilkinson and Dr Liu will appear in the first of the lectures, broadcast on BBC Four at 8pm on Boxing Day. It will then be available to view on the iPlayer.

LJMU’s Face Lab is a research group that carries out forensic/archaeological research and consultancy work, including craniofacial analysis, facial depiction and forensic art.

Face Lab specialises in facial identity, population demographics, portraiture and depiction.