Stanford Engineering
01 November 2024
Halloween may be behind us in the US but here at The Future of Everything we’re not quite done with spooky season. If you’re pairing your trick-or-treat haul with some scary movies, we invite you to revisit with us a conversation Russ had with Lawrence Wein a couple years ago about the work he’s doing in forensic genetic genealogy to crack cold cases. Professor Wein shares how he’s using math to catch criminals through traces of their DNA. It’s both haunting and hopeful, and we hope you’ll take another listen. Have a question for Russ? Send it our way in writing or via voice memo, and it might be featured on an upcoming episode. Please introduce yourself, let us know where you're listening from, and share your quest. You can send questions to thefutureofeverything@stanford.edu. Episode Reference Links: Stanford Profile: Lawrence M. WeinLawrence’s Paper: Analysis Of The Genealogy Process In Forensic Genetic GenealogyConnect With Us: Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of Everything WebsiteConnect with Russ >>> Threads / Bluesky / MastodonConnect with School of Engineering >>> Twitter/X / Instagram / LinkedIn / FacebookChapters: (00:00:00) Introduction Russ Altman introduces guest Lawrence Wein, professor of management science at Stanford University. (00:02:18) Forensic Genealogy Explained Forensic genetic genealogy and its impact on solving unsolved crimes. (00:04:31) Third-Party Databases in Genealogy Insight into databases that allow law enforcement to search for criminal suspects. (00:08:23) Math Models in Genealogy Using mathematical models to streamline genealogy work. (00:11:31) Components of the Genealogy Algorithm The algorithm's methods, including ascending and descending family trees. (00:14:12) Algorithm Efficiency and Comparison Comparing the new algorithm's effectiveness to traditional genealogy strategies. (00:16:53) Algorithm in Practice Role of human input alongside the mathematical algorithm in genealogy cases. (00:20:42) Role of Genealogists Genealogists’ insights on balancing human skill and mathematical algorithms. (00:22:45) DNA Databases and Ethics The ethical and privacy concerns related to using genetic data. (00:27:01) Background and Interest in Forensic Genealogy Lawrence’s journey from operations management to forensic genealogy. (00:30:16) Conclusion Connect With Us: Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of Everything Website Connect with Russ >>> Threads / Bluesky / Mastodon Connect with School of Engineering >>>Twitter/X / Instagram / LinkedIn / Facebook Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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