Alice Towler

Dr. Alice Towler is a Casual Academic at the School of Psychology within the University of New South Wales (UNSW). Her research focuses on improving face identification accuracy and efficiency in forensic settings, including the study of super-recognition abilities, development of evidence-based facial comparison methods, and optimization of human-software collaboration in identity verification.

Her primary research interests include:

• Forensic face identification techniques and error reduction
• Predictors of superior face recognition ability (super-recognition)
• Development of evidence-based training protocols for facial image comparison
• Integration of human expertise with facial recognition software systems
• Identity fraud detection in critical applications like passport verification

Dr. Towler collaborates extensively with the UNSW Forensic Psychology Lab under Dr. David White and Prof. Richard Kemp. She maintains an active partnership with the Australian Passport Office to enhance identity fraud detection capabilities. As a member of the Evidence-Based Forensics Initiative, she advocates for scientifically validated practices in forensic sciences through interdisciplinary collaboration between legal professionals, forensic scientists, and cognitive researchers.

Her recent publications demonstrate consistent focus on face recognition mechanisms, perceptual expertise development, and forensic applications. Research themes include optimization of training protocols, individual differences in recognition abilities, validation of forensic methodologies, and real-world implementation challenges.