معرفی
Dr. Maria Maclennan is a Senior Lecturer in Jewellery and Silversmithing at the School of Design, The University of Edinburgh. She is the world's first Forensic Jeweller, blending design practice with forensic science to solve crimes, identify victims, and address migration crises. Her work spans collaborations with INTERPOL, European Academy of Forensic Science, and NGOs like the Missing Migrants Initiative.
- Education: PhD in Design Research (University of Dundee, 2018), MDes & BDes Hons in Jewellery Design, PJDip (in progress, National Association of Jewellers), GIA Diamond Grading.
Research Focus:
• Forensic applications of jewellery in criminal investigations and disaster victim identification
• Interdisciplinary collaboration between design, policing, and forensic pathology
• Migrant identity reconstruction through recovered artifacts
• Human-object relationships in post-conflict healing
Notable Publications: 2023 Gems and Jewellery on forensic design, 2022 Springer chapter on art crime, and 2024 Routledge work on service design in academia.
Grants & Recognition:
- ESRC Impact Acceleration Award (2021)
- UKRI ‘101 Jobs Changing the World’ Feature (2022)
- Outstanding Early Career Impact Award (SIPR, 2022)
- British Film Institute Funding (2021)
Media Engagement: Featured in BBC Crimewatch, BBC One, BBC Radio 4, and profiled by The New York Times, The Financial Times, and Ripley’s Believe It or Not. She leads the project Identifying the Displaced, cataloging 500+ migrant artifacts for forensic identification.
