Forensic Science meets Artificial Intelligence: Innovative technologies to aid the monitoring of marine litter pollution.

Dr Claire Gwinnett (Staffordshire University)

Dr Claire Gwinnett is an Associate Professor in Forensic and Crime Science and is the research lead for the Plastic Pollution and Forensic Fibres Research Group at Staffordshire University. Dr Gwinnett has conducted world leading research in fibre examinations and microplastics for 15 years and has published over 50 conference papers and articles in the field. During this time she has patented new technologies to help in the retrieval of microfibres and works with research networks, police forces, NGOs, government bodies and industry to feed into improved methods for microplastic analysis. She was part of the first team to discover microplastics in deep sea sediment deep sea organisms with Oxford University and also the first to bring forensic science approaches to microplastic analysis. Currently, she is a member of the UK Forensic Fibres group and UK Microplastic network and works internationally with leading organisations on microplastic analysis and plastic degradation studies. For her work in microplastic analysis she has been recently awarded a Winston Churchill Fellowship which will look to standardise plastic pollution analysis internationally.