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{{Short description|Irish forensic scientist (born 1952)}} |
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{{Notability|1=Academics|date=October 2022}} |
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| name = Sheila M. Willis |
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| birth_date = {{birth date|df=y|1952|6|11}} |
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| workplaces = Forensic Science Ireland |
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| alma_mater = [[University College Dublin]] |
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| thesis_year = 1977 |
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| doctoral_advisors = Anthony Manning |
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| known_for = Director General of Forensic Science, Ireland |
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'''Sheila Willis''' (born 11 June 1952) is a pioneer of the introduction of DNA profiling to the Irish legal system. She contributed to the establishment of the national DNA Database System in 2015.<ref>{{cite news |title=DNA database |newspaper=Irish Examiner |date=18 May 2017 |url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-20450307.html|last1=O'Keeffe |first1=Cormac }}</ref> |
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'''Sheila Willis''' (born 11 June 1952) is an Irish forensic scientist and was director general of Forensic Science Ireland from 2002 to 2016. |
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==Early life and education== |
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Sheila M. Willis was as an undergraduate at University College Dublin and subsequently carried out postgraduate research supervised by Anthony Manning for the award of PhD in 1977.<ref name="UCD-President-Office">{{cite web |title=University College Dublin honorary conferring |url=https://www.ucd.ie/president/about/universityawards/honorarydegrees/2019/sheilawillis/ |website=UCD President's Office Oifig an Uachtaráin UCD |access-date=16 April 2024}}</ref> |
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==Career== |
==Career== |
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Her first employment was as a chemist at [[Clondalkin]] Paper Mills. She was subsequently employed in as a civil servant in the Irish forensic science laboratory and promoted, reaching the position of laboratory director. She was Director General of [[Forensic Science Ireland]] from 2002 to 2016.<ref name="TheJournalIreland2022">{{cite web |title=Former Director General of Forensic Science Ireland |date=18 September 2022 |url=https://www.thejournal.ie/sheila-willis-forensic-science-5860276-Sep2022/}}</ref> She developed the analytical facilities as well as recruiting a multidisciplinary team. This included [[DNA profiling]] analysis and initiating a national Irish DNA database in 2015<ref name="TheJournalIreland2022" /> as the technology developed.<ref>{{cite news |title=DNA database |newspaper=Irish Examiner |date=18 May 2017 |url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-20450307.html|last1=O'Keeffe |first1=Cormac }}</ref> Her final achievement before retiring was overseeing the foundation of a new purpose-built Forensic Science Laboratory building near [[Celbridge]], Co Kildare.<ref name="UCD-President-Office" /><ref name="TheJournalIreland2022" /> |
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Willis has been chair of the Association of Forensic Science Providers and has advised the UK and Irish governments.<ref name="UCD-President-Office" /> Standards and ethics for reporting forensic data and she chaired the group that produced the European Network of Forensic Science Institutes guidelines for evaluative reporting.<ref name="RSC-talks">{{cite web |title=NI RSC Talk - A life of Crime by Prof Sheila Willis |url=https://www.rsc.org/events/detail/75118/ni-rsc-talk-a-life-of-crime-by-prof-sheila-willis |website=Royal Society of Chemistry |access-date=16 April 2024}}</ref> |
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She is an honorary professor at the [[University of Dundee]] and member of the advisory board for the university's Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dr Sheila Willis |url=https://www.dundee.ac.uk/people/sheila-willis |access-date=2022-10-30 |website=University of Dundee |language=en}}</ref> |
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She was a Director General of [[Forensic Science Ireland]] from 2002 to 2016.<ref>{{cite web |title=Former Director General of Forensic Science Ireland |date=18 September 2022 |url=https://www.thejournal.ie/sheila-willis-forensic-science-5860276-Sep2022/}}</ref> She received the UCD Alumni Award in Science in 2017.<ref>{{cite web |title=UCD Alumni Awardee |url=https://alumni.ucd.ie/awards/awardee/dr-sheila-willis/}}</ref> She is an honorary professor at the [[University of Dundee]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dr Sheila Willis |url=https://www.dundee.ac.uk/people/sheila-willis |access-date=2022-10-30 |website=University of Dundee |language=en}}</ref> and the [[editor-in-chief]] of the ''[[Journal of Forensic Research]]'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dr. Sheila M Willis {{!}} Hilaris SRL |url=https://www.hilarispublisher.com/editor/dr-sheila-m-willis-4895 |access-date=2022-10-30 |website=www.hilarispublisher.com}}</ref> published by Hilaris, a subsidiary of the notorious [[predatory publisher]], [[OMICS Publishing Group]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Siler |first1=Kyle |last2=Vincent-Lamarre |first2=Philippe |last3=Sugimoto |first3=Cassidy R. |last4=Larivière |first4=Vincent |title=Predatory publishers' latest scam: bootlegged and rebranded papers |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |date=28 October 2021 |volume=598 |issue=7882 |pages=563–565 |doi=10.1038/d41586-021-02906-8|pmid=34703002 |bibcode=2021Natur.598..563S |s2cid=239999772 |doi-access=free |hdl=1866/25816 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> |
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==Awards and honours== |
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Willis was the recipient of the Boyle Higgins gold medal and lecture award from the Institute of Chemistry of Ireland in 2013.<ref name="IoCI">{{cite web |title=Institute Awards |url=https://www.chemistryireland.org/awards-events/#:~:text=The%20Boyle%20Higgins%20Gold%20Medal%20and%20Lecture%20Award&text=The%20award%20is%20made%20for,an%20Irish%20chemist%20working%20overseas. |website=Institute of Chemistry of Ireland |access-date=16 April 2024}}</ref> She received the UCD Alumni Award in Science in 2017.<ref>{{cite web |title=UCD Alumni Awardee |url=https://alumni.ucd.ie/awards/awardee/dr-sheila-willis/}}</ref> In 2019 Willis was awarded an honorary DSc by University College, Dublin.<ref name="UCD-President-Office" /> Willis was president of The Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences from 2020 until 2022.<ref name="TheJournalIreland2022" /> |
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== References == |
== References == |
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[[Category:Irish women scientists]] |
[[Category:Irish women scientists]] |
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[[Category:Alumni of University College Dublin]] |
[[Category:Alumni of University College Dublin]] |
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[[Category:Academics of the University of Dundee]] |
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Latest revision as of 15:57, 8 November 2024
Sheila M. Willis | |
|---|---|
| Born | 11 June 1952 |
| Alma mater | University College Dublin |
| Known for | Director General of Forensic Science, Ireland |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Forensic Science Ireland |
| Thesis | (1977) |
| Doctoral advisors | Anthony Manning |
Sheila Willis (born 11 June 1952) is an Irish forensic scientist and was director general of Forensic Science Ireland from 2002 to 2016.
Early life and education
[edit]Sheila M. Willis was as an undergraduate at University College Dublin and subsequently carried out postgraduate research supervised by Anthony Manning for the award of PhD in 1977.[1]
Career
[edit]Her first employment was as a chemist at Clondalkin Paper Mills. She was subsequently employed in as a civil servant in the Irish forensic science laboratory and promoted, reaching the position of laboratory director. She was Director General of Forensic Science Ireland from 2002 to 2016.[2] She developed the analytical facilities as well as recruiting a multidisciplinary team. This included DNA profiling analysis and initiating a national Irish DNA database in 2015[2] as the technology developed.[3] Her final achievement before retiring was overseeing the foundation of a new purpose-built Forensic Science Laboratory building near Celbridge, Co Kildare.[1][2]
Willis has been chair of the Association of Forensic Science Providers and has advised the UK and Irish governments.[1] Standards and ethics for reporting forensic data and she chaired the group that produced the European Network of Forensic Science Institutes guidelines for evaluative reporting.[4]
She is an honorary professor at the University of Dundee and member of the advisory board for the university's Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science.[5]
In 2024 she was a guest on the BBC Radio 4 programme The Life Scientific, interviewed by Jim Al-Khalili.[6]
Awards and honours
[edit]Willis was the recipient of the Boyle Higgins gold medal and lecture award from the Institute of Chemistry of Ireland in 2013.[7] She received the UCD Alumni Award in Science in 2017.[8] In 2019 Willis was awarded an honorary DSc by University College, Dublin.[1] Willis was president of The Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences from 2020 until 2022.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "University College Dublin honorary conferring". UCD President's Office Oifig an Uachtaráin UCD. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
- ^ a b c d "Former Director General of Forensic Science Ireland". 18 September 2022.
- ^ O'Keeffe, Cormac (18 May 2017). "DNA database". Irish Examiner.
- ^ "NI RSC Talk - A life of Crime by Prof Sheila Willis". Royal Society of Chemistry. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
- ^ "Dr Sheila Willis". University of Dundee. Retrieved 2022-10-30.
- ^ "Using science to help solve crime".
- ^ "Institute Awards". Institute of Chemistry of Ireland. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
- ^ "UCD Alumni Awardee".
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