Date:	April 10, 2008
Contact:	Ellen Averill (918) 561-8215

Dr. Robert Allen honored for volunteer service to OSBI

Robert Allen, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Forensic Sciences at Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, has received the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation’s Director’s Award for providing forensics expertise and service to the bureau.

The award is given in appreciation for Allen’s volunteer assistance to the bureau in statistical interpretation of certain kinds of criminal DNA test results. Allen said he provides specialized forensic expertise in unusual cases and this assistance aids in prosecuting offenders expeditiously.  A letter from the OSBI director acknowledges Allen’s expertise and his voluntary service to the bureau and to law enforcement in Oklahoma.  

Nominations for the award can come from anyone within the OSBI, Allen said. The award was officially given in January, but he received it in March because the ice storm prevented him from attending an awards ceremony.

Allen is also director of the OSU-CHS graduate program in forensic sciences, director of the Human Identity Testing Laboratory and a professor of forensic sciences.