William Belcher is leading specialized training for students in India for the excavation and recovery of World War II aircraft and service members. He earned a U.S. Fulbright-Nehru Distinguished Scholar Award and is partnering with the National Forensic Sciences University in Gandhinagar, India, in Gujarat state.
The main project he is working on with his counterpart there, Gargi Jani, is the implementation of a Professional Diploma in Forensic Archaeology.
"The crux of this is to develop a team that can be supervised remotely from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL) while it conducts operations for the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) in sensitive border areas," Belcher, associate professor in the School of Global Integrative Studies (SGIS), said. "The course will culminate in a field project in the northeast for archaeological testing and identification of a possible US MIA crash site from World War II."
He and Jani are scheduling additional introductory lectures on forensic anthropology, forensic archaeology, and forensic odontology at the main campus. Belcher will then go on a "national tour" to all eight of the National Forensic Sciences University campuses, starting in Goa, Pune, and Bhopal in central India, then the four campuses in the Northeast, and finish in Delhi.
The team just completed a conference in Chennai in Tamil Nadu at the Indian Association of Forensic Odontology. Belcher and Gargi, along with Dr. Sharada of the Archaeological Sciences Centre of the Indian Institute of Technology, completed a workshop on excavation recovery and dental remains for 44 people. Belcher also gave two keynote lectures, one to open the conference and one to the Indian Board of Forensic Odontology.
Bill Belcher with VM Vyas.
The DPAA head civilians and two members of the Bangkok Detachment will be there in November to discuss the expansion of the program being developed and UNL's involvement.
Belcher is also working on recruiting several professionals—those who have PhDs but want additional training or another PhD—related to medical anthropology.
SGIS, home to the anthropology, geography, and global studies programs, is part of the College of Arts and Sciences.
