Lori Baker, an associate professor of Anthropology at Baylor University who specializes in molecular and forensic analysis of skeletal remains, will speak at Northeastern Illinois University on April 9.
Baker will speak at 3 p.m. in Student Union Room 214, and a reception will follow. The event is free and open to the public.
Baker is the founder and director of the Reuniting Families Project, which was created to establish a system for the identification of the remains of deceased undocumented immigrants found along the U.S. border with Mexico.
"Dr. Baker’s work demonstrates yet another way anthropology is useful and relevant today,” Department of Anthropology Coordinator Jon Hageman said. “She casts light on a tragic, human aspect of immigration along the U.S.-Mexico border, an aspect that receives insufficient attention in the larger U.S. political discussion of immigration.”
Baker has been an invited speaker in many national and international venues, including the Peace Palace in The Hague as part of the International Commission on Missing Persons Conference, and Amnesty International. Her work has been featured in Discover Magazine, National Geographic, NPR, The Washington Post, USA Today, MSNBC, The Wall Street Journal and other media outlets.
Baker’s presentation is sponsored by Northeastern’s Department of Anthropology, the College of Arts and Sciences and the Division of Academic Affairs.
