International Graphonomics Society

The association with the International Graphonomics Society [IGS] provides a valuable resource for research for the members of the Association of Forensic Document Examiners. IGS and the members of IGS are internationally recognized in academia for valuable contributions to the knowledge of graphic behavior and motor control as it is applied to forensic science, biophysics, education, neuropsychology, experimental psychology, paleography, pattern recognition and other facets of handwriting and drawing. Conferences of AFDE and IGS were held concurrently in London, Ontario [Canada] in 1995 and in Scottsdale, AZ in 2003. The IGS holds a biannual conference in various cities around the world.

At the 2009 IGS Conference, AFDE first offered a $500 “Best Paper Award” for a student presentation in the area of Forensic Sciences as selected by an IGS review board. AFDE is pleased to announce that Best Student Paper Award has been renamed “The AFDE Bryan Found Research Award” in honor of Dr. Bryan Found (1962-2016), AFDE member, researcher and forensic scientist.

Past Winners

• Carina Fernandes for her presentation of “Alzheimer’s Disease and Handwriting – What do we know so far?” The research was undertaken with co-author José Manuel Lopes Lima.
• Angelika Garz for the paper “Features of Training- and Segmentation-Free Intuitive Writer Identification with Task-Adapted Interest Points” with co-author Marcel Würsch from the University of Fribourg, Switzerland.
• Muhammad Imran Malik, M.A., for the paper, “Man vs. Machine, a Comparative Analysis for Forensic Signature Verification,” with co-authors Marcus Liwicki, Andreas Dengel and Bryan Found.
• Avni Pepe for his work on the paper, “A Cognitive Look into Simulations of High and Low Complexity Signatures,” co-authored with Douglas K. Rogers and Jodi C. Sita – all from the Handwriting Analysis and Research Laboratory, School of Human Biosciences, La Trobe University.
•  Emmanuelle Sciacca,  as first author and presenter of  “The Range of Handwriting Variability Under Different Writing Conditions” with co-authors Marie-Blanche Langlois-Peters, Jean-Claude Gilhodes, Pierre Margot, Jean-Luc Velay.