Dr. Tina Gornall

Full Profile

After graduating from the University of Sheffield with an MPhys Physics & Astronomy degree (1st Class) in 2000, Tina was employed as a Research Scientist at Dstl (Defence Science & Technology Laboratory, formerly DERA), where she helped to develop a prototype Advanced Jamming System (AJS), conducting radar jamming trials at air bases across the UK and in the US.  Tina was then employed as a Forensic Footwear Technician at Lancashire Constabulary, where she identified and analysed all types of footwear evidence from suspects and the marks recovered from crime scenes. Tina has also worked as a Consultant Forensic Collision Investigator at GBB(UK) Ltd., which required her to carefully examine a wide variety of evidence relating to road traffic accidents.  Before joining UCLan, Tina undertook a short research position at Lancaster University in the Department of Psychology, where she conducted trials using sociometric sensors to measure individual and interpersonal behaviours during social interactions.

Tina’s MSc (by Research), entitled ‘A Spectroscopic Study of Paint', involved using a variety of analytical techniques in order to distinguish between forensic paint samples. Her Ph.D., entitled 'Catalytic Degradation of Waste Polymers', involved the thermal degradation of many types of waste plastic in the presence of different catalysts in an attempt to produce high-grade fuel. The analytical techniques utilised in this research included thermogravimetric analysis, IR spectroscopy, Py-GC-MS and SEM-EDX; all of which can be applied to the analysis of trace forensic evidence.  Tina presented her Ph.D. results at a variety of internal and external conferences, including 'Analytical Research Forum 2006' in Cork and the 'First International Conference & Exhibition on Green Industry' in Bahrain.   

Tina is an Accredited Facilitator for Hydra Minerva – an immersive learning suite used to enhance decision-making - and hopes to become more involved in this area.

Qualifications

• PG Cert Learning & Teaching in Higher Education, University of Central Lancashire, 2016
• Ph.D. Forensic & Investigative Sciences, University of Central Lancashire, 2011
• M.Sc. Forensic & Investigative Sciences, University of Central Lancashire, 2003
• MPhys Physics & Astronomy (dual Hons.), University of Sheffield, 2000