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Nicholas Passalacqua

Nicholas Passalacqua

Associate Professor

College of Arts and Sciences

Anthropology and Sociology

Contact Information

Email: nvpassalacqua@wcu.edu
Phone: 828.227.2306
Office: G08B McKee Building
Personal Website: nvpfa.com
Pronouns: He, His, Him

Biography

Dr. Passalacqua is an Associate Professor and the Director of Forensic Anthropology at Western Carolina University. Dr. Passalacqua is a co-founder and a current editor-in-chief of the journal <i>Forensic</i> <i>Anthropology</i>. He has served as the Vice President of the American Board of Forensic Anthropology and he was the 2021 winner of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences Outstanding Emerging Forensic Scientist Award. <br><br>Dr. Passalacqua has co-authored the award-winning textbook: <i>Forensic anthropology: Current methods and practice</i>, as well as the books: <i>Ethics and professionalism in forensic anthropology</i>, and <i>A laboratory manual for forensic anthropology</i>. Dr. Passalacqua also has numerous publications in such journals as: <i>Forensic Anthropology, The American Journal of Physical Anthropology, The International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, and The Journal of Forensic Sciences</i>, as well as chapters in such books as: <i>Skeletal trauma analysis: Case studies in context,</i> <i>The analysis of burned human remains, Age estimation of the human skeleton</i>, and <i>A companion to forensic anthropology</i>.

Education

  • Ph D, Michigan State University, Anthropology
  • MA, Michigan State University, Anthropology
  • MS, Mercyhurst College
  • BA, Michigan State University, Anthropology

Research Interests

Most of my research currently focuses on ethics and the professionalization of forensic anthropology; including education, qualifications, certification, and competency.

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