Welcome to the Southeast Texas Applied Forensic Science Facility. This is a state-of-the-art research and training facility designed to advance academic and technical knowledge in the application of forensic science disciplines to crime scenes and criminal activities. The facility's predominant focus of study is the application of forensic sciences to the human body and the vast amount of evidence that can be gleaned from the careful recognition, collection, and preservation of that evidence. The facility is recognized by the Anatomical Board of Texas as a willed-body donor facility, and accepts human body donations for the purposes of scientific research.
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We do not conduct tours at STAFS, however this three minute video clip from ABC Channel 13 Houston will give you a glimpse into the type of research conducted here. Click the video to watch.
We are a research facility and therefore do not conduct tours. Requests from qualified researchers to visit the STAFS facility will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
The facility trains students, law enforcement officials, academicians and forensic specialists.
The facility is located within the Center for Biological Field Studies at Sam Houston State University, a 247 acre parcel of land adjacent to the Sam Houston State Forest. One acre of maximum security fencing surrounds the outdoor research facility with an additional eight acres of minimum security reserved for other types of forensic training such as search and recovery maneuvers. Contained within the outdoor facility are a variety of various environmental conditions, including a fluvial environment. Web cams are located within the outdoor facility to monitor timing of various post-mortem activities from on and off-campus computers.
The building is designed as a morgue with cooler and freezer units, modern morgue equipment and tools and digital radiograph and microscope capabilities.
The facility is enclosed within the Center for Biological Studies which is a restricted access facility. Most research will be conducted in a maximally secured privacy-fenced area.
All precautionary measures of safety for faculty, staff, students, researchers and trainees are provided and enforced while at the facility. A Control Risk Management policy is in place.