About Kathy
Kathy Reichs’s first novel Déjà Dead catapulted her to fame when it became a New York Times bestseller and won the 1997 Ellis Award for Best First Novel. Her other Temperance Brennan books include Death du Jour, Deadly Decisions, Fatal Voyage, Grave Secrets, Bare Bones, Monday Mourning, Cross Bones, Break No Bones, Bones to Ashes, Devil Bones, 206 Bones, Spider Bones, Flash and Bones, Bones Are Forever, Bones of the Lost, Bones Never Lie, Speaking in Bones and the Temperance Brennan short story collection, The Bone Collection. In addition, Kathy co-authored the Virals young adult series with her son, Brendan Reichs. The best-selling titles are: Virals, Seizure, Code, Exposure, Terminal, and the novella collection Trace Evidence. The series follows the adventures of Temperance Brennan’s great niece, Tory Brennan. Dr. Reichs’ latest novel, Two Nights, was released July 11 and features Sunday Night, a tough-talking, scarred heroine. Dr. Reichs was also a producer of the hit Fox TV series, Bones, which is based on her work and her novels.
From teaching FBI agents how to detect and recover human remains, to separating and identifying commingled body parts in her Montreal lab, as a forensic anthropologist Kathy Reichs has brought her own dramatic work experience to her mesmerizing forensic thrillers. For years she consulted to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in North Carolina and to the Laboratoire de Sciences Judiciaires et de Médecine Légale for the province of Québec. Dr. Reichs has traveled to Rwanda to testify at the UN Tribunal on Genocide, and helped exhume a mass grave in Guatemala. As part of her work at JPAC (Formerly CILHI) she aided in the identification of war dead from World War II, Korea, and Southeast Asia. Dr. Reichs also assisted in the recovery of remains at the World Trade Center following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Dr. Reichs is one of only 100 forensic anthropologists ever certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology. She served on the Board of Directors and as Vice President of both the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and the American Board of Forensic Anthropology, and is currently a member of the National Police Services Advisory Council in Canada. She is a Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte.
Dr. Reichs is a native of Chicago, where she received her Ph.D. at Northwestern. She now divides her time between Charlotte, NC and Montreal, Québec.
Available for speaking engagements.
kjreichsasst@gmail.com
Credentials
Dr. Kathy Reichs received her bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from American University, in Washington, DC (1971). She went on to Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, where she earned a Masters in Physical Anthropology (1972) and a PhD in Physical Anthropology (1975). The American Board of Forensic Anthropology certified Dr. Reichs as a Diplomate (D.A.B.F.A) in 1986.
Dr. Reichs began her teaching career as an Assistant Professor at Northern Illinois University, in DeKalb, IL in 1974. During that time she also taught courses at the Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet, IL. In 1981, Dr. Reichs began teaching as an Assistant Professor at Davidson, College in Davidson, NC. During that time she was also a lecturer of the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, where she became an Assistant Professor in 1987. Dr. Reichs became an Associate Professor in 1988 and a full Professor in 1996. Dr. Reichs has also served as a Visiting Professor for the University of Pittsburgh’s Semester at Sea program, and at Concordia University and McGill University in Montreal, Québec.
Dr. Reichs has taught symposia for medical and dental students at the North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill, NC and for residents in pathology at the Laboratoire de Sciences Judiciaires et de Médecine Légale in Montreal, Québec. She has been an Instructor for field courses in the recovery of human remains at the FBI Academy in Quantico, VA and for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police at the Canadian Police College in Ottawa, Canada.
Dr. Reichs has served as a forensic anthropology consultant to the Medical Examiner’s Office of Mecklenburg County in Charlotte, NC and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for the State of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, NC. She is currently a consultant to the Ministere de la Securite publique at the Laboratoire de Sciences Judiciaires et de Médecine Légale, in Montreal, Québec.
From 1997-1999, Dr. Reichs served as a consultant to the Casualty and Mortuary Affairs Operations Center’s Central Identification Laboratory in Oahu, Hawaii (renamed J.P.A.C.). Dr. Reichs also served as a consultant to the United Nations Tribunal on Genocide in Rwanda in 1999. Dr. Reichs served as a forensic anthropologist for the National Disaster Medical System, and, in October of 2001, worked on a D-MORT Team to identify victims of the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks.
Dr. Reichs has published numerous professional works. She is Editor of three academic books: Hominid Origins: Inquiries Past and Present (1983), Forensic Osteology: Advances in the Identification of Human Remains (1986), and Forensic Osteology II: Advances in the Identification of Human Remains (1998). Additionally, she has contributed chapters to numerous other professional books in the field of forensic anthropology. Dr. Reichs has published articles in professional publications such as Central Issues in Anthropology, Journal of Forensic Sciences, American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Canadian Society of Forensic Sciences, Surete, American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology, Forensic Science International, and Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. Dr. Reichs also contributed the Foreword to several other professional works, including a series of science books for children.
Dr. Reichs has extensive professional speaking experience. She has presented academic papers to the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, Canadian Society of Forensic Sciences, American Association of Physical Anthropologists, American Anthropological Association, Chicago Archaeological Society, International Association of Identifiers, Paleopathology Association, and many others.
Dr. Reichs has lectured or given workshops for the Smithsonian, the International Symposium on Forensic Science, the American College of Orthopedic Surgeons, the Midwest Association of Orthopedic Surgeons, and at numerous other academic conferences and universities. She has spoken abroad at the Ontario Coroner’s Association in Canada, the International Symposium on Forensic Science in Bari, Italy, the Symposium on Forensic Anthropology in Perth, Australia, the Symposium on Legal Medicine in Milan, Italy. Dr. Reichs also was the Keynote Speaker at the Quebec Association of Hematologists and Oncologists in Québec City.
She has spoken at the White House, Smithsonian Institute, National Association of Women Judges, American College of Trial Attorneys, Mecklenburg Medical Association, Mecklenburg County Bar Association, Canadian Bar Association, Québec Teacher’s Association, Montreal Science Museum, Charlotte Nature Museum, International Association of Science Journalists, International Association of Foreign Correspondents, Cape Fear Crime Festival, Southern Voice Literary Festival, and North Carolina Bar Association.
Dr. Reichs served on the Board of Directors of the American Board of Forensic Anthropology and the American Academy of Forensics Sciences. She has held the position of Vice President for both organizations. She is currently a member of the National Police Services Advisory Council (RCMP) in Canada.
Getting Involved
I support the following charities and non-profit organizations:
Know My Bones Campaign
Spokesperson for the Know My Bones Campaign for the National Osteoporosis Foundation.
Helping a Hero
Helping a Hero is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing support to veterans severely injured while fighting with the United States armed forces.
Caribbean Primate Research Center
The Caribbean Primate Research Center (CPRC) is a world renowned center for the study of non-human primates.
Hmong Students in Laos
Supporting Laotian students pursuing careers in education by providing scholarships and logistical support.
Foundation for Tomorrow
The Foundation For Tomorrow’s mission is to secure quality education and emotional support for orphaned and vulnerable children so that they may reach their full potential and thrive in their communities.
Forensic Science
Forensic anthropology is the application of the science of physical or biological anthropology to the legal process. Physical or biological anthropologists who specialize in forensics primarily focus their studies on the human skeleton.
For more information, please visit:
American Academy of Forensic Sciences
For sixty years, the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) has served a distinguished and diverse membership. Its 6,000 members are divided into eleven sections spanning the forensic enterprise. Included among the Academy’s members are physicians, attorneys, dentists, toxicologists, physical anthropologists, document examiners, psychiatrists, physicists, engineers, criminalists, educators, digital evidence experts, and others. Representing all 50 United States, Canada, and 60 other countries worldwide, they actively practice forensic science and, in many cases, teach and conduct research in the field as well. Each section provides opportunities for professional development, personal contacts, awards, and recognition. Many sections publish periodic newsletters and mailings which keep their members abreast of activities and developments in their field.
As a professional society dedicated to the application of science to the law, the AAFS is committed to the promotion of education and the elevation of accuracy, precision, and specificity in the forensic sciences. It does so via the Journal of Forensic Sciences (its internationally recognized scientific journal), newsletters, its annual scientific meeting, the conduct of seminars and meetings, and the initiation of actions and reactions to various issues of concern. For its members and affiliates, AAFS provides placement services as well as scientific reference studies. As the world’s most prestigious forensic science organization, the AAFS represents its membership to the public and serves as the focal point for public information concerning the forensic science profession. Founded in 1948, the AAFS is headquartered in Colorado Springs, CO.
American Board of Forensic Anthropology
The American Board of Forensic Anthropology was incorporated in 1977 as a non-profit organization to provide, in the public interest and the advancement of science, a program of certification in forensic anthropology. In purpose and organization, the ABFA functions in much the same way as do certifying boards in various medical specialties and other scientific fields.
The FBI Academy, our national training facility, is located on 385 wooded acres on a Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia—about 36 miles outside Washington, D.C. Much of the FBI’s training takes place here—from minting new agents and analysts to grooming law enforcement leaders from around the world. The Academy also serves as a premier learning and research center, an advocate for best practices throughout the global criminal justice community, and a place where lasting partnerships are forged among law enforcement professionals worldwide.
Laboratoire de Sciences Judiciaires et de Médecine Légale
Le Laboratoire de sciences judiciaires et de médecine légale (Laboratoire) a pour mandat principal de réaliser des expertises objectives en sciences judiciaires et en médecine légale, dans différents domaines hautement spécialisés, pour l’administration de la justice et le soutien aux enquêtes policières et judiciaires.
Joint POW-MIA Accounting Command
The mission of the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) is to achieve the fullest possible accounting of all Americans missing as a result of the nation’s past conflicts. The highest priority of the organization is the return of any living Americans that remain prisoners of war. To date, the U.S. Government has not found any evidence that there are still American POWs in captivity from past U.S. conflicts.
Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team
DMORT is a Federal Level Response team designed to provide mortuary assistance in the case of a mass fatality incident or cemetery related incident. DMORT works under the local jurisdictional authorities such as Coroner/Medical Examiners, Law Enforcement and Emergency Managers.
Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology Foundation
The Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology Foundation (Fundación de Antropología Forense de Guatemala, FAFG) is a non-governmental, autonomous, technical-scientific, not-for-profit organization that contributes to the strengthening of the justice system and to the respect for human rights through the investigation, documentation, dissemination, education and awareness raising regarding the historic violations of the right to life and the cases of non-clarified deaths. The FAFG also produces expert reports and conducts scientific investigations, applying both forensic and social sciences at a national and international level.
Crimes and Clues: The Art and Science of Criminal Investigation
A website providing information on Criminal Investigation and Forensic Science, with articles and news items primarily targeted towards Police Officers, Detectives, Crime Scene Investigators and Forensic Scientists.
