Sunday, March 31, 2019, 3:00pm 
Joukowski Lecture
Turi King, Professor of Public Engagement and Reader in Genetics and Archaeology, University of Leicester
Title: King Richard III: The Resolution of a 500 year old Cold Case
Location: Engelman Hall, Room 105

Abstract:
When the University of Leicester Archaeology Service undertook the Grey Friars project, it was thought that the chances of finding the remains of Richard III were slim to none. Nevertheless, Turi King, with her background both in archaeology (at the University of British Columbia and then the University of Cambridge) and genetics (at the University of Leicester where Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys, the inventor of DNA fingerprinting, was on her PhD panel), was the first team member approached by the lead archaeologist for the dig—should the skeletal remains of a “good candidate”; to be Richard III be found, would she be interested in overseeing the DNA analysis from planning the dig through to it’s conclusion. Turi King will speak about the Grey Friars project, from the early stages of planning the dig, through to the excavation and the results of the various strands of analysis, particularly the genetics, carried out on the remains.

Turi King is the Director of the Forensic and Ancient Biomolecules (FAB) Group at the University of Leicester, England. She holds her degrees from the University of Cambridge and the University of Leicester (MSc and PhD), and her fields of specialization are genetics and its implications for archaeology, history and geography, and genetic genealogy and forensics. Professor King led the international research team involved in the DNA identification of the remains of Richard III, and she is also leading the project carrying out the whole genome sequencing of Richard III. She is also currently leading a project examining the genetic legacy of the Vikings in the north of England.

For more information about the AIA Lecture Series, visit them at https://aia-milwaukee.uwm.edu/lectures/.