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2009 ARC-CSI Crash Conference Presentation
Optics, Lighting and Visibility for the Forensic Investigator
Presented By: Jim Sobek
Time: 4 hours including a break
- Light: What is it and its properties
- Optics principles: transmittance, reflectance, retro-reflectance
- The human vision system: The eye components, the optic nerve and brain visual centers
- Types of light sources (natural and artificial), particular emphasis on vehicle headlights
- Atmospheric influences (day and night)
- Other optical influences (windshield glare, vision faults, etc.)
- Properties of the objects in the scene
- Shadows and their importance
- Road curvature (vertical and horizontal) and its influence
- Photography as a means of documenting scene lighting
About Jim Sobek
1942: Born and raised in Wellsville, NY, a small town in the western part of the state.
1960: Enlisted in US Navy as a Fire Control Technician (Terrier missile radar) 4 years
1964-1968 Thiel College, Greenville, PA, graduated with Bachelor of Arts in Physics
1968-1988 Naval Avionics Center, Indianapolis, IN . Missile guidance. (Patent on the guidance set for the Tomahawk cruise missile.) Also worked on the Walleye guided glide bomb and GPS.
1988 - present: After 10 years of part-time accident reconstruction work with Wolf Technical Services, Inc., I left the Naval Avionics Center to work with Wolf full-time. I've been with Wolf ever since.
In 2007, I started a separate business ("Clearly Visible Presentations, LLC") to teach optics, lighting and visibility to forensic investigators, attorneys, architects and other professionals. In October and December 2007 I taught courses in St. Paul, MN and West Chester, OH. In October 2008, I taught at an Accident Reconstruction seminar hosted by the Pennsylvania State Police in State College, PA.
