This project explores the changes that occur in fingerprints after prolonged submersion in water. After the selected fingers have wrinkled, prints were powdered and photographed for analysis in the various stages of skin reset. Fingerprints are one of the few characteristics that are individual to each person and are highly associated with the identification process in casework. Our hands are exposed to several elements of everyday life. Understanding how these affect fingerprints can lead to further research on comparing collected fingerprints at scenes to ideal ones and give insight on potential reasons for any differences. If specific patterns develop in fingerprint appearance between wrinkled and normal, after further research, this could potentially be applied on a larger scale to create more guidelines on deeming a print as match, inconclusive, or elimination. 

Erik Hall is Lanae Headley's faculty advisor and research mentor. He has taken time to reach out to students for network opportunities with nearby forensic specialists, bring in professionals to speak in classes or recruitment meetings, and offer advice on program format. He highly encourages students to use internships, research, and capstone to create experiences for resume building and identify forensic interest. These have increased Lanae's confidence in her ability to choose a research project and granted her contacts for participation. When the project was presented to Hall, he expressed excitement and guidance on potential project variations and future expansion.