Jane Wankmiller has been named director of Northern Michigan University’s Forensic Research Outdoor Station, which will be located on a wooded bluff off U.S. 41 between the Marquette Branch Prison and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources building.

The facility is unique in that it’s one of only eight such facilities worldwide. Even more so, it’s the first to study human decomposition in a cold climate.

Wankmiller is employing an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the FROST environment and how it will impact decomposition, which is different than a warm-weather environment in, say, Florida or Georgia.

And it’s not just FROST in which she will be involved.

Wankmiller will oversee a forensic anthropology laboratory and a human osteological collection and develop courses for a bachelor’s degree concentration in forensic anthropology.

She is well qualified to be the new director, having previously worked in three capacities for the Michigan State Police, most recently as the unidentified remains coordinator in the Missing Persons Coordination Unit.

She previously conducted facial recognition searches to aid investigations through the Digital Analysis Identification Section of MSP and served as a forensic artist. In that capacity, she drew composites of suspects based on witness/victim interviews and reconstructed faces of unidentified decedents to help identify them.

Wankmiller also is a certified death investigator, having worked on nearly 200 cases involving all manners of death.

Wankmiller said she viewed FROST as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and considering it’s the first cold-climate facility of its kind, that’s certainly true.

FROST will act as a willed body program, although again it will differ than regular donation programs at medical schools in that the donor bodies will be part of the osteology collection.

That is something Wankmiller supports.

There’s also the challenge of building a forensic anthropology program around FROST, but she will work with students who will help in studies under varying conditions and scenarios.

Her work with the MSP makes her uniquely qualified as she establishes partnerships with law enforcement, government agencies, military personnel and visiting scientists. Someone in the FROST director position needs to understand how police cases work and the sensitivity that’s needed, and Wankmiller has plenty of experience in those arenas.

Considering the wide variety of specialized skills necessary to get a facility like FROST going, we believe Wankmiller is a good choice for the new position and will set a good example for anyone following in her footsteps.