Joanne Lorraine Bennett Devlin

U.S. Anthropologist
(1968-Present)
Dr. Joanne Devlin is most noted for her work in the area of forensic anthropology. She has spent many years studying osteology, and her expertise is in examining remains of burned bone for identifying markers such as, age and sex.
Introduction:

Dr. Joanne Devlin has worked in varying capacities and branches of Anthropology such as: Archaeology, Biological Anthropology, Forensics, and Osteology. She attended Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, where she majored in Anthropology but, predominantly focused in Archaeology. While at Hamilton college, she studied under Anthropologists Charlotte Beck and G. Tom Jones (Chairpeople of Anthropology Deparment at Hamilton.) Dr. Devlin conducted her Archaeological field school in Nevada’s Great Basin Desert, examining several prehistoric Pleistocene/Holocene sites. Approaching graduation, she wrote an Honor’s thesis on her work in the Great Basin Area entitled A Statistical Analysis of Great Basin Projectile Points.
After graduating with Departmental Honors in 1990, she worked in Contract Archaeology. She was employed by Greenehorne and O’Mara, an environmental company in Green Belt, Maryland from 1991 to 1992. After exploring employment opportunities in the private sector, she decided to enroll in Graduate School at the University of Tennessee in Fall 1992. She had been exclusively focusing on Archaeology and chose the University of Tennessee to transition into Biological Anthropology with a strong Archaeological component. During her second year of Graduate School, she received an assistantship in the Forensic Center. In 1993, she was hired by the University of Tennessee Department of Anthropology as a field technician while still doing skeletal analysis, and completing coursework towards her Master’s Degree. In the summer of 1994, she gained an Honor’s internship with the Federal Bureau of Investigation where she worked in the Hair and Fiber’s lab. She completed her Master’s Degree in Anthropology in 1996 under Chairs William Bass and Walter Klippel. Her Master’s thesis was entitled Thermal Alteration of Bone: Experiments in Post-burial Modification.

Immediately following completion of her Master’s Degree, Devlin began her Doctoral Research at the University of Tennessee. During this time, she began working with Knox County Fire Bureau as a Special Assistant. In 1998, while still working on her Ph.D, she went through Rural/Metro training academy and later became a Tennessee State Certified Level 1 Firefighter and Emergency Medical Technician. In 2001, She was hired by Pellissippi State Technical Community College as a lecturer of courses in Anthropology and Human Anatomy. In 2002, She completed her Ph.D in Anthropology under Chair Murray Marks. Her dissertation was entitled Morphological Considerations of the Human Hyoid Bone. In that same year, she began teaching at the National Forensic Science Institute located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. At the National Forensic Science Institute she trains Law Enforcement Officers in field methods associated with the investigation of burials, and fire fatalities. In 2004, She was hired by the University of Tennessee as a Lecturer of both upper and lower division Biological Anthropology courses, a title she currently holds, as well as faculty member of the Forensic Anthropology Center. She recently earned her 10 year pin for continued service to Rural/Metro Fire Department. She is currently an instructor of Forensic programs at the National Forensic Science Institute.
She is also known for her active physical lifestyle, an avid distance-runner, who has competed in numerous marathons’ including an Ultra- marathon which consists of running any distance longer than a traditional marathon length of 26 miles.
Background:

Joanne Lorraine Bennett was born on July 8th, 1968 in Chicago, Illinois. Her mother Valerie, and father John-Michael were both British citizens at the time of her birth. Her father was in the United States completing post-doctoral research. At around the age of two, her family moved to Westchester County, New York. She lived in New York during her childhood and adolescence and attended Pleasantville High school, where she graduated in 1986.
She is married to Jeff Devlin, Battalion Chief of Knox County Fire Bureau. They have one son, Liam Devlin, Age 5.
Employment History:

Dr. Devlin has held many positions in and around the field of anthropology and archaeology. Currently, she is a lecturer (2004-Present) at the University of Tennessee Department of Anthropology; She is a Facilitator at the National Forensic Science Institute (2002-Present.) Currently, she assists in coordinating of the Human Remains Recovery School for the F.B.I. as well as, Faculty Member of Forensic Anthropology Center at UTK (2008-Present.) Previously held Academic positions include: Adjunct Faculty at Pellissippi State Technical Community College (2001-2004.) Adjunct Faculty at South College (2002-2004). She was a Forensic Center Graduate Assistant at UTK (1994-2000.) Additionally, she was concurrently employed by the University of Tennessee Medical Center’s Medical Examiners office as an autopsy technician (2000-2005.)
Awards and Honors:

Dr. Devlin was a nominee for Outstanding Teacher Award by the UT Alumni Association in 2007. She was awarded Outstanding Facilitator by the National Forensic Academy in 2006. She was a recipient of the American Academy of Forensic Science’s J. Lawrence Angel award for an Outstanding Presentation in 1998.
She has also received numerous research grants including: William M. Bass endowment funding, Acorn Research Grant and Lucas Research Grant of the Forensic Science Foundation.
Key Excavations:

Dr. Devlin has been involved with a numerous amount of sites and projects. Her first experiences as an archaeologist were in the areas of the Great Basin of Nevada. While employed by Greenehorne and O’Mara, she was involved with the Baltimore Gas and Electric expansion survey, she also worked on the Fish and Wildlife Reconnaissance Survey of West Virginia, and the Coast Guard Phase II Historic Site in Sandy Hook, New Jersey. Other projects in the East Tennessee area include, Townsend Archaeological Project, Mccroskey Island Human Burial Excavation, Watts Bar Reservoir Archaeological Reconnaissance Survey, Melton Hill Reservoir Archaeological Reconnaissance Survey as crew chief, Cherokee Reservoir Reservoir Archaeological Reconnaissance Survey as crew chief, and Tellico Reservoir Reservoir Archaeological Reconnaissance Survey as field director (1993-2000). Other areas in East and Central Tennessee where she has worked as a bioarchaelogical consultant include, the John Mcneil Excavation and Analysis, Knoxville, Pleasant Hill Burial Excavation in Cumberland County, and Big South Fork in Jamestown, Tennessee (2005-Present).
Research Accomplishment:

Dr. Devlin’s primary focus has been in the area of forensics. She has devoted many years to studying osteology. Her specialty centers around burned bone and examining the remains of burned bone for identifying markers such as, age, and sex. Her expertise of burned bone has provided her the opportunity on many occasions to consult with various Law Enforcement agencies, and play an important role in solving cases.Additionally, her extensive diversity of experience in various fields of Anthropology such as, Skeletal Biology, Archaeology, and Fire and Arson Forensics have allowed her to share information and broaden the minds of fellow professionals and undergraduates alike.

Selected Books and Publications:
*1. Bone Color as an Interpretive Tool of the Depositional History of Archaeological Cremains (JB Devlin and NP Hermann) in C Schmidt and S Symes (eds): The Analysis of Burned Human Remains: Archaeological and Forensic Approach. Elsevier/Academic Press., Boston, MA pp. 109-127. 2008.
*2. Assessment of Commingled Human Remains Using a GIS Based Approach (JB Devlin and NP Hermann) in B Adams and J Byrd (eds): Recovery, Analysis, and Identification of Commingled Human Remains. Humana Press Inc. Totowa, NJ. pp. 257-269. 2008.
*3. Review of the Osteology of Infants and Children. American Anthropologist. 108,4: 885-6. 2006.
*4. Thermal Alteration of Buried Bone. Journal of Anthropological Science 26: 1-8. 1999
*5. Case Report: Positive Identification of Cremains recovered from an Automobile Based on the presence of an Internal Fixation Device. ( J.L. Bennett and D.C. Benedix) Journal of Forensic Science, 4: 1253-1255. 1999.
*6. Use of an Alternate Light Source for Tattoo Recognition in the Extended Postmortem Interval. Journal of Forensic Science, 44:182-184. 1999.
*7. Prehistoric Mud Glyph Cave Art from Alabama. (A. Cressler, J. Simek, J.L. Bennett, and J.Franklin.) Southeastern Archaeology, 18:35-44. 1999
*8. A Microscopic Evaluation of Trauma of Burned Bone. (J.L. Bennett and N.P. Herrmann) Journal of Forensic Science, 44: 460-469. 1999.
*9. Digital Video Image Capture in Establishing Positive Identification, (M.K. Marks, J.L. Bennett, and O.L. Wilson) Journal of Forensic Science, 42: 492-495. 1996
*10. A Preliminary Investigation of Postmortem Tooth loss. (A.H. McKeown and J.L. Bennett) Journal of Forensic Science, 40:755-757. 1995.

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