Kathy Reichs, Alumnae Award Recipient

Alumnae Award Recipient, 2023

For Immediate Release

September 11, 2023

For more information:

Michele Bresler, Public Relations Chair

The Alumnae of Northwestern University

847-867-5412; [email protected]

Kathy Reichs, Forensic Anthropologist and Crime Writer, to Receive 2023 Alumnae Award from The Alumnae of Northwestern University

(Photo available)

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Kathy Reichs, American crime writer, forensic anthropologist and academic, is the recipient of The Alumnae of Northwestern University’s 2023 Alumnae Award. The award, established in 1976, is presented annually to an outstanding alumna who has made significant contributions in her field and who has attained national recognition. Educators, journalists, doctors, scientists, and artists are included among The Alumnae’s roster of awardees.

“As the 47th recipient of our Alumnae Award, Kathy will join a distinguished group of women bringing honor to the women of Northwestern University,” says The Alumnae president Carol Willis.

From teaching FBI agents how to detect and recover human remains, to separating and identifying commingled body parts in her Montreal lab, as a forensic anthropologist Kathy Reichs has brought her own dramatic work experience to her mesmerizing forensic thrillers. For years she consulted with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in North Carolina and the Laboratoire de Sciences Judiciaires et de Médecine Légale for the province of Québec. Dr. Reichs has travelled to Rwanda to testify at the UN Tribunal on Genocide and helped exhume a mass grave in Guatemala. As part of her work at JPAC (Formerly CILHI) she aided in the identification of war dead from World War II, Korea, and Southeast Asia. Dr. Reichs also assisted in the recovery of remains at the World Trade Center following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Kathy Reichs’s first novel Déjà Dead catapulted her to fame when it became a New York Times bestseller and won the 1997 Ellis Award for Best First Novel. Her other Temperance Brennan books include Death du Jour, Deadly Décisions, Fatal Voyage, Grave Secrets, Bare Bones, Monday Mourning, Cross Bones, Break No Bones, Bones to Ashes, Devil Bones, 206 Bones, Spider Bones, Flash and Bones, Bones Are Forever, Bones of the Lost, Bones Never Lie, Speaking in Bones, A Conspiracy of Bones, The Bone Code, Cold Cold Bones and the Temperance Brennan short story collection, The Bone Collection. 

The Bone Hacker, her most recent novel, was released on August 1, 2023.  In addition, she co-authored the Virals young adult series with her son, Brendan Reichs. The best-selling titles are: Virals, Seizure, Code, Exposure, Terminal, and the novella collection Trace Evidence. The series follows the adventures of Temperance Brennan’s great niece, Tory Brennan.  Dr. Reichs was also a producer of the hit Fox TV series, Bones, which is based on her work and her novels.

Dr. Reichs is one of very few forensic anthropologists ever certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology. She served on the Board of Directors and as Vice President of both the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and the American Board of Forensic Anthropology, and as a member of the National Police Services Advisory Council in Canada. She is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Anthropology at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte.

Dr. Reichs is a native of Chicago, where she received her master’s degree and PhD from Northwestern University. She now divides her time between Charlotte, NC and Montreal, Québec.

Kathy Reichs will receive her award on Wednesday, September 20, 2023, at noon, at Norris Center on Northwestern’s campus. She will be introduced by Erin Waxenbaum, PhD, professor of instruction, director of undergraduate studies, Department of Anthropology; Anna Parkinson, associate professor, Department of German Literature and Critical Thought; and Brett Neveu, professor of instruction, Radio/TV/Film.

The Alumnae of Northwestern is an all-volunteer organization of women that raises funds for a wide range of projects to benefit the University. It shares the University’s academic resources with the community through its Continuing Education program, which is celebrating its 54rd year of bringing daytime noncredit courses to the public. The Alumnae has given more than $9.5 million to the University in the form of grants, fellowships, scholarships, and an endowed professorship, and has provided funds for special university projects and summer internships. For more information, visit The Alumnae website (www.nualumnae.org).

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Olive Jung, STEM Scholar

STEM Scholarship Recipient, 2012

Major(s): Chemistry, (She is planning legal studies as an adjunct major)

School:  Weinberg College of Arts and Science

Hometown:  Foster City, California

Olive is interested in biochemistry and nanotechnology.  Her long range goal is “to be a scientist

who is not just concerned with concepts and lab research, but someone with awareness about the ethics of research that can possibly impact the society.”  She is in the NU Bioscientists program and earned praise for her research proposal and lab work this winter in the Science Research Preparation course.  This fall she will be a facilitator to incoming freshman for the NU Bioscientists program.  Music is another interest of hers--she plays the violin in the Northwestern Philharmonia.  (Any Northwestern student may audition for this orchestra).

After graduation and before pursuing advanced degrees, she would like to work for an NGO

in the global health field. This summer she is doing research in Professor Silverman’s lab. 

From Wikipedia

Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any form of government. The term originated from the United Nations (UN), and is normally used to refer to organizations that are not a part of the government and are not conventional for-profit business. In the cases in which NGOs are funded totally or partially by governments, the NGO maintains its non-governmental status by excluding government representatives from membership in the organization.

* “NU Bioscientists Program Overview

NU Bioscientists is a program for 30 incoming freshman who are excited about doing independent research in the biological/biomedical sciences.  NU Bioscientists students will take two specially-designed courses their freshman year to provide background and preparation for doing research, and will identify a laboratory and mentor for independent study during the summer following the freshman year.  The students in the program will form a community of peers who will be advised and mentored by the nuViBE Director and will continue to share research experiences through their upperclass years at Northwestern.”

From the nuViBE web site, Northwestern University Ventures in Biology Education

For additional information, here is the link to Olive Jung on the NU Bioscientists web site.

www.nuvibe.northwestern.edu/bioscientist/contact-details/?contact=104

Update submitted by Olive Jung on September 11, 2023

"Staying not too far from her initial desires to pursue legal studies adjunct major at the time of the fellowship, Olive is now a Master in Law (ML) degree candidate at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School where she is learning about the legal framework that defines and dictates how the healthcare system will be legislated, executed and reviewed in the US. She recently completed her doctoral studies (DPhil) at the University of Oxford where she had developed flow-based, 3-dimensional blood-brain barrier (BBB) models to investigate the biomechanics of ultrasound-mediated BBB opening. She will be heading back to Case Western Reserve School of Medicine for her clinical clerkships once she completes her ML degree.

As a physician-scientist-in-training, she is passionate about Asian-American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders (AA&NHPI) representation at the leadership levels within the STEM field, as well as equity for black, indigenous, persons of color (BIPOC) communities for health and medical care. She has spent time on the AA&NHPI employment engagement portfolio committee at the NIH EDI office, and has also volunteered as a College Bridge Writing program tutor for the Petey Greene Program DC chapter during the pandemic."

Youssef Abdelhalim, STEM Scholar

STEM Scholarship Recipient, 2023

Youssef Abdelhalim (McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science) from Harrisburg, PA, is majoring in mechanical engineering with a concentration in aerospace. A member of the class of 2025, he expects to graduate with a Bachelor of Science as well as a Master’s degree. He hopes to become an automotive/aerospace engineer with the intention of going into industry to lead teams of innovators who could revolutionize the aerospace industry. The end goal is to help create more sustainable air travel.

Sophia Akinboro, STEM Scholar

STEM Scholarship Recipient, 2023

Sophia Akinboro (WCAS) from Brea, CA is a member of the class of 2025 and will earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. Her majors are global health and neuroscience. She hopes to pursue an MD/PhD dual degree after graduating from Northwestern. Utilizing a global perspective stimulated by her studies, she plans to give back to her community and other underserved populations by providing community-centered care to those dealing with health issues.