Dr. Dawn Weatherford receives grant to study accuracy of detecting fake IDs

Dr. Dawn Weatherford, assistant professor of psychology, was recently awarded a grant by the American Psychology-Law Society for her study, "You Shall Not Pass: How Professional Security Expertise Shapes Visual Search for Fake IDs." 

Dr. Weatherford's research involves tasking 240 security professionals to accurately detect fake IDs. The testing will launch in February 2018 and will include the participation of six A&M-SA students. Dr. Weatherford believes the collaborative work could lead to reformed employee training for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the United States Border Patrol.

"I hypothesize that my research will show a gap in employees being able to accurately detect fake IDs. And I know this is a problem we need fixed for national security purposes" she says. "And one day, with further research, I hope to scientifically prove how we can close that gap."