Dr Maria Maclennan is an award-winning interdisciplinary designer, researcher, educator, and TEDx Speaker. She is currently a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) at The University of Edinburgh, Scotland, working between Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) and the Edinburgh Futures Institute (EFI). Her research interests concern the role of jewellery in forensic and criminal contexts, and the use of design in facilitating collaboration across diverse fields such as forensic science, policing, government, and education.

Maria obtained her PhD in 'Forensic Jewellery' from The University of Dundee in 2018. As the world’s first ‘Forensic Jeweller’, she has collaborated on a broad portfolio of practice; outside, inside, and alongside high-profile public, private, and third sector organisations internationally: in the UK, USA, Netherlands, Finland, Greece, Australia, and South Africa. This includes audiences such as INTERPOL, the National Crime Agency, the European Academy of Forensic Science, British Transport Police, and Royal Institute of Great Britain. She is currently a Consultant with Blake Emergency Services, and regularly provides support and advice to international policing agencies on the identification and repatriation of jewellery recovered with human remains.

Passionate about public engagement, Maria is a regular contributor to national television and radio, having featured on BBC One, Radio 4, STV News, and Scotland Tonight. Her work has been the subject of major profiles by The Financial Times, The Times, New York Times, BBC Crimewatch, and the popular Ripley's 'Believe It or Not’. In 2022, she was named  a finalist in the AHRC/BBC ‘New Generation Thinkers' scheme, and was featured by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) in their documentary series, ‘101 Jobs Changing the World’. Most recently, Maria was the recipient of an Outstanding Early Career Impact Award from the Scottish Institute for Policing Research (SIPR). She is currently represented by TV and Media agency, Gritty Talent, working on her first monograph on the forensic and criminal use of jewellery.

• Academic Profile: https://www.eca.ed.ac.uk/profile/maria-maclennan
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariamaclennan/
• Twitter: @MariaMMaclennan
• Instagram: @ForensicJewellery