Biography

Wilfried was born on 12-6-1939 in Berlin, Germany and studied chemistry at the Free University (FU) of Berlin, where he received a diploma degree (Dipl. Chem.) in 1967 and a PhD in 1970.

He then completed a two-year postdoctoral appointment at Heidelberg University before taking up an appointment as laboratory head and head of the enamel factory of the Steel Works in Kaiserslautern.

In 1973 he joined the Forensic Science Institute of the BKA and became head of the Materials Analysis Section in 1976. Six years later he became head of the Physics-Chemistry Division with responsibility for 35 scientists and engineers and 25 technicians.

During the first years as laboratory head he specialized in the examination of contact traces (paint, glass, alloys, etc.) relevant mainly in offences against property and traffic accidents, but also in cases of serious crime and terrorism. He reported on more than 1000 cases and gave evidence as an expert witness in court.

Wilfried was particularly interested in improving our knowledge about the evidential value of paints and glass and in the interpretation of casework findings. Regarding the enhancement of the discrimination power he and his staff looked into the possibilities and limits of a wide range of analytical methods. The most important results of his many studies have been published in nearly 60 papers.

In 1980 he was responsible for the purchase of one of the first ICP-OES instruments available on the European market for use in the analysis of glass, metals and alloys. He was also one of the first forensic scientists to implement ICP-MS and LA-ICP-MS for the characterization and discrimination of float glass traces.

In 1982 Zeiss put a new generation of microspectrophotometers on the market, that incorporated many ideas from Wilfried and Peter Adolf. Today, after some modification, these instruments are still in use for the analysis of paints and fibers in many laboratories and remain unbeatable with regard to their precision and reproducibility.

As early as 1984 Wilfried recognized the high potential of thin sections for the analysis of pigments using microscopy and for the identification of binders and UV-absorbers using FT-IR and microspectrophotometry. The sectioning techniques developed in his lab are still being used, not only in forensic science, but also in industrial laboratories.

Wilfried has always been happy to share his knowledge with other scientists from around the world, frequently inviting colleagues to stay with him for research purposes.

In 1994 he was invited by the Science & Technology Agency Japan to stay at the National Institute of Police Science in Tokyo (Prof. Dr. Seta) for two months. He served on the committee for color analysis thus helping to complete their Forensic Paint Analysis and Comparison Guideline in 2000.

During his forensic science career Wilfried was always interested in building up sample and data collections for the examination of paint and glass frequencies. In 1985, a central automotive paint collection was founded by him and Wolfgang Langer for the following purposes:

• classification of individual paint layers by the identification of major organic components;
• provision of spectral data of sufficient detail and quality for comparison to unknowns;
• provision of a universal database that could be updated and searched by qualified examiners.

He received the annual award of the German police academy (Polizeiführungsakademie Hiltrup) for this project in 1991.

In 1974 Wilfried became chairman of the German Working Group for Materials Analysis, a post he held for nearly 25 years. It was during the first TWGMAT Paint Meeting that he felt the need to establish a European Paint Group (EPG). This dream came true in October 1995 with the inaugural meeting at the BKA with 25 scientists attending. With Wilfried as chairman for the first six years the group grew and flourished.

One of the main aims and results of the EPG was the maintenance and further development of the BKA’s automotive paint collection which was renamed "European collection of Automotive Paints" (EUCAP). Currently 42 forensic laboratories from 21 European countries participate in the EUCAP program by supplying analytical data, information and samples obtained through contacts with car and paint manufacturers in their countries. The BKA has become a central coordinator of the project mainly supported by French colleagues from the Institut de Recherche Criminelle de la Gendarmerie Nationale who are responsible for software developments.

Wilfried finally achieved a co-operative agreement between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the BKA which allows an exchange of information between the Canadian/American paint database "Paint Data Query" (PDQ) and EUCAP. All ENFSI laboratories profit from this agreement.

Since Wilfried took up the role as chairman of the German Working Group of Materials Analysis he was committed to ensuring that work carried out on a daily basis by all members is of the highest quality and practice-oriented. In the early eighties he instigated collaborative studies and proficiency tests for all laboratories in Germany in order to ensure minimum quality standards and to monitor performance. He also managed to implement similar tests for the EPG and the glass subgroup mainly supported by the FSS. During the following years most European laboratories were able to upgrade their laboratory equipment and to brush up their knowledge by attending EPG training courses held at the BKA.

Due to the standardization of techniques and instrumentation the results from case and research work in different countries have now become comparable. Hopefully, the production of Manuals of Best Practice for the Examination of Paint and Glass which started under the chairmanship of Wilfried can be completed in the near future.

Wilfried is very much interested in architecture and archeometry. Therefore, he was always delighted to support art institutes and museums – especially the well known Roman Germanic Central Museum in Mainz – when they requested his assistance regarding analytical questions.

Friends and colleagues from around the world have always looked forward to receiving his Christmas cards, that informed them about issues such as gilding techniques used by the Moche in Sipan (Peru), techniques applied for Grecian-Scythian jewelry, techniques of glassmaking in the roman empire, or the chemical composition of Venetian glass vessels of the 16th and 17th century - information that he illustrated with drawings, sketches and photographs.

In July 2004 Wilfried retired from the BKA which gives him more time for his family and his hobbies, such as oil painting and digital photography including image enhancement using Photoshop.

Publications

• C. Latkoczy, S. Becker, M. Dücking, D. Günther, J. Hoogewerff, J. Almirall, J. Buscaglia, A. Dobney, R. D. Koons, S. Montero, G. J. Q. van der Peijl, W. Stoecklein, T. Trejos, J. R. Watling, V. S. Zdanowicz Development and Evaluation of a Standard Method for the Quantitative Determination of Elements in Float Glass Samples by LA-ICP-MS Journal of Forensic Science 50 (2005) 1327 - 1341
• S. Becker, P. Watzke, M. Dücking, W. Stoecklein Laser Ablation in Forensic Glass Analysis: The Use of Matrix Matched Standards for Quantitative Float Glass Analysis Forensic Science International 136 (2003) 361
• W. Stoecklein Plate-Like Pigments in Automotive Paints: a Review Paint & Coatings Industry (2002) 80-83
• W. Stoecklein The Analysis of New Plate-Like Pigments in Automotive Coatings Paint & Coatings Industry (2001) 40-65
• W. Stoecklein The Role of Colour and Microscopic Techniques for the Characterisation of Paint Fragments in: B. Caddy – Forensic Examination of Glass and Paint – Analysis and Interpretation Taylor & Francis (2001) 143-163
• W. Stoecklein; M. Franke, R. Goebel Cathodoluminescence in Forensic Science Proceedings of the Second European Academy of Forensic Science Meeting Cracow 2000 Problems in Forensic Science XLVII (2001) 122-136
• G. Massonnet, W. Stoecklein Identification of Organic Pigments in Coatings: Application to Red Automotive Topcoats Part III: Raman Spectroscopy (NIR FT-Raman) Science & Justice 39, 3 (1999) 181 – 187
• W. Stoecklein, H. Fujiwara The Examination of UV-absorbers in 2-coat Metallic and Non-Metallic Automotive Paints Science & Justice 39, 3 (1999) 188 – 195
• W. Stoecklein, R. Fischer, S. Becker, A. Chatzelek The Analysis of Float Glass – Characterization of Glasses from International Sources Proceedings of the International Workshop on the Forensic Examination of Trace Evidence – Tokyo (1998) 71 – 78
• W. Stoecklein, E. Kubassek, R. Fischer, A. Chadzelek The Forensic Analysis of Float Glass: Characterization of Glasses from International Sources. Proceedings of the Trace Evidence Meeting – San Antonio (July 1996)
• W. Stoecklein Forensic Science: Paints, varnishes and laquers in: Encyclopedia of Analytical Science, Academic Press, London (1995) 1625 – 1635
• W. Stoecklein, J. Tuente Using the Light Microscope for Analytical Procedures – Aids for Solving Cases Involving Hit and Run Offences Zeiss Information mit Jenaer Rundschau, 3 (1994) 19 – 22
• W. Stoecklein Die Verkehrsunfallflucht – Kriminalistische Möglichkeiten der Aufklärung am Beispiel Autolacke. Schriftenreihe der PFA, 1 (1992) 36 – 59
• W. Stoecklein, M. Gloger FT-Infrared Spectroscopy of Automobil Paints Using Infrared Microscopy Nicolet FT-IR Spectral Lines 9, (1988) 2 – 6
• R. Goebel, W. Stoecklein The Use of Electron Microscopic Methods for the Characterization of Paints in Forensic Science Scanning Microscopy 1, 3 (1987) 1007 – 1015
• W. Stoecklein, E. Kubassek Kriminaltechnische Glasuntersuchungen unter Einsatz der ICP-OES sowie der FAAS mit automatischer Mikroinjektion in: Philips-Analysentechnik, Abschnitt 3 (1986) 1 – 28