Gary L. Wells is Professor of Psychology at Iowa State University and holds the title of Distinguished Professor. Wells is also Director of Social Science at the Institute of Forensic Science and Public Policy in Greensboro, NC. He is an internationally recognized scholar in scientific psychology and his studies of eyewitness memory are widely known and cited. Wells has authored over 170 articles and chapters and two books. Most of this work has been focused on the reliability of eyewitness identification. His research on eyewitness identification is funded by the National Science Foundation and his findings have been incorporated into standard textbooks in psychology and law. His research-based proposals on lineup procedures, such as the use of double-blind techniques, are being increasingly accepted in law enforcement practices across the U.S. His conclusions about eyewitness identification have received national media attention in such places as Time magazine, the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, and the New York Times. He has made appearances on CBS’s 48 Hours, the NBC Nightly News, Court TV, and NBC’s Today Show, among others. He was a founding member of the U.S. Department of Justice group that developed the first set of national guidelines for eyewitness evidence and co-chaired the panel that wrote the Justice Department training manual for law enforcement on eyewitness identification evidence. Wells has worked with prosecutors and police across the U.S. to reform eyewitness identification procedures. Wells is a past President of the American Psychology-Law Society and has received Distinguished Contributions awards from the American Psychology-Law Society and the American Psychological Association. In 2008 Wells was awarded an honorary doctorate from John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
For additional information, see Wells' web page at:
http://www.psychology.iastate.edu/FACULTY/gwells/homepage.htm
E-mail address: glwells@iastate.edu
Phone: 515/294-6033