Sue Black, Baroness Black of Strome facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
The Baroness Black of Strome
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Black at the Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival, 2017
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| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal |
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| Assumed office 17 May 2021 Life Peerage |
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| Personal details | |
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Susan Margaret Gunn
7 May 1961 Inverness, Scotland |
| Political party | None (crossbencher) |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | University of Aberdeen |
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| Scientific career | |
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| Thesis | Identification from the Human Skeleton (1986) |
Susan Margaret Black, Baroness Black of Strome (born Susan Margaret Gunn on 7 May 1961) is a Scottish forensic anthropologist and anatomist. A forensic anthropologist studies human remains to help identify people. She has held important roles at universities and is known for her work in identifying victims of disasters and crimes. She is currently the President of St John's College, Oxford.
In 2024, she was made a Lady of the Order of the Thistle, a very special honour in Scotland.
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Early Life and Education
Susan Margaret Gunn was born in Inverness, Scotland, on 7 May 1961. She went to Inverness Royal Academy for her secondary education. Later, she studied at the University of Aberdeen. In 1982, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in human anatomy. She continued her studies and received a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in 1986. Her PhD research focused on how to identify people from their skeletons.
Career and Research
In 1987, Susan Black started her career in forensic anthropology as a lecturer at St Thomas' Hospital in London. She worked there until 1992.
Helping Identify Victims
From 1992 to 2003, she worked on special projects for the UK government and the United Nations. Her job was to help identify victims and criminals from different conflicts around the world. For example, in 1999, she led the British forensic team in Kosovo. She also worked in Sierra Leone and Grenada that same year.
In 2003, she went to Iraq twice to help with identification work. In 2005, she was part of the team that helped identify victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami in Thailand. This work is called Disaster Victim Identification (DVI).
University Work and New Techniques
In 2003, Black became a Professor of Anatomy and Forensic Anthropology at the University of Dundee. In 2005, she started a special centre there called the Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification (CAHID). This centre teaches students about forensic anthropology and anatomy. Her team also trained the UK National Disaster Victim Identification (UK DVI) team. This training helped police and scientists learn advanced ways to identify victims.
Black is also known for creating new ways to identify people. She developed techniques to confirm someone's identity using photos of their hands or arms. This method looks at the unique patterns of veins. In 2009, she used this vein pattern analysis to help identify a suspected criminal. This was the first time this technique was used to get a criminal conviction.
She also helped start important groups like the British Association for Human Identification.
In 2018, Black moved to Lancaster University to become a pro-vice-chancellor. This role involves helping the university connect with the public. In 2021, she was chosen to be the next President of St John's College, Oxford.
Role in the House of Lords
In 2021, Susan Black was given a special title and became a member of the House of Lords. This is part of the UK Parliament. She is known as Baroness Black of Strome. She is a "crossbencher," which means she doesn't belong to a specific political party. On 15 June 2021, she gave her first speech in the House of Lords.
Media Appearances
Baroness Black has appeared on several TV and radio shows. She starred in the BBC Two show History Cold Case in 2010 and 2011. This show used forensic science to solve historical mysteries.
In 2013, BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour named her one of the 100 most powerful women in the UK. She was also featured on The Life Scientific in 2014. In 2014, she appeared in a documentary about the forensic response to the 2004 tsunami.
In 2015, she was a guest on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, where she talked about her favourite music. In 2022, she gave the famous Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, titled "Secrets of Forensic Science."
Personal Life
Susan Black is married to Tom, who went to the same school as her. They have two daughters together. She also has an older daughter from her first marriage.
She supports several charities, including Locate International and Escape2Make.
Awards and Honours
Baroness Black has received many awards for her important work.
- In 2005, she became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
- She received the Lucy Mair Medal in 2008 from the Royal Anthropological Institute.
- In 2009, she won the Brian Cox Award for Public Engagement from the University of Aberdeen.
- Her team at the University of Dundee received the Stephen Fry Award in 2012 and the Queen's Anniversary Award in 2013.
- In 2014, she received a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award for her research on identifying people from their hands.
She was honoured by the Queen twice.
- In 2001, she was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her work in Kosovo.
- In 2016, she was promoted to Dame Commander of the same Order (DBE) for her services to forensic anthropology.
Many universities have given her honorary degrees.
- The University of St Andrews gave her an honorary Doctor of Medicine degree in 2017.
- The University of Aberdeen gave her an honorary Doctorate of Science in 2019.
- In 2025, she received an honorary doctorate from Glasgow Caledonian University.
Her book, All That Remains: A Life in Death, won the Saltire Book of the Year award in 2018. A portrait of her, called Unknown Man, is displayed in the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh. In 2023, she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS).
