Barry K. Logan, PhD, to Receive AAFS Distinguished Fellow Award

The American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) Distinguished Fellow Award is presented to an AAFS Fellow who has given meritorious service to the Academy, the forensic sciences, and to other professional peer group organizations. The second highest award was established in 1990 and is presented at the AAFS Annual Scientific Conference. The AAFS is pleased to announce that Barry K. Logan, PhD, is the 2026 recipient of the Distinguished Fellow Award.

Dr. Logan is Senior VP of Forensic Sciences and Chief Scientist for NMS Labs, the nation's largest forensic chemistry and toxicology reference laboratory. He is also Chief Scientist at the non-profit Center for Forensic Science Research and Education (CFSRE) at the Fredric Rieders Family Foundation in Willow Grove, PA. 

At NMS Labs, he established the first drug-impaired driving panels compliant with the National Safety Council's recommendations, which he helped establish in 2007. He also initiated the lab's NPS Strategy Team to track new and emerging drugs and implemented large-scale, quantitative THC testing after the introduction of the United States Farm Bill in 2018.

Dr. Logan is a Fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and of the American Board of Forensic Toxicologists (ABFT) and has over 210 publications and 850 presentations in forensic toxicology and chemistry, including work on the effects of illicit and prescription drugs on drivers, and drug-caused and -related death. He currently works closely with the Drug Advisory Program of the Colombo Plan, an international non-governmental organization focused on Cooperative Economic and Social Development in Asia and the Pacific, which was established in 1950 to promote foreign aid and technical assistance. He also serves as a member of the Evolving and Emerging Threats Committee (ETC) created under the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP).

His current research priorities are focused on the polydrug crisis and the analytical and interpretive toxicology and chemistry of novel psychoactive substances, founding www.NPSDiscovery.org in 2018. In 2023, he was recognized as the most highly cited author in the field of forensic toxicology in the United States. 

Dr. Logan also serves as Executive Director of the Indiana University Center for Studies of Law in Action and it's "Robert F. Borkenstein Course on Alcohol: Pharmacology, Toxicology and Litigation," which convenes on the campus of IU Bloomington every May and December. He has served in that role since Professor Borkenstein, the inventor of the Breathalyzer, became incapacitated in 2000. 

He spends a lot of his personal time as Chief Scientist at the CFSRE focused on professional development and mentorship of the next generation of forensic science teachers, researchers, and leaders.

In recognition of his contributions, Dr. Logan has received numerous awards and recognitions, including The International Association of Forensic Toxicologist (TIAFT) mid-career achievement award, the International Council on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety (ICADTS) Widmark Award, the National Safety Council's Robert F. Borkenstein Award and its Distinguished Service Award, the Alexander O. Gettler award from the AAFS, and the Alan Curry Career Achievement Award from TIAFT in 2021. He served as President of AAFS from 2013–14.