Reflections on Speaking at Barnard College, Columbia University and the Work in Tulsa

Students and attendees engage in a discussion on the Tulsa Race Massacre identifications at Barnard College, Columbia University, during an presentation titled "Unknown No More" by Resolve Forensics.

I recently had the opportunity to present our work, particularly around the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre identifications, at Barnard College, Columbia University, and I have been reflecting on it ever since.

Honestly, I am just incredibly grateful.

Grateful for the chance to talk about what we do. Grateful to be in a room with people pushing the boundaries of science. And especially grateful to connect with students and researchers who care deeply about applying their work to something meaningful.

There was a real sense of curiosity and purpose in the room. You could feel it. People were not just interested in the science, they were asking how it could be used to actually make a difference.

That is the kind of energy that matters.

At Resolve, we spend a lot of time in the details and perfecting the science. DNA extraction, sequencing, bioinformatics, investigation. It is easy to get buried in the technical side of the work.

But stepping back and sharing it in a setting like that was a reminder of something bigger.

This work matters.

Not just because it is innovative science, but because it gives us a way to answer questions that have gone unanswered for far too long.

The work being done in Tulsa, alongside an incredible team of dedicated professionals, has made that very real for me, and I feel honored to be a part of it.

At some point, this stops being about technology and starts being about responsibility.

Responsibility to do it right. Responsibility to be thoughtful about how these tools are used. And a responsibility to use them for people whose names were lost, but never should have been.

I want to sincerely thank Dr. Corey Toler-Franklin for the invitation and the opportunity to engage with such an incredible group. I am genuinely excited about what we can build together.

There is a real opportunity here to connect what is happening in bioinformatics and AI with real world forensic applications. Not just in theory, but in ways that can directly support efforts like the Tulsa identifications.

We talk a lot about changing the world. That can sound big. Maybe even unrealistic.

But standing in that room, seeing the passion, the curiosity, and the willingness to engage…

It did not feel unrealistic.

It felt like the beginning of something that cannot be left undone. -Danny