Retiring from the U.S. Navy in 2001 after a distinguished 22-year military career, Professor Wedge was a computer crime specialist at the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C) for more than eight years, during which he developed and delivered more than a dozen basic, intermediate, and advanced courses in computer forensics and online investigation and taught more than 3,000 law enforcement officers. Through NW3C's partnership with Purdue University, he was also visiting faculty at Purdue University from 2005 to 2009, teaching several computer forensics courses, and collaborating with Purdue faculty on several computer forensic research projects.

He also conducted computer forensic examinations for U.S. Military Intelligence, where he encountered instances of human trafficking. This resulted in a profound shift in his career goals to direct his talents to the fight against human trafficking. He has been invited to present on the subject in a variety of forums in such diverse places as Fairmont, WV, and Doha, Qatar. When not teaching, he can often be found pursuing research opportunities to develop new methods for detecting and investigating human trafficking cases.

Currently an Associate Professor at Defiance College, Tim Wedge has been working in the field of information technology for more than 30 years, and has been in the field of computer forensics/high tech crime for the past 16 years. His non-fiction articles and papers have been published in "The Informant," "DFI News," and "The Journal of Digital Forensic Science and Law." He holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science summa cum laude and a Master's in Criminal Justice.

CERTIFICATIONS

Certified Information System Security Professional (CISSP), 2003
Certified Forensic Computer Examiner (CFCE), 2002
Microsoft Certified System Engineer (MCSE) (NT4 version), 1999
A+ certified, 1999

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES

Chair of the Education & Awareness subcommittee, 6 county chapter of the Northwest Ohio Rescue & Restore Coalition
Member, High Tech Crime Investigator's Association (HTCIA)
Faculty advisor, Defiance College student chapter of HTCIA
Faculty advisor, Defiance College student chapter of "Free the Slaves"
Faculty advisor, Defiance College PC repair (DCPC) 

PUBLICATIONS & PRESENTATIONS

Presentation: "What Slavery Costs Us," Defiance, OH, "Defying Human Trafficking in our Community" hosted by the Northwest Ohio Rescue & Restore Coalition, 2016

"Ice Breaker," Scattered Stars: The 2016 Word Branch Publishing Science Fiction Anthology, 2016

"Just Us," Nascence: The 2014 Word Branch Publishing Science Fiction Anthology, 2014

"Training is Not Enough: A Case for Education Over Training," DFI News, Spring 2013

Presentation: "Technology vs. Slavery: Magic Lanterns for the 21st Century," Columbus, OH, "Breaking the Chains" Human Trafficking conference hosted by Ohio Dept. of Public Safety, Criminal Justice Services, 2013

Book review: "The Basics of Digital Forensics by John Sammons." Computers & Security (Elsevier). Volume 31, Issue 6, 2012

Presentation: "Technology vs. Slavery,"  Doha, Qatar, Cybercrime and Human Trafficking conference hosted by Qatar Foundation for Combating Human Trafficking, 2011

"Designing Laboratories for Small Scale Digital Device Forensics," Proceedings of the Conference on Digital Forensics, Security, and Law (with Rick Mislan), 2008

"Hooked on Phorensics," The Informant Magazine, Spring 2008

"Computer Forensics Field Triage Process Model," Journal of Digital Forensics, Security, and Law (with Marc Rogers, Jim Goldman, Rick Mislan and Steve DeBrota), 2006

AWARDS & HONORS

"Ohio Liberator Award" presented to the Defiance College Chapter of "Free the Slaves" for the development of FAGIN (Facial Analysis to Gain Information Now), an application designed to identify child sex trafficking victims being sold online, 2016

ACADEMIC DEGREES

M.A. in Criminal Justice, American Public University (2011)
B.S. in Computer Science, National University (1996)