DAYTON, Ohio — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security awarded researchers a $300,000 grant to create a new way to identify suspects through holographic fingerprints and 3D images.

On the team is a professor from the University of Dayton, who hopes this project becomes a mainstay for the identification process.

Banerjee said what’s on the tip of your finger is what can change the way police solve crimes. 

“Fingerprints carry a lot of detail about a person. That’s why it’s used for identification," said Banerjee. 

However, he said a lot is missing from the regular 2D fingerprints used now. 

“To this date, we are still neglecting the depth information, the locations of the pores and how deep they are also is unique to a person,” said Banerjee. 

Banerjee said they can see all of that extra detail by turning a fingerprint into a hologram and 3D image. 

In order to make it happen, the fingerprint goes through a series of special laser lights to make it a hologram. The fingerprint is then reconstructed into a 3D image on the computer.

Banerjee said he's worked with his colleagues at Penn State to come up with the method and got a $300,000 federal grant to perfect it. 

He’s hoping the new 3D method will turn into the new standard in crime labs.

“I’m sure U.S. Department of Homeland Security will continue to fund this project, and we hope — we dream — some day this will be a routine thing,” said Banerjee. 

The Miami Valley Crime Lab will grade each hologram fingerprint. 

According to the University of Dayton, Banerjee owns one patent, and is an author of six published textbooks and more than 150 journal articles. He is a fellow of OPTICA, formerly the Optical Society of America; the International Society for Optics and Photonics; and the Institute of Physics.