Productive Affinities: Successful Collaborations Between Museums and Academia

The Art Institute of Chicago Northwestern University Joint Seminar Series on Conservation Science

October 29-31, 2008

Chicago, IL and Evanston, IL

DESCRIPTION

Continued progress in conservation science is increasingly dependent upon collaborative efforts amongst several different disciplines, as well as effective partnerships involving a wide range of scientific perspectives from museums, libraries, academia, industry and national laboratories.
This meeting, generously sponsored by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, represents the culminating event of a quadrennial collaborative research program between the Art Institute of Chicago and the Materials Science and Engineering, Chemistry, Computer Science and Civil Engineering Departments at Northwestern University. The objective is to present an overview of research collaborations that showcase the convergence of critical technical expertise and resources on questions of interest to the study and preservation of objects of cultural heritage. Additionally, the symposium hopes to engage participants in a discussion on how a close coordination amongst funding agencies can be catalyzed to support research projects focused on art and archaeological subjects of inquiry, especially at a time when funding agencies stress the integration of broader impacts requirements with the research being proposed.

OBJECTIVES

The symposium will emphasize the intersection between new technology development and the challenging problems in conservation science, with a mixture of invited and contributed papers. Contributions describing collaborative research are welcomed on a number of topics including, but not limited to the following areas of research:

• Nanotechnology
• Surface science
• Imaging
• Materials aging/Corrosion
• Mobile instrumentation development and sensor technology
• Polymer science
• Paint technology
• Materials characterization
• Analytical technology development

The three-day symposium and panel discussion will foster communication amongst disciplines and hopefully will provide a springboard for much new research, the development of new approaches and constitute a platform for exchange of creative ideas on how to attract funding to conservation science research.
Participation in the meeting is free, however, due to the limited capacity of the auditoriums, it should be noted that registration is required. Registration forms as well as abstract submission guidelines for authors interested in contributing an oral communication can be obtained from the AIC/NU collaboration website.

Abstracts – in the form of e-mail attachments to mrc@northwestern.edu - must be submitted by July 23rd, 2008. Notification of acceptance will be sent to the authors by August 29th, 2008. Registration deadline is August 29, 2008.

PANEL DISCUSSION

Reaching critical mass: a discussion on funding for conservation science research.
Paul Whitmore (Director, Art Conservation Research Center, Carnegie Mellon University), moderator
Panelists:
Angelica Rudenstine (Program Officer, Museums and Conservation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation)
Dr. W. Lance Haworth (Director, Office of Integrative Activities, National Science Foundation)
Prof. Neil Shubin (Robert R. Bensley Professor, Organismal Biology and Anatomy; Associate Dean, Organismal Biology and Anatomy; Professor, Committee on Evolutionary Biology, University of Chicago; Provost, The Field Museum);
Prof. Monica Olvera De La Cruz (Professor, Materials Science & Engineering, Professor, Chemical & Biological Engineering, Professor, Chemistry; Director, Materials Research Center, Northwestern University).

INVITED SPEAKERS

PAPER – Dr. Mark Ormsby (Senior scientist, The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration)
DYES AND COLORANTS - Dr. Marco Leona (Scientist in Charge, Science Group, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY)
STONE- Prof. George Scherer (Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton)
ARCHAEOMETRY- Dr. Michael D. Glascock (Research Scientist and Group Leader of the Archaeometry laboratory at the University of Missouri Research Reactor)
CERAMICS AND GLASS- Prof. Arthur Heuer (Professor, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Case Western Reserve University)
FUNDING - Dr. Hannelore Roemich (Associate Professor of Conservation Science, New York University)

SYMPOSIUM ORGANIZERS

Dr. Francesca Casadio, A. W. Mellon Conservation Scientist, The Art Institute of Chicago (fcasadio@artic.edu)
Prof. Katherine T. Faber, Professor, Northwestern University (k-faber@northwestern.edu)

REGISTRATION NFORMATION

To register, please fill out the Registration form and e-mail it to mrc@northwestern.edu by August 29.

CONTACT INFORMATION

If you have any questions, please contact Klara Mueggenburg at mrc@northwestern.edu, 847-491-3606.