PTT Grants

This report details the Preservation Technology and Training Grants Program activities from October 1, 2005 to October 1, 2006. The report includes information on the 2006 and plans for the 2007 grants program.

As part of the Amendments to the National Historic Preservation Act, Title IV (16 U.S.C. 470x-Section 405), “The Secretary, in consultation with the Board, shall provide preservation technology and training grants to eligible applicants with a demonstrated institutional capability and commitment to the purposes of the Center, in order to ensure an effective and efficient system of research, information distribution and skills training in all the related historic preservation fields.”

Highlights of the 2006 PTT Grants program activities include:

• NCPTT continued revisions to online, web-based application system developed by Sean Clifford and a grant development team, including, Andy Ferrell, David Morgan, Jeffery Guin, and Mary Striegel.

• In all, 45 complete applications for funding were received, requesting approximately $1.5 million.

• The proposals underwent a three-tier review. First, NCPTT staff reviewed the proposals to insure completeness and relevance to the PTT Grant program. Second, proposals were assigned to a mini-panel of experts to evaluate and rank similar proposals. Third, high-ranking proposals in each of the research priorities and in the “other technologies” category were selected for panel review.

• NCPTT held a national panel review on April 12, in Natchitoches, Louisiana. The board representative for the panel review was Suzanne Turner. NCPTT staff overseeing the review included Mary Striegel, Andy Ferrell, David Morgan, and Kirk Cordell.

• NCPTT awarded nine grants, totaling $282,700.00 in funding.

• The awards represented a funding rate of approximately 20 percent of the total proposals submitted. This indicated a one-in-five chance of receiving funding.

1. Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts, Philadelphia, Penn. $40,000.00
Architectural Records Conference

The Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts will develop and present a national conference, “Architectural Records: Preserving and Managing the Documentation of Our Built Environment,” in spring 2007 in Chicago for approximately 160 attendees. The goal of the Chicago Architectural Records Conference will be to improve practices for preserving and providing access to architectural records in museums, archives, libraries, and historic sites throughout the country. The conference will address the training needs of staff in small and large institutions on both the theoretical and practical levels, through keynote addresses, lectures, case studies, and tours.

2. Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. - $39,400.00
Development of a Rapid Indicator of Biodeterioration of Historic Stone

Biodeterioration plays an important role in the degradation of stone in historic buildings, monuments, and archeological sites. Microbial biodeterioration occurs through the action of organic and inorganic acids produced by biofilms. Detection of biodeterioration of culturally important stone objects is difficult. The use of microbiological indicators of environmental conditions is common (e.g., E. coli is a key indicator of fecal contamination of water). The objective of this project is to evaluate the use of a microbial indicator for early detection of stone biodeterioration. Microbial indicators could provide a simple and rapid means for early detection of stone biodeterioration.

3. Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas- $40,000.00
Digital Technology Integration: San Antonio Riverwalk Documentation Pilot Project

This work will develop a prototype system for the integration of digital technologies to create more efficient and accurate methods for the documentation of historically significant landscapes that include historic structures. The information gathered will be used for archival drawings and be uniquely tied to a Geographical Information System (GIS) with structural and landscape element data. This unique marriage of technologies provides an excellent educational and interpretive tool. The methodology developed will be translated into written format and provided to NCPTT. The resulting documentary material will be provided to the Library of Congress for copyright-free distribution to the public.

4. Kacyra Family Foundation, Orinda, Calif. - $40,000.00
High Definition Documentation of Archaeology

Existing conditions documentation of archeological structures can be cut by 60 percent and can improve the accuracy and fidelity of the documentation by using scanning technology. This would optimize valuable human and financial resources for archeologists and preservation specialists working to save our ‘Vanishing Treasures’. This proposal will refine the development of a high definition documentation system for archeology; utilize commercial off-the-shelf digital technologies; and disseminate this method through training sessions and workshops to park personnel. This method assimilates into the archeologists’ work process, saving significant time at each site and increasing the number of sites they record.

5. University of Kentucky, Lexington, Ky. - $36,990.00
Interpreting Infrared Thermography and other Non-Invasive Technologies within the Context of Historic Materials

Technical improvements in non-invasive evaluation methods of infrared thermography has resulted in more effective and affordable hardware as well as more versatile software. These technological advances are making infrared thermography more accessible to preservationists and conservationists when conducting historic building investigations, evaluations and documentations. The main barrier to using this potentially very useful method is the absence of a methodology for meaningful interpretation of the raw data obtained with infrared thermography. This overwhelming barrier can be overcome only by correlating the detailed physical characteristics of model architectural structures in various environments with the data obtained from them by means of infrared thermography. The work done in this project will establish this correlation and offer it in the form of a library of calibrated data for the immediate and meaningful application of infrared thermography to problems of architectural restoration, conservation and preservation.

6. The Association for Preservation Technology, Savannah, Ga. - $29,400.00
Investigation of Mechanical Anchor Strength in Stone Masonry

Mechanical anchor systems are commonly used in historic masonry materials despite the lack of design values for this type of base material. The current lack of codes, guidelines or recommendations for pullout and shear values of these anchors in historic masonry materials leaves the design community to improvise the design and specification of these bolts. This work will test each of the three commonly–used types of mechanical fasteners in both limestone and sandstone for pullout, shear and a combination of pullout and shear. The ultimate yield strength will be correlated to both compressive strength and surface hardness of the sample stone.

7. Bryan Lang Foundation, Woodbine, Ga. - $12,200.00
Planning to Preserve Our Coastal Heritage and Culture: Disaster Planning and Recovery for Heritage and Cultural Sites in Coastal Georgia, Coastal South Carolina, and Northeast Florida

This grant funding will provide for developing and conducting a disaster planning and recovery workshop for small to medium sized heritage/cultural institutions in Coastal Georgia, South Carolina, and Northeast Florida who might otherwise not be able to travel to larger cities to gain this knowledge. This workshop will address fundamental disaster planning and recovery techniques, address technologies such as digitization, cold storage, and storage equipment used to mitigate damage and aid in recovery, and discuss lessons learned from past natural disasters.

8. National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC- $13,300.00
Use of Rheoreversible Gels for the Preservation of Cultural and Artistic Heritage

Solvents are used for removal of paint and oily dirt that disfigure cultural and artistic heritage. To mitigate a serious drawback, rapid infiltration via capillary action, they may be “encapsulated” into gels; these, however, can be difficult to remove, requiring substantial washing and/or physical action. This work will provide improved methods for cleaning by designing and testing gels that become freely flowing on demand. Protocols for making and using ‘rheoreversible’ gels using polyamine -CO2 and small molecule gelator systems with several solvents and aqueous systems have been devised. This work investigates their properties, removability, and efficacy.

9. The Timber Framers Guild, Washington, Mass. - $31,500.00
Vernacular Wooden Church Steeples in the Eastern United States: Form and Restoration

Wooden church steeples range from modest 80 ft. towers to spires reaching to 200 ft. Four monographs will identify characteristic forms and their structural systems, delineated in drawings showing overall configuration, transverse and longitudinal views, exploded joinery, and iron work if original. The interaction of the steeple framing and the structure of the main body of the church will also be made clear. A structural analysis will illustrate loads, stresses and displacements of each. This study will promote better understanding of the form and dynamics of the thousands of American wooden steeples from the 18th and 19th centuries still standing today.

NCPTT continues with its established research priorities and announces a new research priority with the 2007 call for proposals:

NCPTT also continues a special initiative first offered in the 2006, and continued in the 2007 PTT Grants Call for Proposals:

Special Research Initiative in Mitigation of Storm Damage
The aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita has brought to light a need for further research into mitigation of storm damage to cultural resources. Thus, Special Initiative gives priority to research that develops or advances technologies to preserve storm damaged cultural resources.

The 2007 call for proposals was posted to NCPTT’s website on Sept. 18. The online web-based application form was also available on that date. The deadline for proposal applications is Dec. 1, 2006. NCPTT plans to follow the same three-tier review process as last year. First, proposals will be reviewed by in-house staff to determine completeness and appropriateness of applications. Second, proposals will be reviewed for technical merit by a series of mini-panels composed of three to five technical experts within archeology, historic architecture, historic landscapes, or materials conservation. Based on the mini-panel review, about 25 proposals will be recommended for review by a national panel convened in Natchitoches the week of March 1, 2007.