NCPTT Establishes Research Priorities
Recognizing emerging needs in the field of preservation technology, NCPTT recently established its research priorities for the next five years. These include:
- Protect cultural resources against vandalism, looting and terrorism.
- Conserve modern architectural materials.
- Develop appropriate technologies to meet the particular needs of houses of worship and cemeteries.
- Monitor and evaluate previously-applied preservation treatments.
- Measure environmental impacts of pollution on cultural resources.
- Document and preserve threatened cultural landscapes.
Many of these priorities are reflected in the articles featured in this issue of NCPTT Notes.
PTT Board Holds Spring Meeting
The PTT Board held its spring meeting in Atlanta on May 28. Board members discussed recent events at the Center, including the American Cemetery Seminar and Workshop and upcoming training for preservation engineers. The evening before the meeting, board members Robert Silman and Norman Weiss lectured on their work involving the preservation of Frank Lloyd Wright’s “Fallingwater.” The lecture was held at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Site Visitor Center in Atlanta.
Interns Report on Research
Far from washing cars and making coffee, interns at NCPTT are making vital contributions to help the Center use technology to serve the future of America’s heritage. On April 9, NCPTT interns Seth Fornea and Callie Reames presented the state of their work with the Center at Northwestern State University’s Research Day.
Seth Fornea, a junior chemistry major at NSU, presented information on his research focused around new testing methodologies developed at the Center to study the effects of pollution on stone treated with protective substances.
Callie Reames, a senior journalism major at NSU (see profile under “New Faces” on page 10), spoke on her photodocumentation of the American Cemetery in Natchitoches.
NCPTT Personnel On the Road
NCPTT staff have covered the United States in the past few months, attending meetings and conferences about preservation to speak on the Center’s research and programs. Recent speaking engagements included the following:
- Kim Bowen, Heritage Education —Louisiana assistant coordinator, spoke on heritage education at the Cultural Resources 2003/George Wright Society Meeting in San Diego.
- Kirk Cordell, NCPTT executive director, spoke at the Graduate Preservation Seminar at Louisiana State University on the work of NCPTT and its role in the national preservation program. Cordell also took part in the George Wright Society/NPS CR2003 Meeting in San Diego, introducing keynote speaker Alexander Stille and co-leading an affinity group session on preservation technology with Sharon Park.
- ElizaBeth Bede Guin, DuPont materials research fellow, recently delivered her presentation “Out of the Lab and into the Field” at the Restoration and Renovation conference in Baltimore, as well as her “Technology and Preservation” presentation at the Colorado Preservation, Inc., meeting in Denver. She also delivered the presentation “Air Pollution Effects on Cultural Resources” on behalf of Mary Striegel at the CR2003/George Wright Society Meeting in San Diego.
- Andy Ferrell, architectural and engineering research fellow, delivered the presentation “Preservation 101” at the Colorado Preservation, Inc. annual meeting in Denver.
- Sheila Richmond, heritage education program manager, spoke about NCPTT programs at the fifth annual Southeast Regional African American Preservation Alliance Conference in Tallahassee. In addition, Richmond spoke about heritage education at the International Conference of the Alliance of National Heritage Areas in Pittsburgh.
- Mary Striegel, Environmental and Materials Research program manager, spoke at the NPS Air Quality Summit in Colorado on the subject of Air Pollution and Cultural Resources. Striegel also spoke on the topic of cemetery preservation in hot and humid climates at APTI Toronto and at recent AIC Board meetings in her role as director of specialty groups.