Nine projects selected for 2007 funding
More than $350,000 will fund research to protect America's historic legacy as part of the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training's PTT Grants program. Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne recently announced the funding of nine projects that tackle preservation problems such as cleaning contaminated museum artifacts and making use of post-disaster data from multiple agencies.
"NCPTT's goal is to equip preservation professionals with progressive technology-based research and training," Kirk Cordell, NCPTT executive director, said. "Many of America's most cherished cultural resources have benefited from NCPTT research, including the Statue of Liberty, Congressional Cemetery and numerous National Parks. Our 2007 PTT Grant recipients will potentially protect many additional cultural resources through technological innovation."
Finalists were selected from 44 applications submitted by eligible agencies, including federal and non-federal government laboratories; accredited museums; colleges and universities; non-profit organizations; offices, units, and Cooperative Study Units of the National Park System; and State Historic Preservation Offices, tribal preservation offices, and local organizations.
The 2007 PTT Grants Awards will fund the following research:
School of Engineering, University of Vermont, $49,900
Heritage Preservation Engineering: Curriculum Development
The School of Engineering at the Universityof Vermont is in the process of
adopting heritage preservation engineering
as an area of focus. This will
make it one of the first engineering
programs in the U.S. focused on quantitative
techniques and methodologies
applied to the engineering evaluation
and remediation of heritage structures.
In order to develop curricular
materials that adequately reflect the
current state of the art, the university
will convene a colloquium of noted
heritage preservation engineers and
design professionals for that purpose.
The colloquium will result in the creation
of new curricula along with publication
of the colloquium proceedings.
New Orleans Historic District Landmarks
Commission, $49,200
Adapting Post-Disaster Data for Local
Government Use
After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita,
New Orleans benefited from a wide
range of volunteer, university, state,
federal and other efforts. In the areas
of architecture and preservation,
many of these efforts were recorded
in electronic format and done specifically
to support the HDLC, whose
staff was cut to minimal levels. How
does an agency adapt this wealth of
data to meet local needs? This project
will use real world data to establish
standards for future disaster-related
preservation work.
Princeton University, $48,900
Diagnosing and Controlling Hygric
Swelling of Stone
Many sedimentary stones–including
those widely used in historic buildings
on the east coast of the US –swell
when wet, leading to stress and cracking.
Princeton proposes to develop
methods for quantifying the stress,
identify the flaws that trigger cracking,
and optimize treatments to prevent
the damage. They would also develop
experimental methods for quantifying
the rate and magnitude of swelling,
which are essential for diagnosing the
risk to a building, and evaluating the
effectiveness of treatment.
University of Colorado at Denver and
Health Sciences Center, $51,200
Microbial Detoxification of Mercury
Contaminated Museum Collections:
Effect of Material Composition
on Mercury Removal
The Native American Graves Protection
and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA )
has generated increased interest in the
mitigation of metal toxicity associated
with metal-treated museum collections,
which pose health risks to museum
personnel and tribal members.
The research proposed here represents
a novel, microbiologically-based
mercury mitigation method for the
remediation of contaminated cultural
collections. Naturally-occurring mercury-
volatilizing bacteria will be used
to reduce the mercury concentrations
associated with treated materials. The
bacterial conversion of mercury into a
gaseous form that can be properly disposed
of reduces the material-associated
mercury concentration. During
bacterial treatment, microbiological
and analytical chemistry methods will
be used to monitor the environmental
parameters needed to optimize mercury
removal.
Cornerstones Community Partnerships,
$13,700
An Emergency Flood Mitigation
Manual for Earthen Architecture
Cornerstones Community Partnerships,
the Santa Fe nonprofit organization
internationally known for its
community-based adobe preservation
model, will develop an emergency
flood mitigation manual. This manual
will serve as a guide for emergency
preparedness teams, homeowners,
and contractors in the stabilization and
recovery of storm-damaged earthen
architecture in the western U.S. and
border region. The organization’s PTT
Grant will fund the preparation, publication,
and public dissemination of
the latest flood-mitigation techniques
that Cornerstones has developed in
response to recent disastrous flooding
in southern New Mexico. The publication
will be the first of its kind to
focus on disaster conditions affecting
earthen architecture.
City of Aspen, Colorado, $23,100
Conservation of Wooden Artifacts
in Cemeteries
This project will produce a report that
summarizes information on wood deterioration,
conservation and preservation
options that will allow cemetery
stewards to extend the life of
fragile wooden artifacts. Additionally,
researchers will identify research priorities
for long-term conservation of
these artifacts. More durable artifacts
in the cemetery landscapes, such as
stone markers and metal grave enclosures,
have readily available documents
on conservation methodologies.
There is no single resource available
that explains conservation issues
for wooden artifacts in cemeteries.
This project is intended to fill that
void.
Board of Trustees of the University of
Illinois, $14,800
Aerial Thermal Survey of New Philadelphia,
Ill. Town Site
This project will conduct low-altitude
aerial surveys using thermal imaging
to determine whether the actual spatial
extent of New Philadelphia’s lots
and streets can be detected through
such technologies. The town was the
first planned and legally founded by a
free African-American in the United
States. It grew as a multi-racial community
from 1836 through the 1880s.
A surveyor’s plat and town plan filed
in 1836 set out a grid of blocks, lots,
alleys and streets. Geophysical and archeological
investigations to date have
located limited extents of the town’s
remains now buried beneath agricultural
fields and prairie.
Mississippi State University, $46,100
Establishing an Elemental Baseline
for Sourcing Shell and Shell-Tempered
Artifacts in the Eastern Woodlands
of North America using Laser Ablation-
Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass
Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS)
A non-destructive method of sourcing
shell artifacts and shell-tempered
pottery using Laser Ablation-Inductively
Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry
(LA -ICP-MS) has recently
been developed (Peacock et al., under
review). To make the method widely
applicable, background chemical data
on shells from different watersheds
are needed. LA -ICP-MS analysis of
shell samples from sites across eastern
North America is proposed in order
to create a database for researchers
interested in conducting non-destructive
sourcing studies of shell and shelltempered
artifacts, especially sensitive
artifacts such as museum specimens
and burial accompaniments for which
destructive analyses are undesirable.
University of Arizona, $50,000
Evaluation of Conservation and Preservation
Practices in a Southwest Pottery
Collection
A variety of materials and methods
have been used to preserve ceramic
vessels. Many have proven successful,
while others are damaging. Monitoring
and evaluation of past treatments
is a documented research priority in
the conservation field. The Arizona
State Museum proposes to examine,
record and analyze the performance
of past treatments on the museum’s
collection. Previous grant funds enabled
conditions assessment of 20,000
southwest vessels and a modern storage
facility. NCPTT funds will be used
to monitor and evaluate previous preservation
treatments. This research will
enable researchers to identify patterns
in archeological methods, museum
management and conservation.