Six Interns Selected Nationwide to Work with NCPTT Experts in Their Field

By Cameron Tillman

NCPTT 2010 Summer Interns. (Left to Right) Cameron Tillman, Anna Muto, Stephanie Nelson, Caitlin Oshida, Kimberly Martin and LaRanda Spann.

Six interns join the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training staff this summer to work with research professionals in the fields of historic landscapes, architecture and engineering, materials research and marketing.

Stephanie Nelson

Stephanie Nelson, a graduate of Louisiana State University, will be working with Debbie Smith, historic landscapes program chief. Nelson will assist staff in developing a preservation landscape maintenance training curriculum and organize findings online. She hopes to identify unmet training needs and to correct those problems.

Anna Muto

Anna Muto, a graduate of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va., will be working with Jason Church of the materials research program. Muto will conduct a comparative study of rust converters and protective coatings for outdoor metalwork. Muto plans to gain experience in the conservation lab and contribute her findings to NCPTT’s Materials Research program.

Kimberly Martin

Kimberly Martin, a graduate of Clemson University in Charleston, S.C., will be working with Andy Ferrell, architecture and engineering program chief.  Martin will be testing the effectiveness of paint strippers at removing weathered paints from historic brick. She plans to determine what paint remover is most appropriate for modern and historic brick.

Caitlin Oshida

Caitlin Oshida, a graduate of the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Va., will jointly work with Debbie Smith and Mary Striegel, materials research program chief. Oshida will be studying the effects of herbicides on stone and masonry building materials. She hopes that a better treatment option can be created and applied to historical landscapes through her research.

Two undergraduate students from Northwestern State University of Louisiana are working with Jeff Guin, NCPTT marketing manager. LaRanda Spann and Cameron Tillman are working to maintain NCPTT’s online presence, in-house media production and promote the annual Preservation in Your Community event held August 10, which will feature poster presentations by NCPTT’s research interns.