U.S. - Italian Bilateral Workshop on "New Technologies and Cultural Heritage"

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This award supports a US-Italian bilateral workshop entitled "New Technologies and Cultural Heritage" in Venice, Italy on April 23 and 24, 2001, and is jointly funded by the Engineering Directorate and International Program. Cultural artifacts link mankind to its artistic and cultural past. It is important that they be preserved as closely as possible to the state in which they were created. Deterioration of cultural artifacts has become a major concern around the world. Broad issues include the preservation of ancient buildings, monuments, and archeological sites; construction materials; artifact collections; and collection materials. The workshop is expected to reach two major goals.The first goal is to bring together specialists from various disciplines to explore how advanced technologies can contribute to the assessment and improvement of the objects that are part of our cultural heritage. The participants will consist of engineers, scientists, and conservators, among others. They can be divided into two main groups. One group consists of experts in the preservation and management of the artifacts themselves, including historic stone monuments and museum collections. A second group of experts focuses on materials or environmental research and on advanced technologies that could be applied for beneficial purposes in the diagnosis, monitoring, protection, and/or restoration of cultural objects. Traditionally, these two groups have not interacted much. The workshop constitutes a special effort to promote exchange of information and ultimately create synergy and collaboration between these groups.The second goal of the workshop is to bring together US and Italian researchers and institutions to explore topics of common interest and to identify opportunities for constructive future bilateral research and information exchange. The workshop will provide a "meeting of the minds" and bring together participants with diverse educational and professional backgrounds. The workshop will be attended by 21 participants from the U.S. and 26 participants from Italy.