EAGER: Virtual Engineering for Conservation and Sustainability of Cultural Heritage

这一探索性研究（EAGER）的早期概念基金的目标是将计算设计领域扩展到新的应用领域，包括自然和人造制品的设计和可持续性。该奖项将研究利用计算设计和基于模拟的工程方法和技术在广泛的文化遗产保护领域取得重大技术进步的可行性，最初的重点是雕塑的保护和安全安装。研究将集中于支持数字采集、分析、规划、评估、修复、保护和雕塑安装的计算挑战。虽然单个任务可能看起来与其他工程领域相似，但由于文物的独特性、经济性、美学、脆弱性和复杂的保护历史，文化遗产领域的研究问题尤其具有挑战性。该研究将调查这些限制对下个世纪及以后支持文化遗产保护和可持续性所需的计算工具的影响。如果成功，这项研究有望广泛应用于雕塑和装置之外，从而为各种自然和人造结构提供现场分析和快速物理获取。此外，这项研究的直接受益者包括美国各地的博物馆、文物保护者、雕塑家和大学文物保护学位课程。威斯康辛大学和保罗·盖蒂博物馆之间的战略伙伴关系是朝这个方向迈出的第一步。该奖项的成功结束将使研究人员能够解决与自然和人造结构的原位分析和快速物理获取有关的具有挑战性的研究问题，这可能会产生巨大的社会和工程影响。

The objective of this Early-Concept Grant for Exploratory Research (EAGER) proposed research is to significantly broaden and extend the field of computational design to new application areas involving design and sustainability of natural and man-made artifacts. This award will investigate feasibility of making dramatic technological advances in the broad area of conservation of cultural heritage using methods and techniques of computational design and simulation-based engineering, with initial emphasis on conservation and safe installation of sculptures. The research will focus on computational challenges in support of digital acquisition, analysis, planning, assessment, restoration, conservation, and installation of sculptures. While individual tasks may appear to be similar to other engineering domains, the research issues in the area of cultural heritage are particularly challenging due to uniqueness, economics, aesthetics, fragility, and complex conservation history of the artifacts. The research will investigate the implications of these constraints on computational tools required to support conservation and sustainability of cultural heritage in the next century and beyond.If successful, the research is expected to be broadly applicable beyond sculptures and installations, leading to in situ analysis and rapid cquisition of physics for a variety of natural and man-made structures. In addition, the immediate beneficiaries of this research include museums, conservators, sculptors, university preservation degree programs across the United States. Strategic partnership between the University of Wisconsin and the J. Paul Getty Museum is a first step in this direction. The successful conclusion of this EAGER award will position the researchers to address the challenging research issues pertaining to in situ analysis and rapid cquisition of physics for natural and man-made structures, which could have tremendous societal and engineering impact.