Newswise — What do art and science have in common? Plenty. Conservation science draws on analytical techniques from chemistry, biology and physics, applying these to the study and preservation of cultural and artistic works.
Art and science will converge at the 2011 North Dakota-South Dakota Joint EPSCoR Conference held on Tuesday, Oct. 4 at approximately noon in the North Dakota State University Memorial Union Ballroom, Fargo, N.D. Julie Arslanoglu, Associate Research Scientist in the Department of Scientific Research at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, N.Y., is the featured speaker for the event.
In addition, students from universities in North Dakota and South Dakota will share their research results in poster presentations from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The event is co-sponsored by the North Dakota Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research and the South Dakota EPSCoR program.
Ms. Arslanoglu, a noted research scientist, will discuss “What Lies Beneath? Understanding Art Using Science.” Her expertise includes analysis of paint and coating composition, stratigraphy and technology. She is accomplished in the analysis of both traditional and non-traditional artists’ materials, as well as polymeric materials. Her presentation will briefly describe the contribution of scientific analysis to the understanding of artworks, as well as highlight her collaborative research project applying immunological and mass spectrometric techniques to the identification and localization to proteins and gums in artwork.
Ms. Arslanoglu obtained a bachelor’s degree in chemistry at the University of Michigan before completing her graduate studies in organic chemistry at The Pennsylvania State University. Her career began as a medicinal chemist with her research specializing in drug metabolism and enzyme mechanisms at the National Cancer Institute (The National Institutes of Health) in Washington D.C., and she continued her research at the Biochemistry Department at The University of Texas, San Antonio. Ms. Arslanoglu became interested in the field of art conservation and was awarded a fellowship at the Smithsonian Institution, Materials Conservation Institute, Washington D.C.
Ms. Arslanoglu received her post-graduate diploma in the conservation easel paintings from the Courtauld Institute of Art, London, United Kingdom, while completing scientific research projects at the Tate Gallery and the National Gallery, London. She has held positions in the Scientific Departments of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles. In her current position at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Ms. Arslanoglu collaborates with curators and conservators in the study of artworks and conducts independent research on immunological and mass spectrometric techniques of organic materials.
Along with Ms. Arslanoglu’s luncheon address, the EPSCoR conference, “Competitiveness in this new funding era,” includes undergraduate and graduate students showcasing their work through collaborative research discussions and poster sessions. Nearly 150 student poster presentations are scheduled that include topics as varied as spacesuit antennas, solar cells, breast cancer, nanocavities and many more.
About ND EPSCoREstablished in 1986 as a North Dakota University System program, the North Dakota Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research strengthens the state’s science and technology infrastructure and enhances its participation in competitive research and development. http://www.ndepscor.nodak.edu
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