Announcement: X-ray Fluorescence Boot Camp for Conservators

August 1, 2013

Dates:
November 5-7, 2013. Optional 4th day: November 8, 2013

Jointly organized by the Yale Institute for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage and the Getty Conservation Institute

Location:

Yale University’s West Campus and Yale University Art Gallery

During the first three days of the XRF Boot Camp (November 5-7, 2013) conservators will gain in-depth training in the principles of x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy as well as in the collection and interpretation of data, focusing primarily on qualitative analysis and the use of handheld instrumentation.  The workshop will pair interactive lectures with laboratory activities that involve hands-on instrument use, data processing and interpretation.  The application of XRF to the study of core material groups in cultural heritage collections will be emphasized throughout the Boot Camp and illustrated with examples from Yale University’s collections.

The optional fourth day of the XRF Boot Camp, November 8, 2013 will be dedicated to the analysis of painted surfaces, focusing on the common challenges faced by conservators of paintings, objects and works on paper when dealing with multilayer coatings on a variety of substrates. Participants must complete the first three days in order to attend the optional fourth day.

Experienced instructors include Maggi Loubser (Group Chief Chemist at PPC Cement, South Africa) and Alexander Seyfarth (Senior Global Product Manager for Handheld XRF at Bruker AXS) who are both long-time instructors at the XRF Short Course at Western Ontario University.  Chris McGlinchey (Sally and Michael Gordon Conservation Scientist at the Museum of Modern Art, New York), one of the earliest adopters of handheld XRF technology in the conservation field, will be the primary instructor for the optional 4th day of the XRF Boot Camp dealing with painted surfaces.

The organizers of the 2013 XRF Boot Camp are Anikó Bezur (Director of Scientific Research) and Erin Mysak (Associate Conservation Scientist) at the Yale Center for Conservation and Preservation, and Karen Trentelman (Senior Scientist) and Lynn Lee (Assistant Scientist) at the Collections Research Laboratory, Getty Conservation Institute.


photo by Paul J. Getty Trust

The workshop registration fee for first three days is $360 per person. Registration for the optional fourth day is an additional $120 per person. (Registration fees for all four days total $480.) Participants must complete the first three days in order to attend the optional fourth day.

Registration includes the conference attendance, a conference work booklet, continental breakfast at the workshop venue, coffee breaks, and the Thursday evening reception. Lunches and dinners are not included in the registration fee (lunch is available at the West Campus cafeteria for $7 per person during the first three days).

The Study at Yale

Courtyard Marriot at Yale

Both of the hotels are adjacent to Yale’s Main Campus in New Haven, CT. A free shuttle service will be available to transport participants between the Main Campus and West Campus. The shuttle will stop at The Study Hotel to pick up all participants (people staying at Courtyard have to walk over to The Study).

Regarding questions about the XRF Boot Camp, please email xrfbootcamp@yale.edu