Undergraduate Research
Undergraduate Research
Students have many opportunities to complete unique research during their time at the University of Delaware–from blog posts to research with professors to senior theses.
Examples of past student research projects include:
- Shi Kin Tan, Hannah Villines, Nicholas Fandaros, and Anna-Colette Haynes worked with Catherine Matsen, Scientist at Winterthur Museum to assess the exterior painted surfaces of Old College Hall.
- Lisa Clifford presented her research with Dr. Rosie Grayburn, Scientist at Winterthur, and the Sustainability in Conservation group on greener solvents at the 2023 ICOM-CC Triennial Meeting in Valencia, Spain in the fall of 2023.
Recent publications coauthored by undergraduate students include:
- Marci Wiggins, Emma Heath, KS. Booksh, and Jocelyn Alcántara-García. 2019. Multi-analytical study of copper-based historic pigments and their alteration products. Applied spectroscopy 73 (11), 1255-1264.
- Riley Thomas, Jocelyn Alcántara-García, and J. Wouters. 2017. "A snapshot of Viennese textile history using multi-Instrumental analysis: Benedict Codecasa's swatchbook." MRS Advances 2, 3959-3971.
- Alcantara-Garcia, Jocelyn, Michael Nix, and Taylor Pearlstein. 2017. “Tracing the Trade: PDA-LC-MS study Norwich Wool Swatch Books Reveal the Secrets of Master Dyers." International Council of Museums–Committee for Conservation (ICOM-CC) Triennial Conference. Copenhagen, Denmark.
Senior Thesis
We are proud of the number of art conservation students who submit senior theses each year. While rewarding, a senior thesis is not required for admission to graduate programs in art conservation. Unlike most term projects, papers, and lab reports written in undergraduate courses, a senior thesis addresses questions or issues for which no known or generally accepted answers exist.
During their junior year, students submit a proposal to the Undergraduate Research Office after meeting with their chosen first and second readers--generally faculty members from the UD art conservation department or from Winterthur. Spring semester senior year a draft is submitted to the committee who arrange an oral defense—those who write a senior thesis graduate with a Degree with Distinction or an Honors Degree with Distinction.
Past Thesis Papers
- Nicholas Fandaros (2023). Framing the Collection: The Ambiguous and Complex Systems of Care, Consideration, and Conservation of Frames.
- Caroline Berger (2022). A New Paradigm for the Evaluation of Cultural Heritage Objects: The Process of Attributing Value and Significance to Diana Mantua's Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery.
- Anna-Colette Haynes (2022). Personhood Post-Mortem: A Survey of Ethical Policies within Collections of Human Remains.
- Yulimar Luna Colón (2022). Art Conservation in Cultural Institutions in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands: Damage Prevention from Natural Disasters.
- Miriam-Helene Rudd (2021). Historic and Contemporary Hairwork: An Investigation of Sentiment, Techniques, and Conservation Practices.
- Philip DePaola (2020). What Textiles Fragments Can Unearth About Those Buried in an 18-19th-Century Philadelphia Cemetery.
- Annabelle Fichtner Camp (2019). Reconstructing Mid-Atlantic Native American Net-Making Technology.
- AnnaLivia McCarthy (2019). Compilation on Pile Rugs: Untying Restoration from Current Conservation Practices.
- Amanda Kasman (2018). Conservation of Landing of Slaves at Jamestown, Virginia, 1619 Diorama: The Legacy of An African American Emancipation Exposition.
- Claire Martin (2018). The ABC's of Carton Moore-Park.
- Taylor Pearlstein (2018): The Preservation of Memory: Archiving and Assessing The Mission To Protect Cultural Heritage In The Middle East
- David Brickhouse (2016). Tin Imitating Textile: A Study of the Applied Brocade Technique Using Technical Reconstructions.
- Juliana Ly (2015). The Development of a Mold and Cast Technique for Infilling on Varnished Chinese Export Lacquerware.
- Kelsey Wingel (2014): Studies in American Tonalist Painting: The Materials and Techniques of Robert Crannell Minor's Souvenir of Italy.
