Uncertainty of Damage Functions in Preventive Conservation

The Centre for Sustainable Heritage, Bartlett School for Graduate Studies, University College London (UCL) and The National Archives (TNA), London are seeking applications for one fully funded Thames Consortium Studentship on the topic “Uncertainty of Damage Functions in Preventive Conservation”. Funded by AHRC, the three year PhD research programme will be supervised jointly by UCL (http://www.bartlett.ucl.ac.uk/graduate/csh/csh-home/) and TNA (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/collection-care.htm).

This is a highly prestigious studentship on a challenging topic of strategic importance to the field. In preventive conservation, it is customary to rely on damage functions to predict the future state of a heritage object or a collection in certain environmental conditions. Damage functions are mathematical models, derived experimentally or empirically, and are associated with an uncertainty. This uncertainty is rarely assessed and as a consequence, the reliability of predictions and consequently, conservation decisions has often been questioned. This project will develop a damage function for discolouration of particularly unstable paper types, and critically examine the associated uncertainties. This will be compared with a general review of uncertainty calculation in long-term predictions, and conclusions drawn for predictive maintenance of heritage. The particular research questions of this interdisciplinary project are:
• What is the uncertainty of damage functions used in preventive conservation?
• How do these uncertainties affect the reliability of long term decision making?
• What are the expectations of the conservation community with respect to the certainty of decision making?
• On the basis of a case study, can the sources of uncertainty be analytically examined?
The research project will enable the PhD student to seek employment in any multidisciplinary environment: from academia to conservation, including engineering and industry.

The student will have a good first degree in a relevant discipline: mathematics, physics, chemistry, engineering, material science or conservation science with understanding of cultural heritage preservation issues. Experience in data analysis, experimental design and modelling will be highly welcomed. For further details contact Dr. Matija Strlič, [Email Address Removed] / 020 3108 9036 or Kostas Ntanos, [Email Address Removed] / 020 8392 5330 ext. 2019.

The application should include:
• a covering letter clearly stating that you wish to apply for this studentship
• the UCL graduate application form which can be downloaded via UCL's web site: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/graduate-study/application/application-main/downloadable-applications/graduate-application-form
• two academic references
• a copy of the applicant’s degree certificate(s) and transcript(s) of degree(s),
• proof of meeting the UCL English language proficiency requirements where necessary (details of English language proficiency requirements can be found at http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/graduate-study/application/research/english-language)
• a short research proposal (max. 2000 words) written by taking into consideration the above research questions.
The award will be subject to the final approval of the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

The applications should not be submitted by UCL online admissions system. They should be sent directly to:

Graduate Faculty Office ([Email Address Removed])
Bartlett School of Graduate Studies
Faculty of the Built Environment
UCL
14 Upper Woburn Place
London WC1E 0NN
UCL Taking Action For Equality.
Application deadline 10th July 2012; Interviews 18th July 2013.