Developing portable spectroscopic techniques for non-invasive art analysis in situ (HLS/DRFAPP7P/61995)

Until recently many conservation scientists have been limited by the analysis techniques they can use due to either prohibitively expensive equipment or the need for destructive sampling. Progress in developing low cost portable equipment for this market has been slow due to the limited amounts of funding available to invest in the analysis along with the lack of interdisciplinary engagement from the scientific community. As part of an RSC mobility fellowship and privately funded investigation into the pigments of the earliest Northumbrian manuscripts it became evident that moving large laboratory based equipment such as a Raman spectrometer to the artefacts was simply impractical. Using smaller spectrometers, coupled with fiber optics has provided a prototype solution, however this only addresses part of the analysis problem and further development is essential to allow this technology to become both readily available and applicable to the analysis of art and artefacts.

This PhD’s research is intended to investigate a range of spectroscopic techniques in an art conservation setting and develop the existing equipment into a suitably rugged and portable form so that it can be deployed for in situ non-destructive analysis. This would be done in consultation with a range of collaborators such as Durham Cathedral and Palace Green Libraries, the MINIARE project at the Fitzwilliam museum Cambridge, Bodleian Library at Oxford and other local connections such as Tyne and Wear museums and archives.

We seek to determine if:
- A fiber coupled Raman spectrometer can be built from the prototype in a user friendly form with sufficient sensitivity to enable identification of pigments in situ without causing degradation or damage (hence establishing the safe illumination limits for photosensitive pigments).
- Standard cameras modified for IR and multi-spectral imaging provide enough spectroscopic resolution to differentiate between pigments, in combination with measured reflectance spectra of standard samples.
- Development of existing PCA image analysis can be used to reduce the amount of points within a given piece to sample using Raman spectra, hence operator time.

Enquiries regarding this studentship should be made to: Dr Kate Nicholson, [Email Address Removed], 0191 227 3511

For further details of how to apply, entry requirements and the application form, see
https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/research/postgraduate-research-degrees/how-to-apply/
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