Studentships at University College London and National Archives

Studentship: Uncertainty of Damage Functions in Preventive
    Conservation
Centre for Sustainable Heritage, Bartlett School for Graduate
    Studies
University College London and
National Archives, London

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 and TNA.

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 student will have a good first degree in a relevant discipline:
mathematics, physics, chemistry, engineering, material science or
conservation science. Experience in data analysis, experimental
design and modelling are desired.

The AHRC Studentship will cover home fees and a stipend of up to a
maximum of UKP15,726 per year (current rate) for UK students or EU
students who have lived in the UK for 3 years prior to the award.
Overseas students may also be eligible if they fulfil a range of
residency requirements stipulated on the AHRC guidance. For detailed
terms and conditions see the RCUK Student Funding Guide

    <URL:http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/Student-Funding-Guide.pdf>

For more information and how to apply, please visit:

    <URL:http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/AGZ905/studentship-uncertainty-of-damage-functions-in-preventive-conservation/>

Application deadline: 6 September 2013
Interviews: 13 September 2013.

Kostas Ntanos
Head of Conservation Research and Development
The National Archives, UK


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 27:8
                 Distributed: Thursday, August 8, 2013
                        Message Id: cdl-27-8-031
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