Internship at Mecklenburg Materials Archive

The Smithsonian Institution's Museum Conservation Institute (MCI) is
looking for a student with graduate-level experience/training in
archives, records, and information management and an interest in
materials science or conservation to assist with the organization of
MCI's Mecklenburg Materials Archive.

The Archive: For nearly forty years, conservator, scientist, and
engineer Marion Mecklenburg studied the mechanical behavior of art
materials, with resulting discoveries that had--and continue to
have--a direct impact on the preventive and treatment efforts of
collections professionals around the globe.  While conservators of
fine art have traditionally focused on the chemical deterioration of
art materials, Dr. Mecklenburg argued that the physical behavior of
those artworks is further understood, predicted, and managed when
approached as an engineering problem.  Through his own studies and
through the studies of the countless researchers who worked or
trained with him Mecklenburg made mechanical engineering a formative
aspect of conservation research.

Dr. Mecklenburg retired from the Smithsonian Institution in 2010 and
the organization of decades of his materials, research, and
equipment is currently underway at MCI.  The planned Mecklenburg
Materials Archive will house the paint, wood, and fabric samples
prepared and studied by Dr. Mecklenburg, and provide researchers
with access to the raw materials (such as custom-made paints) from
which those samples were created.  The Archive will also include
working and study samples of the equipment used over the course of
Dr. Mecklenburg's career (and information to help researchers
interested in building similar equipment); a library of notes,
books, and publications related to the environmental, lighting, and
material mechanics research of Dr. Mecklenburg and his colleagues;
and correspondence related to the archived samples, the commercial
production of art materials, and the application of engineering
principles to the study of material behavior in artwork.

The Project: The creation of the Mecklenburg Materials Archive is a
multi-year project that will combine conservation, materials
science, and library and archival science principles to create a
usable archive of materials and reference data with a cataloguing
system appropriate to mixed collections intended for historical
study as well as for continued use and analysis.  A summer intern is
sought to review the research notes, correspondence, publication
drafts, and other documentary and library materials related to the
Archive and to assist in determining an appropriate inventory and
cataloguing protocol for the organization of these materials.

Location and Supervision: MCI is the center for specialized
technical collection research and conservation for all Smithsonian
museums and collections.  MCI combines knowledge of materials and
the history of technology with state-of-the-art instrumentation and
scientific techniques to provide technical research studies and
interpretation of artistic, anthropological, biological, and
historical objects.  The Mecklenburg Archives intern would be
supervised by Dr. Dawn Rogala, MCI Paintings Conservator (primary
supervisor) and Mitchell Toda, Assistant Archivist for the
Smithsonian Institution Archives (SIA).  While MCI is the primary
internship location, the intern should expect to spend at least one
day per week at SIA.  Smithsonian shuttle bus service runs hourly
between downtown Washington, DC and MCI's location at Smithsonian
facilities in Suitland, Maryland.  MCI is also easily reached by
car.  SIA is located in downtown Washington, DC and is accessible by
public transit.

Stipend: A stipend of $6,000 is available for the 10-week internship
period.  Relocation, housing, and insurance are not included.  The
internship is intended mainly for the summer of 2015, but start and
end dates are flexible.

To Apply: Applications must be made through the Smithsonian's Online
Academic Appointment System

    <URL:https://solaa.si.edu/solaa/SOLAAHome.html>

by February 25, 2015; select the option for the MCI Internship
Program.  Your application materials should specifically mention Dr.
Rogala as supervisor and the Mecklenburg Archive project, and
discuss how working on this project matches your interests and would
further your studies.  Selected candidates will be interviewed by
telephone, although MCI visits are welcome.  If you have any
questions or want to further discuss this project, Dr. Rogala can be
reached at rogalad<-at->si<.>edu and Mr. Toda can be reached at
todam<-at->si<.>edu.


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 28:33
                 Distributed: Friday, January 30, 2015
                       Message Id: cdl-28-33-027
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