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Undergraduate Research

Art Conservation
An exterior photo of Old College Hall with pumpkins and gourds
Contact information
art-conservation@udel.edu
302-831-3489
​Bellie Fichtner and members of the Lenape Indian Tribe of Delaware examine fishing nets at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian's Cultural Resource Center. ​​Bellie Fichtner and members of the Lenape Indian Tribe of Delaware examine fishing nets at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian's Cultural Resource Center. ​
​Bellie Fichtner and members of the Lenape Indian Tribe of Delaware examine fishing nets at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian's Cultural Resource Center. ​

Undergraduate Research


Students have many opportunities to complete unique research during their time at the 91Ô­´´â€“from blog posts to research with professors to .

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 91Ô­´´ 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 Senior Thesis Topics

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.

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