Speaker

Sr. Mary Virginia Orna

Title

Doing Chemistry at the Art/Archaeology Interface

Abstract

The archaeological chemical rewards of spending a sabbatical year in Israel and Italy will be discussed along with modern methods used to examine both ancient and modern artifacts. The archaeological work in Israel involved analysis of ancient pigments and dyes found on excavated materials from caves in the Judean desert and the ancient fortress of Masada. Textiles from the "Cave of the Warrior" were examined from their pigment content. The work in Italy involved examination of medieval artists' manuals for recipes for blue pigments, which were then carried out and characterized, with some surprising results. Additional applications of the methods of archaeological chemistry to such famous artifacts as the forgeries of Han van Meegeran and the Shroud of Turin will be discussed, including some evidence that the radiocarbon date of the shroud may not be valid because of fire damage it experienced by the Shroud in 1532. Pros and cons will be discussed.

Audience Level

Chemists, Students, General (nontechnical)

Categories

This talk is not categorized.

The potential for an automotive exhaust catalyst that could oxidize hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide while reducing oxides of nitrogen in a single bed had been visualized. To function properly it required the perfect fuel mixture – a stoichiometric amount of air and fuel under all conditions of engine operation.

My talk describes the developments that led to the invention of the three-way catalytic converter, the chemical reactions, catalyst layer structure and surface chemistry. The three-way catalytic converter is now on literally all but a very few spark-ignited light-duty vehicles made in the world. The many hurdles that had to be negotiated are also described.

An Illustrated Tour of the Oesper Collections in the History of Chemistry, William B. Jensen, Department of Chemistry, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0172.

This heavily illustrated talk will provide an overview of the newly housed Oesper Collections in the History of Chemistry at the University of Cincinnati, including the rare book and journal collection, the photo and print collection, and the apparatus museum. Also included are a restored circa-1900 chemical laboratory and lecture hall.