September 15, 2022
The Image Permanence Institute received a National Leadership Grant for Museums from the Institute of Museum and Library Services in the amount of $711,598 to support a three-year research project that will study the relationship between equilibrium moisture content (EMC) and the physical stability of plastics and plastic composite artifacts found in museums.
The experimental design for this project builds on previous research on moisture and plasticizers conducted by Emma J. Richardson, IPI Director of Research, and the EMC work of Jean-Louis Bigourdan, IPI Research Scientist Emeritus. Grant funding will support extending laboratory capabilities with new instrumentation and include recruitment of a two-and-a-half year Post-Doctoral Researcher. The appointed researcher will conduct research using advanced thermomechanical analytical techniques and data analytics to quantify the impact of changing environmental conditions on the mechanical properties of plastic composites, with a view to identifying safe storage, display, and handling conditions for historic plastics. A search for the Post-Doctoral Researcher position will begin this month.
In 2004, IPI released ClimateNotebook, the first desktop software designed specifically for libraries, archives, and museums to graph environmental data and generate reports with preservation analysis. In 2012, eClimateNotebook (eCNB) was launched. A web application that synthesized the strengths of ClimateNotebook, and IPI’s other preservation management tools (MyClimateData and PEMdata) into a single, unified platform.
The Image Permanence Institute has been awarded $315,854 from the National Endowment for the Humanities Research & Development grant program to support a three-year research project titled, Evaluating the Mechanical Stability of 3D Printed Materials to Inform Collections Care Decision Making for Preservation and Access.
IPI is looking for a new team member in a redefined Sustainable Preservation Specialist role. The Sustainable Preservation Specialist supports professionals working in collecting institutions with environmental monitoring and sustainable preservation practices. They assist collecting institutions with basic environmental monitoring and data analysis, advise on logger placement in collection storage and exhibition spaces, and provide instruction on the use of IPI’s data management and analysis software, eClimateNotebook.
Xinxin Li is IPI’s new 3D Design Assistant working under the supervision of Meredith Noyes, Research Scientist, as part of the IMLS-funded project Foundational Research to Inform Preservation Guidelines for the Creation, Collection, and Consumption of 3D Printed Objects in Museums. Xinxin is a MFA candidate in Industrial Design at RIT and comes to IPI after receiving her BFA in Industrial Design from Savannah College of Art and Design.