Staff

Emily Bernal joined IPI in 2024. She provides educational programming, technical support, and consulting services that assist collecting institutions with environmental monitoring, analysis of environmental data, and sustainable preservation management. She holds a MPS in Environmental Studies and Advanced Graduate Certificate in Environmental Leadership from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Prior to joining IPI, she held fellowships at the Wildlife Conservation Society and Rosamond Gifford Zoo where she focused on developing and delivering educational programs and resources making complex preservation and sustainability concepts accessible to diverse audiences.

Jean-Louis Bigourdan joined IPI in 1994 to research the effects of enclosures and microenvironments on photographic film stability and the effects of cycling environmental conditions on library and archives materials. His research contributions led to the development of practical strategies for preserving film collections and most notably the development of FilmCare.org. In 2016, he received the Silver Light Award for outstanding career achievement in moving image archives from the Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA) in recognition for his contributions to the field of film preservation. In 2021, he retired from his position as Senior Research Scientist and was awarded Emeritus status for his dedication to the field and IPI.

Marvin Cummings joined IPI in 2022 and is responsible for helping develop advanced data science initiatives that will help address key problems across cultural heritage in preservation science. Marvin brings extensive research experience from the technology sector, with a solid interdisciplinary background across the physical sciences, engineering and archeometry. Prior to his appointment at IPI, he held positions as Program Manager at the New York Academy of Sciences, as a Researcher at the Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, and a Product Engineer at Texas Instruments. Marvin was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Getty Conservation Institute, J. Paul Getty Museum and Foundation between 2011-2012, where he studied the chemistry and microstructure of 6th to 4th century B.C. Black and Red-Figure ceramics from ancient Greece, using an array of microscopy and x-ray techniques. This interdisciplinary Fellowship initiated his interest in the application of data science principles for the advancement of conservation and preservation.

Paula Frank joined IPI in 2024. She administers all aspects of IPI ecommerce order activity and customer support, and is responsible for financial reporting. She holds a BA in General Studies from Ohio State University. Paula has a history of working in higher education including roles at the University of Michigan, University of Rochester and Finger Lakes Community College.

Meredith Noyes joined IPI in 2020. She performs research related to materials used for storage, transport, and display of cultural heritage collections and also manages the operation of IPI’s testing services. Meredith has a PhD in chemistry from the University of Oregon, where she gained experience in a variety of material characterization methods while studying nanomaterials for use in lithography applications. Prior to IPI, she held a postdoctoral fellowship at the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum Conservation Institute, conducting collections-based research in the microanalysis laboratory.

Jacek Olender joined IPI in 2023 to manage the materials testing experiments for the IMLS-funded research project, Mapping Environmental Conditions That Prevent Plastic Deterioration While Contributing to Sustainable Preservation Environmental Management. He is conducting research using advanced thermo-mechanical analytical techniques and data analytics to quantify the impact of changing environments on the mechanical properties of plastic composites, with a view to identifying safe storage, display, and handling conditions for historic plastics. He was awarded his PhD in 2020 from The Courtauld Institute of Art, where he investigated the potential application of state-of-the-art gecko-inspired dry adhesives in art conservation. Prior to joining IPI, Jacek held the position of Research Fellow at the University of Glasgow, where he further developed his research skills and understanding of the physical properties of novel adhesives.

Emma Richardson joined IPI in 2021 and is responsible for guiding IPI’s research agenda. Emma has extensive research and leadership experience in the applied sciences, and an impressive professional record in higher education with a focus on cultural heritage. Prior to her appointment at IPI, she held the position of Group Lead for Analytics and Modelling within the Department of Data Science, National Physical Laboratory (NPL), the UK National Measurement Institute. Before joining NPL, she was Associate Professor of Materials and Head of the Material Studies Laboratory in the Department of History of Art, University College London. She has also held posts as Research Fellow at the Getty Conservation Institute and Conservation Research Scientist at The National Archives UK, working with diverse museum and archive collections.