Research Strengths
The Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation has strong and ongoing collaborative research programmes with partners in Australia, The Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, the United States of America and the United Kingdom. High impact research is central to The Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation's overall strategy and market positioning. This strategy strengthens The Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation's existing research framework and will enhance the University's knowledge transfer agenda.
The Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation has developed research strengths in the following areas:
- The development of scientific instrumentation for the characterization of cultural materials;
- Characterisation of Cultural Materials;
- Art fraud and art authentication;
- Investigation of the materials and techniques of artists;
- Approaches and issues in cultural conservation in Asia Pacific;
- Policy development in cultural preservation;
- Interdisciplinarity and pedagogy in conservation;
- Investigation of the materials and techniques of indigenous artefacts.
Research programs at The Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation have been supported in the past by interfaculty partnerships with the School of Physics, the ARC Centre of Excellence for Free Radical Chemistry and Biotechnology, Earth Sciences, Botany, Chemical Engineering, Bio21, Chemistry, Art History and Melbourne Consulting and Custom Programs.
The Centre's research higher degree program has grown rapidly from our first PhD student enrolment in 2006 to the current levels of three Masters by Research and six PhD students. Students are undertaking partnered research with the Schools of Physics and Chemistry, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Free Radical Chemistry and Biotechnology.