Andrew W. Mellon Foundation supported Summer Research Program in Baltimore at the Interface between Science and Art (Baltimore SCIART)

SCIART 2019 announcement

Funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Baltimore SCIART Consortium offers a 10-week long Summer Research Experience for Undergraduate Students at the Interface between Science and Art in the research laboratories of leading scientists, engineers and art conservators, at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), Johns Hopkins University, and the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore. The program is meant primarily for high performing science and engineering undergraduate students from Baltimore area academic institutions with a diverse background and strong interest in art conservation science and engineering.  Applications from students who are pursuing undergraduate degrees in Arts, with strong science and/or engineering background will be considered as well.

Applications to the program should be submitted online. Building on UMBC tradition and strength in providing high quality education to students from underrepresented groups in STEM, this summer research program will offer research and education training opportunities to highly qualified students, including students from underrepresented groups and disadvantaged populations. This years program runs from June 3rd through August 8th, 2019.  The selected students will be involved in highly multidisciplinary and collaborative research projects aiming to understand the degradation of art works, to develop new non-destructive analytical techniques to study art works, and to develop new treatment and environmental monitoring methods to restore and preserve art works.  Research activities will be augmented by an extensive professional development program, which will include workshops, guest lectures, and visits to conservation science laboratories in neighboring institutions like the National Gallery of Art and the US Library of Congress in Washington DC, and the Smithsonian Laboratories in Suitland, MD.  The selected students will receive a stipend of $5,000, housing at the UMBC dorms, and transportation allowance. A small number of Baltimore-SCIART students will be offered additional fellowships to continue their research past the summer program. All selected students will become fellows of the Baltimore-SCIART consortium and participate in year round outreach activities to the general public in the Baltimore region.

The deadline for applications is March 15th, 2019, but applicants are advised to apply and complete their applications early due to expected high demand for this unique program. Applications from female students and students from traditionally underrepresented groups in science and engineering are strongly encouraged.  Applications should be submitted electronically using the following link: http://apply.interfolio.com/58592.

For more information on the program and to see the projects past students have worked on, visit sciart.umbc.edu.