Lasers for Art's Sake
Recent news
Are you interested in pursuing your next research project at FORTH, Heraklion, Crete?
October 2019
The Photonics for Heritage Science group [https://www.iesl.forth.gr/en/research/photonics-heritage-science] is seeking expressions of interest from young, motivated individuals with strong team spirit, enthusiastic for carrying out competitive research and capable of developing new ideas and collaborations in a highly cross-disciplinary environment.
Current topics of research focus on:
1. Applications of advanced laser-based and optical technologies in Heritage conservation [P. Pouli].
2. Applied optics and spectroscopy in relation to Heritage Science with emphasis on the development of mobile analytical and/or remote sensing instrumentation [D. Anglos].
3. Developing analytical spectroscopic protocols for the high-throughput analysis of archaeological bio-organic residues [D. Anglos].
4. Characterisation and laser conservation of glazed ceramics [P. Pouli].
5. Instrumentation development and system integration with emphasis on engineering and software development aspects [D. Anglos].
So, if you feel like carrying out your post-doctoral research with us please send a copy of your CV at: laserart@iesl.forth.gr.
Candidates are required to hold a PhD in Sciences or Engineering and have demonstrated research experience and accomplishments in relevance to the topics listed above. Acquaintance with archaeological materials / conservation issues of historical objects is positively considered.
Exceptional candidates at the pre-doctoral level will be also considered.
Formal job calls are expected to come out in early 2020 (will be published here [https://www.iesl.forth.gr/en/jobs-bids/jobs/job-positions]) and appointments are expected to start in sping 2020.
“The MobileLAB unit of IESL-FORTH supports with in situ analytical investigations the on-going excavation campaign at Akrotiri, Thera.”
September 2019
Our group has undertaken a series of analytical investigations at the prehistoric settlement of Akrotiri, Thera, in support of the important, ongoing excavation, directed by Professor Emeritus Christos Doumas, under the auspices of the Athens Archaeological Society.
In the "House of Thrania" (Οικία των Θρανίων), a significant public building at Akrotiri, archaeologists have been gradually revealing a site dedicated to ritual acts on the southern border of the settlement.
The focus of the analyses has been primarily on organic residues, potentially related to the rituals that were unfolding in the House of Thrania, with the aim to reveal information on materials that may assist archaeologists to interpret their findings and derive further questions concerning social ideology and possibly religion in the prehistoric Aegean.
Members of our MobileLAB team (Sophia Sotiropoulou, senior research associate at IESL-FORTH with Marilena Konstantinou and Antonia Intze, chemistry students at the University of Crete) is present in this year’s excavations, with portable analytical instruments to collaborate with the archaeologists in the ongoing excavation. Special thanks are due to InterActive SA for supporting the current investigation by providing the BRUKER ALPHA portable FTIR spectrometer and a NITON XL5 handheld XRF system that enhanced our analytical toolbox and supported our on site campaign.
The Mobile LABoratory at IESL-FORTH, a partner of the E-RIHS.eu Research Infrastructure aims to offer access to a broad array of advanced mobile analytical instrumentation for measurements on valuable or immovable objects, at archaeological sites and at historical monuments.
“Non-invasive photoacoustic detection of hidden underdrawings in paintings using air-coupled transducers”
September 2019
A new article has been recently published in "Ultrasonics" presenting resent work of IESL-FORTH (Crete-Greece), team.
The paper entitled "Non-invasive photoacoustic detection of hidden underdrawings in paintings using air-coupled transducers" by George Tserevelakis, Panos Siozos, Athanasia Papanikolaou, Kristalia Melesanaki and Giannis Zacharakis , demonstrate the application of a fully non-contact and non-invasive photoacoustic (PA) imaging system integrating a high sensitivity spherically focused air-coupled ultrasonic transducer, for the uncovering of hidden underdrawings in paintings.
Further at info: https://www.sciencedirect.com/…/arti…/pii/S0041624X19300666…
“OPTO-CH 2019 meets POLITEIA II”
June 03-07, 2019
IESL-FORTH, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
SUMMER COURSE AIMS AND CONTENT
The aim of OPTO-CH 2019 summer course is two-fold:
to introduce participants to applications of advanced laser-based technologies in Cultural Heritage (CH) science, diagnostics and conservation
to inform them on the latest developments of the National KRIPIS II project POLITEIA II (Advanced analytical, diagnostic, surveying and documentation technologies in Cultural Heritage, MIS 5002478) as regards the multidisciplinary research performed at FORTH related to Heritage Science.
Lectures from experts on modern laser diagnostic and analytical techniques, as well as on laser cleaning methodologies will be combined with practical demonstrations and laboratory hands-on sessions. In parallel, experts of FORTH researching on a wide range of heritage disciplines will present their work within the interdisciplinary concept of POLITEIA II.
The summer course will conclude with field tests and experiments on-site at a selected monument in Crete in order to demonstrate the applicability of the techniques in practice.
https://opto-ch.iesl.forth.gr/
“Laser cleaning of paintings: in situ optimization of operative parameters through non-invasive assessment by optical coherence tomography (OCT), reflection FT-IR spectroscopy and laser induced fluorescence spectroscopy (LIF)”
June 2019
A new article has been recently published in "Heritage Science" presenting collaborative work of IESL-FORTH (Crete-Greece), CNR-ISTM (Perugia- Italy), Nicolaus Copernicus University (Torun-Poland), Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (Amsterdam-Netherlands).
The paper entitled "Laser cleaning of paintings: in situ optimization of operative parameters through non-invasive assessment by optical coherence tomography (OCT), reflection FT-IR spectroscopy and laser induced fluorescence spectroscopy (LIF)" by Patrizia Moretti, Magdalena Iwanicka, Kristalia Melesanaki, Eua Dim -Evdoxia Dimitroulaki, Olga Kokkinaki, Melissa Daugherty, Marcin Sylwestrzak, Paraskevi Pouli, Piotr Targowski, Klaas Jan van den Berg, Laura Cartechini and Costanza Miliani, reflects research performed in the framework of the H2020 EU project Iperion CH.
In this study the potential of the combined use of optical coherence tomography (OCT) and reflection FT-IR spectroscopy for in situ non-invasive assessment of laser cleaning procedures has been investigated on a historical easel painting donated to science. A systematic integration of the information on the chemical changes of the molecular composition of the painting surface provided by reflection FT-IR spectroscopy with the visualization of the stratigraphical changes by OCT allowed the evaluation of the sensitivity of the painting materials to different operative parameters of the laser treatment, such as laser fluence and number of pulses.
In parallel, laser induced fluorescence (LIF) spectroscopic measurements, recorded with the same laser beam at significantly attenuated energy density values, were exploited to provide information on the fluorescence properties of the irradiated varnish surfaces. The combination of the results obtained by OCT and FT-IR complemented with those from LIF measurements are discussed with the aim of developing an efficient methodology for assessing in situ the irradiated painting surfaces after the laser cleaning treatments and, thus, setting the basis for a future monitoring scheme that would ensure optimum cleaning interventions.
Further info:
https://heritagesciencejournal.springeropen.com/…/s40494-01…
“Portable laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy/diffuse reflectance hybrid spectrometer for analysis of inorganic pigments”
November 2017
The paper entitled“Portable laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy/diffuse reflectance hybrid spectrometer for analysis of inorganic pigments”, by P. Siozos, A. Philippidis, D. Anglos, have been selected for the cover of the Spectrochimica Acta Part B Jurnal (Spectrochimica Acta Part B 137, 93-100 ,2017).
IN this article a novel, portable spectrometer, combining two analytical techniques, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, was developed with the aim to provide an enhanced instrumental and methodological approach with regard to the analysis of pigments in objects of cultural heritage. Technical details about the hybrid spectrometer and its operation are presented and examples are given relevant to the analysis of paint materials. Both LIBS and diffuse reflectance spectra in the visible and part of the near infrared, corresponding to several neat mineral pigment samples, were recorded and the complementary information was used to effectively distinguish different types of pigments even if they had similar colour or elemental composition. The spectrometer was also employed in the analysis of different paints on the surface of an ancient pottery sherd demonstrating the capabilities of the proposed hybrid diagnostic approach. Despite its instrumental simplicity and compact size, the spectrometer is capable of supporting analytical campaigns relevant to archaeological, historical or art historical investigations, particularly when quick data acquisition is required in the context of surveys of large numbers of objects and samples.
Further info:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sab.2017.09.005
“Using LIBS to investigate prehistoric eating habits in Saudi Arabia”
May 2014
N. Hausmann, O. Kokkinaki, D. Anglos, G. Bailey
Activities: Arabian Prehistory, Laser Analysis, Marine Food
Modern day research in climatology and archaeology requires thousands of samples for a conclusive datasets, but with Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) we have the unique advantage of taking fast, in- situ measurements at low costs. It also allows to easily replicate data to achieve well-founded and statistically valid results. This is why it is key to further develop it as an alternative to other analyses that are more expensive and time consuming to improve sample numbers and quality of research.
Acknowledgements
This work has received funding from LASERLAB-EUROPE
(grant agreement grant agreement n° 284464).
“The Acropolis Restoration Project and the Laser Application”
24 MArch 2014 - 04 April 2014
Tour of Educational Event on “The Acropolis Restoration Project and the Laser Application” with Dr Demetrios Anglos, Associate Professor of Chemistry at the University of Crete and Associated Researcher at IESL- FORTH and Vassiliki Eleftheriou, MSc, Director of the Acropolis Restoration Service
Hosted by:
- March 24: Columbia University. Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation
- March 25: Yale University. The Program of Hellenic Studies
- March 26: UPenn. History of Art and Architecture.
- April 1: Boston University. Department of History of Art & Architecture. Co-sponsored by the Archaeological institute of America.
- April 2 : University of Delaware: The Art Conservation Department. Winterthur Museum.
- April 4: Stony Brook University: Hellenic Studies, Engineering Dept.
Sponsored by the Onassis Foundation (USA) through the University Seminars Program.
" The IIC Keck Award 2012"
14 September 2012
International Award to the Acropolis Museum and FORTH for the laser cleaning of Caryatids
The Acropolis Museum and the Institute of Electronic Structure and Lasers (IESL) of the Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH) have been awarded the biennial Keck Award by the International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (IIC) for their common project regarding "Laser rejuvenation of Caryatids opens to the public at the Acropolis Museum: A link between ancient and modern Greece". The award was given jointly to the team of the Acropolis Museum / the Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas and for their contribution "towards the promotion of public understanding and appreciation of the accomplishments of the conservation profession". The ceremony took place on Friday 14th of September 2012, at the closing session of the biennial IIC congress in Vienna, which attracted 350 delegates.
Advanced laser-based techniques in art conservation, diagnostics and analysis
June 2012
A Charisma project training course and workshop
The course was focused on the applications of optical and laser technologies in Conservation and Cultural Heritage Science. It involved a series of lectures from experts on advanced laser-based conservation methodologies and analytical techniques, combined with hands-on and practical demonstration sessions.