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| Dr. Mary Virginia Orna |
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| Doing Chemistry at the Art/Archaeology Interface
The archaeological chemical rewards of spending a sabbatical year in
Israel and Italy will be discussed along with modern methods used to
examine both ancient and modern artifacts. The archaeological work in
Israel involved analysis of ancient pigments and dyes found on
excavated materials from caves in the Judean desert and the ancient
fortress of Masada. Textiles from the "Cave of the Warrior" were
examined from their pigment content. The work in Italy involved
examination of medieval artists' manuals for recipes for blue pigments,
which were then carried out and characterized, with some surprising
results. Additional applications of the methods of archaeological
chemistry to such famous artifacts as the forgeries of Han van Meegeran
and the Shroud of Turin will be discussed, including some evidence that
the radiocarbon date of the shroud may not be valid because of fire
damage it experienced by the Shroud in 1532. Pros and cons will be
discussed.
| Speaker Biography
Sister Mary Virginia Orna, O.S.U. (Order of Saint Ursula) is professor
of chemistry at the College of New Rochelle and Editor-at-Large,
Chemical Heritage magazine. She has lectured and published widely in
the areas of color chemistry and archaeological chemistry. She is
active in several divisions of the American Chemical Society, having
served as chair of the History and Chemical Education Divisions. She is
a recipient of the following major awards: the 1984 CMA Catalyst Award
for excellence in college chemistry teaching, the 1989 New York State
Professor of the Year and National Gold Medalist, the 1989 Merck
Innovation Award, the 1996 ACS Visiting Scientist Award, the 1996 James
Flack Norris Award, the 1999 ACS George C. Pimentel Award in Chemical
Education, and the 2001 New England Association of Chemistry Teachers
J. A. Timm Award for excellence in chemistry teaching. She is presently
president of ChemSource,Inc., a major effort in chemistry teacher
preparation and enhancement funded by the National Science Foundation.
She was a Fulbright Fellow in Israel (1994-95), where she lectured at
The Hebrew University, The Weizmann Institute of Science, and Shenkar
College of Textile Technology
Meeting Information:
Date: Tuesday, February 10th, 2009
Location: Olin-Rice Hall, Macalester College, 1600 Grand Ave., St. Paul MN
Business meeting: 5:30-6:30 PM, Olin-Rice 205
Dinner: 6:30-7:30 pm, Olin-Rice Atrium
Presentation: 7:30 PM in Olin-Rice 250
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The meal will be a buffet featuring Davanni's meat or vegetarian lasagna options, pizza, salad, bread, soft drinks.
Reserve via PayPal ($15 advance payment) or pay $17 at the door. To reserve without advance payment, contact Barb Ekeberg at Macalester directly or using the form below. Reservations must be received by Wednesday, February 4th.
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