Undergraduate Research
Bellie Fichtner (’19) and members of the Lenape Indian Tribe of Delaware examine fishing nets at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian's Cultural Resource Center.
Undergraduate Research
Students have many opportunities to pursue original research during their time at the University of Delaware, from blog posts and faculty-mentored projects to senior theses.
Examples of past student research projects include:
- Kaitlyn Cannizzo, Emma El-Khouri, Lily Hearn, Miranda Herman, Amelia Oakes, Chloe Terrell and Caitlyn Winter worked with Melissa Tedone and Rosie Grayburn on the Poison Book Project, identifying arsenic in historic bookcloth.
- Clara Anderson and Sarah Nolt worked with Liora Mael to develop data-driven protocols for wildfire disaster response and sustainable climate control in cultural heritage institutions. They analyzed outdoor air infiltration, HVAC functionality and occupancy impacts using advanced air quality sensors and provided training for graduate students.
- Professor Madeline Hagerman’s textile conservation internship (ARTC 464) documented and treated 1920s dresses from the UD Fashion and Textiles Collection for the exhibition Blank Canvas: 1920s Fashion.
- Leilani Anupol and Arthur Fowler completed training in advanced imaging techniques with Roxanne Radpour.
- Shi Kin Tan, Hannah Villines, Nicholas Fandaros and Anna-Colette Haynes worked with Catherine Matsen, scientist at Winterthur, to assess the exterior painted surfaces of Old College Hall for the exhibition Colors of Old College.
- Students worked with Liora Mael to assess the composition of plastic handles from the Thomas Lamb Collection at Hagley Museum.
- Lisa Clifford presented research conducted with Rosie Grayburn, scientist at Winterthur, and the Sustainability in Conservation group on greener solvents at the 2023 ICOM-CC Triennial Meeting in Valencia, Spain.
Recent publications coauthored by undergraduate students include:
- Hagerman, Madeline, Anne Clark, Sabrina Hettinger and Hailey Kremenek. 2025. “Are you thready for this? Collaborating with Undergraduate Students on a New Textile-Making Studio Course at the University of Delaware.” Poster Session of the 2025 American Institute of Conservation Annual Meeting, Minneapolis, MN, May 27–31, 2025.
- Leader, George M., Philip De Paola, Laura Mina, Sophia Hayda, Kimberlee Sue Moran, Jared Beatrice and Anna Dhody. 2022. “Threads of Evidence: Polarized Light Microscopy for Funerary Textile Identification from an Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Philadelphia Burial Ground.” International Journal of Historical Archaeology 26/4, pp. 951–973.
- Wiggins, Marci, Emma Heath, KS. Booksh and Jocelyn Alcántara-García. 2019. “Multi-analytical study of copper-based historic pigments and their alteration products.” Applied spectroscopy 73 (11), 1255–1264.
- Thomas, Riley, Jocelyn Alcántara-García and J. Wouters. 2017. “A snapshot of Viennese textile history using multi-Instrumental analysis: Benedict Codecasa’s swatchbook.” MRS Advances 2, 3959–3971.
- Alcantara-Garcia, Jocelyn, Michael Nix and Taylor Pearlstein. 2017. “Tracing the Trade: PDA-LC-MS study Norwich Wool Swatch Books Reveal the Secrets of Master Dyers.” In J. Bridgland (ed.) Preprints of the International Council of Museums–Committee for Conservation (ICOM-CC) Triennial Conference. Copenhagen, Denmark.
Senior Thesis
We are proud that many of our art conservation students choose to write senior theses. A thesis offers a unique opportunity to explore a research question that does not have a straightforward or widely accepted answer, setting it apart from a typical course paper or lab report.
Students interested in writing a senior thesis begin planning during their junior year. They meet with potential faculty advisers in the Department of Art Conservation to identify a topic and assemble a committee that includes a first and second reader. Students then submit a proposal to the Undergraduate Research Office for approval.
In the spring of their senior year, students submit a full draft of their thesis and present an oral defense to their committee, either in person or on Zoom. Students who successfully complete the process graduate with a degree with distinction or an honors degree with distinction, depending on their academic track.
- Arthur Fowler (x’2026): Tourist Objects in Conservation.
- Tobias Weichbrod (2026). Health and Safety in Conservation
- Sabrina Hettinger (2024). Aesthetics and Authenticity: The Conservation Treatment of a Yoruba Beadwork, Determining Value in Ethical Interventions.
- Hailey Kremenek (2024). Altered States: Authenticity in Fashion Conservation.
- Nicholas Fandaros (2023). Framing the Collection: The Ambiguous and Complex Systems of Care, Consideration, and Conservation of Frames.
- Caroline Berger (2022). A New Paradigm for the Evaluation of Cultural Heritage Objects: The Process of Attributing Value and Significance to Diana Mantua's Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery.
- Anna-Colette Haynes (2022). Personhood Post-Mortem: A Survey of Ethical Policies within Collections of Human Remains.
- Yulimar Luna Colón (2022). Art Conservation in Cultural Institutions in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands: Damage Prevention from Natural Disasters.
- Miriam-Helene Rudd (2021). Historic and Contemporary Hairwork: An Investigation of Sentiment, Techniques, and Conservation Practices.
- Philip DePaola (2020). What Textiles Fragments Can Unearth About Those Buried in an 18-19th-Century Philadelphia Cemetery.
- Annabelle Fichtner Camp (2019). Reconstructing Mid-Atlantic Native American Net-Making Technology.
- AnnaLivia McCarthy (2019). Compilation on Pile Rugs: Untying Restoration from Current Conservation Practices.
- Amanda Kasman (2018). Conservation of Landing of Slaves at Jamestown, Virginia, 1619 Diorama: The Legacy of An African American Emancipation Exposition.
- Claire Martin (2018). The ABC's of Carton Moore-Park.
- Taylor Pearlstein (2018): The Preservation of Memory: Archiving and Assessing The Mission To Protect Cultural Heritage In The Middle East
- David Brickhouse (2016). Tin Imitating Textile: A Study of the Applied Brocade Technique Using Technical Reconstructions.
- Juliana Ly (2015). The Development of a Mold and Cast Technique for Infilling on Varnished Chinese Export Lacquerware.
- Kelsey Wingel (2014): Studies in American Tonalist Painting: The Materials and Techniques of Robert Crannell Minor's Souvenir of Italy.
