Andrew W. Mellon Foundation-Supported Summer Research Program in Baltimore at the Interface Between Science and Art (Baltimore SCIART)
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.
For more information and updates on the status of the program, please visit https://sciart.umbc.edu/.
The SCIART 2022 application is already open, and 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 2022 program runs from the beginning of June through early August. The selected students will be involved in highly multidisciplinary and collaborative research projects aiming to understand the degradation of art works, develop new non-destructive analytical techniques to study art works, and adapt treatment and environmental monitoring methods to better 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 Library of Congress in Washington DC as well as the Smithsonian Laboratories in Suitland, MD. The selected students will receive a stipend, 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.
Application review will begin on March 4th, 2022, and continue until the program is filled. Applicants are advised to apply and complete their applications as early as possible due to the 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: https://apply.interfolio.com/100195