22.02.2016
Rathgen-Forschungslabor
Starting this month, the SMB's Rathgen-Forschungslabor (Rathgen Research Laboratory) is enabling professionals from a wide range of institutions active in the area of heritage science to work at the Rathgen-Forschungslabor as guest researchers. Access to the research institute has been made possible thanks to the EU-funded project IPERION CH (Integrated Platform for the European Research Infrastructure ON Culture Heritage).
IPERION CH is a European network of research infrastructure that encompasses 24 institutions from numerous European countries, as well as the Getty Institute in the United States as an associate partner. All member institutions occupy a place of recognized excellence in the field of interdisciplinary research into cultural heritage.
The Rathgen-Forschungslabor is the world's oldest museum laboratory. It is named after the chemist Friedrich Rathgen, whose specialism was in the preservation and analysis of historical objects. In 1888 he was appointed first director of the institution then known as the 'Chemical Laboratory' of the Royal Museums in Berlin. As a scientific institution at the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, the Rathgen-Forschungslabor is one of the three German institutions participating in the EU network. Through its active participation in this European initiative, the Laboratory aims to strengthen the transfer of knowledge at European level. The Laboratory also sets to benefit from sharing access to both research databases and the latest analysis technology among partner institutions.
It is hoped that the programme will lay the groundwork for a permanent research infrastructure with sustainable and long-term planning. In promoting knowledge and innovation in the area of conservation of cultural heritage, the participating institutions rely on a wide range of high-tech analytical instruments, scientific methods, and databases. IPERION CH connects researchers from the humanities and natural sciences and promotes transdisciplinary knowledge exchange, which bolsters cooperation throughout the European Research Area (ERA). The IPERION CH programme thus facilitates the stable integration of European world-class facilities and resources involved in heritage science.
Interested research groups from Europe and associated countries have until 15 March 2016 (23:59 CET) to submit their project proposals to one or more of the 19 participating institutions.
