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Welcome to the Science & Heritage Programme

The Science and Heritage Programme is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and is supported by Research Councils UK.

Taking into account the recognised research needs of cultural heritage and a recommendation in the Report of the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee Inquiry on Science and Heritage, its dual purpose is to:

build capacity through opportunities for collaboration among disciplines ranging from arts and humanities to science, engineering and technology, and
to fund interdisciplinary research and support training of young researchers.

Supporting an area of research that can include basic, applied and practice-based study requires close engagement among researchers, practitioners, stakeholders and the public.

This programme will provide a locus for those wishing to engage with science and heritage and ensure that knowledge is disseminated widely so that our cultural heritage is in better shape to confront the challenges of the 21st century.

Above left - Portable Raman analysis of patina on Roman Marble Bust; centre - Etruscan Eagle Rotax (image courtesy of STFC http://www.scitech.ac.uk); right - Greek Helmet (image courtesy of STFC http://www.isis.rl.ac.uk)

New Funding Opportunities from AHRC

Care for the Future

Funding for Research Networks and Fellowships is now available from AHRC under the emerging theme Care for the Future: Thinking Forward Through the Past, one of four priority themes identified by AHRC. The area of Cultural Heritage has been particularly highlighted in this funding initiative and it will therefore be of interest to researchers working within the heritage science domain.

Further details can be found on the AHRC website at http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/FundingOpportunities/Pages/careforthefuture.aspx

Two Heritage Science Studentships Available

Heritage Smells!

Two PhD studentships, funded as part of a Science and Heritage Programme Interdisciplinary Research Grant, are now available at the Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde

Students wishing to apply and currently holding or expecting to attain a 1st or 2:1 class degree in the Physical Sciences, should email a copy of their C.V. to Dr L. T. Gibson (lorraine.gibson@strath.ac.uk).

The studentships are due to start on 1st September 2010.

For more information on the studentships please download the PDF below.

Heritage Smells! PhD Studentship Details

Witnessing the Past: Expressions of Interest

Jun 3, 2010

The AHRC/EPSRC Science and Heritage Programme and the Centre for Contemporary British History are planning four half-day seminars on 8th-9th December 2010 in London. The aim of the seminars is to create an oral history of the development of heritage science between 1947 and 2007 when the

UK Heritage Science Research Receives £6.5m Boost

Mar 24, 2010

Sixteen new awards for Science and Heritage interdisciplinary research projects and post doctoral research fellowships have been announced today, all aimed at protecting the cultural fabric of the UK and further developing our understanding of it.

New MRes in Heritage Science announced

Mar 9, 2010

EUROPEAN HERITAGE TECHNOLOGIES CATALOGUE

Dec 2, 2009

The EU Framework Programmes for Research have funded collaborative research since the 1980s and particularly since the 5th Framework Programme for Research starting in 1998. This research has delivered a decade of innovation in technology applied to the protection of cultural heritage. A European Heritage Technologies catalogue was produced for an exhibition of products and services organised as part of the 8th European Commission Conference on Sustaining Europe’s Cultural Heritage: Cultural Heritage Research meets Practice in Ljubljana, Slovenia in November 2008. Please click here to download the catalogue.

TSB LAUNCH KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER PARTNERSHIP PROGRAMME

Dec 2, 2009

The Technology Strategy Board has launched the Knowledge Transfer Partnership Programme designed to promote effective collaboration among business, third sector organisations and academia. Anyone active in the field of science and heritage is eligible to apply. Further information can be found here.

Chemistry and Materials Research at the Interface between Science and Art

Nov 4, 2009

In July 2009, NSF and the Mellon Foundation co-sponsored a workshop aimed at examining and improving the state of the science used to study, preserve and protect cultural patrimony.

COST D42 Short-Term Scientific Missions - funding available

Aug 7, 2009

COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) is an intergovernmental framework allowing the coordination of nationally-funded research on a European level. COST contributes to reducing the fragmentation in European research investments and opening the European Research Area to cooperation worldwide and strives to support European scientists in their networking activities. Short-Term Scientific Missions (STSMs) allow scientists to learn from an institution or laboratory in another COST country - a concept of particular interest to young scientists. The COST D42 action has set aside 15.000 Euro for short term scientific missions. The call is open for the entire budget year until 31 March 2010 (i.e. there are no specific deadlines).

Details of the Call for Post-doctoral Fellowships now available

Jun 4, 2009

Details of the Science and Heritage Programme Call for Post-doctoral Fellowships are now available for download from the Calls for Proposals page and from the AHRC website.

Full Programme Specification Now Available

Mar 24, 2009

The full AHRC/EPSRC Science and Heritage Programme specification has now been released and is available for download from the Current Calls for Proposals page and from the Science and Heritage Progamme section of the AHRC website.