Email digest for the Global Conservation Forum (ConsDistList) egroup. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Job Advert: Objects/ Preventive Conservator National Museum of Ireland, Co. Mayo 2. PMG Winter Meeting abstract submission deadline September 30th 3. RE: Ultra Pure Water 4. RE: Ultra Pure Water 5. RE: Requesting samples for training course in materials analysis 6. FINAL CALL FOR ABSTRACTS - 2027 Annual Meeting ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1.From: Jennifer Stapleton Posted: Friday September 25, 2026 5:54 AM Subject: Job Advert: Objects/ Preventive Conservator National Museum of Ireland, Co. Mayo Message: The National Museum of Ireland is seeking applications from suitable candidates to fill the post of Objects/Preventive Conservator (Assistant Keeper Grade II) in the National Museum of Ireland, Turlough Park, Co. Mayo. This is a full-time permanent contract. This position will be filled by open competitive interview. Entry will be at the minimum of the scale - €40,374 per annum, the 1st point on the Assistant Keeper Grade II PPC Scale. Job details linked below Objects/Preventive Conservator | National Museum of Ireland <https://www.museum.ie/en-IE/About/Careers/Vacancies/Objects-Preventive-Conservator-(1)/9a4721af-2d91-46e6-b147-1c2bd874533e> ------------------------------ Jennifer Stapleton Objects Conservator in Private Practice Dublin Ireland ------------------------------ 2.From: Nayla Maaruf Posted: Friday September 25, 2026 10:49 AM Subject: PMG Winter Meeting abstract submission deadline September 30th Message: This is a reminder the PMG Winter Meeting abstract submission deadline is coming up Wednesday September 30th. You can submit your abstract and find more information about the conference here: https://www.culturalheritage.org/events/pmg-winter-meeting <https://www.culturalheritage.org/events/pmg-winter-meeting> . ------------------------------ Nayla Maaruf (She/Her) PMG Assistant Program Chair 2026-27 [email protected] --- Conservator of Photographs and Works of Art on Paper New Orleans Museum of Art [email protected] ------------------------------ 3.From: Kim Hewitt Posted: Friday September 25, 2026 10:49 AM Subject: RE: Ultra Pure Water Message: Would you share your research on microfiltration of UPW?Kim E HewittUSA ------------------------------------------- Original Message: Sent: 9/24/2026 5:19:00 AM From: Dermot Cox-Kearns Subject: RE: Ultra Pure Water It crossed my mind that you might need to consider how the UPW is produced, there are various methods which might impact the final water, such as distillation, filtration of some sort, reverse osmosis, etc. I was involved in micro filtration many years ago, UPW was a very varied subject. ------------------------------ Dermot Cox-Kearns Owner On The Edge Ashford - Wicklow Ireland ------------------------------ ------------------------------------------- Original Message: Sent: 09-23-2026 05:37 From: Sonia Jones Subject: Ultra Pure Water Hi Christian, Many thanks for your reply and also for the link to the Handbook of Surface Cleaning. I appreciate I may not have been looking in the right places for research on UPW, but in respect of its use in Conservation, there does appear to be very little in the way of formal research into UPW, so I'm doubly grateful to you for replying and sharing the link. Many thanks. @Barry Knight <https://www.culturalheritage.org/profile?UserKey=d9589f09-1b92-4129-9a2d-40b5d4b3125c> and @Stephanie Matthews <https://www.culturalheritage.org/profile?UserKey=8f9b1c68-3357-4f1b-8c32-c6defdb3b86a> - thank you both too for your email replies to my query. Unfortunately, I'm not an AIC member and so am not able to reply to either of your emails, but I was grateful for them nonetheless. ------------------------------ Sonia Jones Heritage Lead UK Government Liverpool United Kingdom ------------------------------ Original Message: Sent: 09-18-2026 11:21 From: Christian Mueller-Straten Subject: Ultra Pure Water UPW is probably the equivalent of German demineralized water. You are absolutely right to be extremely cautious, as it is one of the most aggressive solvents in existence. Unfortunately, many conservators are unaware of this; they regard it for example as a "clean final cleaning agent"... Ideally, it should be used only in air-conditioning systems, where tap water might cause limescale buildup. Because it constantly seeks to replenish its mineral content, it leaches pigments-for instance, from unvarnished oil paintings. For this reason, the German conservator Dr. Paul-Bernhard Eipper (an IIC Fellow) repeatedly warns against the use of demineralized water in his *Handbuch der Oberflächenreinigung* (Handbook of Surface Cleaning). This Handbook (with 120 contributors) is the European standard and contains also chapters on stone and imitated stone surfaces. See: https://www.ebook-shop-museumaktuell.de/shop <https://www.ebook-shop-museumaktuell.de/shop> Best Christian ------------------------------ [Christian] [Mueller-Straten] [Researcher, Publisher, Art Historian] [Owner] [Verlag Dr. Christian Mueller-Straten] [Munich] [Germany] [0049-89-839 690 43] [https://www.museum-aktuell.de] https://www.museum-aktuell.de/CEO <https://www.museum-aktuell.de/CEO> ------------------------------ 4.From: Kim Hewitt Posted: Friday September 25, 2026 10:50 AM Subject: RE: Ultra Pure Water Message: Dear Christian, Would you send in the science behind this and a possible list within the mineral content of which the UPW might re-absorb, in examples of unvarnished paintings and other fragile painted surfaces, particularily lowfired enamels and paints on glass and ceramic surfaces. Thank you Kim E Hewitt U S A ------------------------------ Kim Hewitt Brooklyn United States ------------------------------ ------------------------------------------- Original Message: Sent: 09-24-2026 05:18 From: Dermot Cox-Kearns Subject: Ultra Pure Water It crossed my mind that you might need to consider how the UPW is produced, there are various methods which might impact the final water, such as distillation, filtration of some sort, reverse osmosis, etc. I was involved in micro filtration many years ago, UPW was a very varied subject. ------------------------------ Dermot Cox-Kearns Owner On The Edge Ashford - Wicklow Ireland ------------------------------ Original Message: Sent: 09-23-2026 05:37 From: Sonia Jones Subject: Ultra Pure Water Hi Christian, Many thanks for your reply and also for the link to the Handbook of Surface Cleaning. I appreciate I may not have been looking in the right places for research on UPW, but in respect of its use in Conservation, there does appear to be very little in the way of formal research into UPW, so I'm doubly grateful to you for replying and sharing the link. Many thanks. @Barry Knight <https://www.culturalheritage.org/profile?UserKey=d9589f09-1b92-4129-9a2d-40b5d4b3125c> and @Stephanie Matthews <https://www.culturalheritage.org/profile?UserKey=8f9b1c68-3357-4f1b-8c32-c6defdb3b86a> - thank you both too for your email replies to my query. Unfortunately, I'm not an AIC member and so am not able to reply to either of your emails, but I was grateful for them nonetheless. ------------------------------ Sonia Jones Heritage Lead UK Government Liverpool United Kingdom ------------------------------ Original Message: Sent: 09-18-2026 11:21 From: Christian Mueller-Straten Subject: Ultra Pure Water UPW is probably the equivalent of German demineralized water. You are absolutely right to be extremely cautious, as it is one of the most aggressive solvents in existence. Unfortunately, many conservators are unaware of this; they regard it for example as a "clean final cleaning agent"... Ideally, it should be used only in air-conditioning systems, where tap water might cause limescale buildup. Because it constantly seeks to replenish its mineral content, it leaches pigments-for instance, from unvarnished oil paintings. For this reason, the German conservator Dr. Paul-Bernhard Eipper (an IIC Fellow) repeatedly warns against the use of demineralized water in his *Handbuch der Oberflächenreinigung* (Handbook of Surface Cleaning). This Handbook (with 120 contributors) is the European standard and contains also chapters on stone and imitated stone surfaces. See: https://www.ebook-shop-museumaktuell.de/shop <https://www.ebook-shop-museumaktuell.de/shop> Best Christian ------------------------------ [Christian] [Mueller-Straten] [Researcher, Publisher, Art Historian] [Owner] [Verlag Dr. Christian Mueller-Straten] [Munich] [Germany] [0049-89-839 690 43] [https://www.museum-aktuell.de] https://www.museum-aktuell.de/CEO <https://www.museum-aktuell.de/CEO> ------------------------------ 5.From: Anthony Hita Posted: Friday September 25, 2026 12:08 PM Subject: RE: Requesting samples for training course in materials analysis Message: Hi Patty, We aren't a non-profit but a commercial masonry lab, but I have tons of real world client-submitted samples of mortar and plaster I'd be happy to donate if you are characterizing such things. We clear our archives of client-samples every two years, so if these can be useful to someone instead of throw in the garbage, I'm happy to send them onwards. If commercial interest is a concern, you don't even need to tell us the results of the tests (or I can provide samples from projects we already know the results of if you want something to compare student's work to). Feel free to reach out to me at [email protected] if I can help. ------------------------------ Anthony Hita Architectural Conservator LimeWorks.us Telford United States ------------------------------ ------------------------------------------- Original Message: Sent: 09-23-2026 17:31 From: Patricia McGuiggan Subject: Requesting samples for training course in materials analysis All, I teach Materials Characterization at JHU. I am looking for 3 samples for my students to analyze as part of the class. I would prefer samples from non-profit institutions. The samples should be relatively large - at least a few mm. Stratigraphy studies are not ideal for this class. Tests might include XRD, SEM, FTIR, XRF among others. If you have a question about a material in your institution and you would like my students to analyze it, let me know. ThanksPatty McGuigganPI, Heritage Science for Conservation, JHU 6.From: Ha Leem Ro Posted: Friday September 25, 2026 2:31 PM Subject: FINAL CALL FOR ABSTRACTS - 2027 Annual Meeting Message: Hello ASG members and AIC community - This is a friendly reminder to submit your abstracts for the 2027 Annual Meeting by September 30th. We look forward to seeing your submissions! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Architecture Specialty Group (ASG) invites proposals for the AIC 2027 Annual Meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico, responding to the theme Community of Trust. We encourage proposals that demonstrate how trust, collaboration, shared knowledge, and interdisciplinary practice can contribute to more sustainable, accessible, and resilient approaches to architectural conservation. For the ASG Specialty Session, we welcome case studies, research, field experience, and critical reflections that connect emerging practices with the long-term stewardship of built heritage. ASG is also seeking contributions for the following three joint sessions: Low-Toxicity and Sustainable Alternatives in Conservation Practice (Concurrent Session with PGS and RATS): Practical applications, experimental research, and emerging materials and methods that reduce toxicity and environmental impact while maintaining appropriate standards of care. Community Stewardship and Long-Term Management of Archaeological and Historic Sites (Joint Session with AHN): Community-centered approaches to sustainable site preservation, including local capacity building, funding and resource strategies, adaptive reuse, locally sourced materials, and collaborative stewardship models. In-Situ Photogrammetry for Site-Specific Sites and Monumental Objects (Joint Session with IWG): Practical workflows, technologies, and innovative solutions for photogrammetric documentation of architectural spaces, buildings, archaeological sites, and monumental objects, particularly in challenging in-situ environments. The deadline to submit abstracts is September 30th, 2026. Abstracts should be no longer than 500 words and be accompanied by author bio(s) of 300 words or less. To submit an abstract, please click here <https://www.culturalheritage.org/events/annual-meeting/current-meeting/call-for-submissions> or visit AIC's Call for Submissions webpage, where you can find the full submission guidelines and detailed descriptions of all sessions. When submitting, please select the ASG Specialty Session or one of the ASG-associated sessions above as your first choice if you are interested in being considered for those sessions. You may also select up to three sessions to be considered for your second choice and indicate whether a poster or webinar would be of interest if your paper is not chosen for a presentation. If you have any questions, please reach out to ASG Program Chair, Ha Leem Ro ([email protected] <[email protected]>) and ASG Assistant Program Chair, Christina Varvi ([email protected] <[email protected]>). We look forward to hearing from colleagues across the field and to building a thoughtful and engaging program. We hope you will consider joining us in Albuquerque! ------------------------------ Ha Leem Ro ASG Program Chair ------------------------------ You are subscribed to "Global Conservation Forum (ConsDistList)" as [email protected]. To change your subscriptions, go to http://community.culturalheritage.org/preferences?section=Subscriptions. To unsubscribe from this community discussion, go to https://community.culturalheritage.org/HigherLogic/eGroups/Unsubscribe.aspx?UserKey=d16eaa87-0f69-494b-9f2f-303dbc1222e1&sKey=fab9aa4f27a04c5d876e&GroupKey=757a8f16-505f-4323-8e74-e376757aa9f7.
