|
I am an Associate
Professor of Chemistry in the Department of Mathematics and Science at Pratt Institute
in Brooklyn, New York. At Pratt, I am involved in the
development and teaching of Chemistry courses at the interface of
Chemistry/Fine Arts and Art History.
Research
I perform research in the
field of Chemistry at the interface with Conservation Science, and NMR
spectroscopy applied to Art Conservation and I am particularly interested in
characterizing degradation processes of mural paintings, illuminated
manuscripts and traditional oil paintings by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
Spectroscopy. During the Spring 2007 I was on sabbatical leave
studying how Mobile NMR can help assess the degradation state of
artist's materials on site at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Department of Scientific
Research and in collaboration with Alexej Jerschow’s group at NYU with our newly
acquired Profiler NMR MOUSE. Funds to purchase the instrument were
recently provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
Teaching
I teach Chemistry
courses focused on introducing the chemical principles behind the
artist’s techniques and materials. Presently I am reviewing the
Chemistry for the Arts Curriculum at Pratt, further developing the courses
below.
General Chemistry for the Arts
Chemistry of Paintings
Chemistry for Art Historians
Chemistry of Textiles and Manuscripts.
Advanced Chemistry for the Arts (I and II)
Chemistry of Wall Paintings Lab
Chemistry of Medieval Illuminations Lab
Chemistry of Ancient Mosaics Lab
Chemistry of Ancient Faience Lab
Selected Publications
M. Bacci, C. Cucci,
E. Del Federico, A. Ienco, A. Jerschow,
J. M. Newman, M. Picollo, An integrated
spectroscopic approach for the identification o what distinguishes Afghan
lapis lazuli from others, Vibrational
Spectroscopy, 2008, in press.
Del Federico, E.; Newman, J.; O'Hern, C.; Tyne, L.; Isolani, L.; Jerschow, A. "Solid-state NMR studies of
ultramarine pigment discoloration." Magnetic Resonance in
Materials, Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings, Vol 987, 2007.
Del Federico, E.; Shoefberger, W.; Schelvis, J.; Kapetanaki, S.; Tyne, L.; Jerschow, A. "Insight into Framework Destruction
in Ultramarine Pigments." Inorg. Chem.
2006, 45, 1270-1276.
Del Federico, E.; Schoefberger, W.;
Kumar, R.; Ling, W.; Kapetanaki, S. M.; Schelvis, J.; Jerschow, A. In Solid-state NMR and resonance Raman
studies of ultramarine pigments, Materials Issues in Art and Archaeology
VII, 2005; Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings: 2005; pp
247-254.
Del Federico, E. Diver, S, Konanklieva,
M., Ludescher, R. "As light meets matter, art under scrutiny" Journal of
College Science Teaching, 23-1, 12-19, 2002.
Selected Relevant Press
Discovery Channel, Oct 13, 2006, Study Reveals Why Blue
Frescoes Fade .
Seed Magazine, October 12, 2006, Why Ultramarine Fades to
Grey.
Science Daily, Oct 10, 2006, Researchers Find Why
Ultramarine Blue Fades.
The Record, March 13, 2006, NWHM
Speaker Del Federico Blends Art, Chemistry.
PhysOrg.Com. October 2nd, 2006, Researchers Find Why Ultramarines Fade
Spectroscopy Now, November 1st, 2006, Not Fade
Away
Boston University SciTini,
October 15, 2008. Art Conservators Less Blue about Less Blue
Science and Art Symposium
2008
Alumni Research Assistants
(2005-present) Cyndi
O’Hern, BFA in Art History, 2008, currently preparing to apply to
Conservation programs.
(2008) Courtney Azzara, BFA Painting/Art History, 2008, currently
preparing to apply to Conservation programs.
(2006-present) Kara Winters, MA, in Historic Preservation, 2006. Ancient Mosaic Lab instructor.
(2004-present) Gary
Cullen, MA in Painting, 2005. Fresco Lab instructor.
Undergraduate Research Assistants
(2007-present) Megan Welchel, Art History,
(2008) Andrea Postma, Painting.
(2008) Penelope Currier, Fashion Design.
Graduate Research Assistant
(2008) Vicki Boardman,
MS/MFA candidate Art History/Painting.
Past Research Assistants
(2003-2007) Lindsey Tyne, BFA Sculpture, 2002. NYU Art Conservation
Graduate student
(2003) Sally Pusede BFA
Sculpture, 2003, University
of Colorado, Ph.D.
candidate in Organic Chemistry
(2003-2006) Jia-Jia Ai, MA in Animation 2006,
(2005-2006) Jessie Shaver,
BFA, Fashion Design 2006.
(2005-2006) Jeff Gorovitz, BFA, Sculpture, 2006
(2005-2006) Nate Dwyer,
BFA, Industrial Design, 2006
(2003-2004) Colleen Lynch,
MS in Art History/Painting 2005
(2002) Kimberly Rector,
BFA Painting 2002.
Directions to Campus
|
