The EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Science and Engineering in Arts Heritage & Archaeology () is pleased to announce that applications are currently open for the following interdisciplinary four-year scholarship:

'Comparison of painting lining methods for historic house environments'

This a prestigious studentship with the project focusing on a very significant proportion of paintings on public display in historic house environments. Due to restrictions on building modifications, it is not possible to carefully control their display environments. As a consequence, the wider relative humidity (RH) fluctuations generate physical stresses in the paintings, owing to their composite nature. Additionally, as canvasses age their physical properties deteriorate and re-lining is frequently required in order to strengthen the painting and allow continued display. Several methods and materials presently exist, however, re-lining treatments are very resource intensive and there is no consensus within the field as to which is the most appropriate for use in uncontrolled environments.

The doctoral project will address the following research questions:

(i) Which re-lining methods perform best in historic house environments?

(ii) Can a damage function be developed to describe the physical risk to paintings in terms of the environmental parameters?

(iii) How beneficial is back-boarding only (without glazing)?

(iv) Can the lining be analysed non-invasively using near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy/single-sided nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to determine the state of conservation and remaining lifetime?

The research project will require the use of an exciting range of research methods: digital image correlation, nuclear magnetic resonance and near infrared spectroscopy, among others.

This diverse project will enable you to seek employment in any number of multidisciplinary environments: from academia to conservation, including engineering and industry.

Application deadline: Monday 30th June

Interviews: 15th July 2014 (at UCL)

Full details can be found in the PDF document attached under 'Related Files' below.