4th HS Academy Lecture: Past, present and future of citizen heritage science

This lecture will address the key role that citizens can play in heritage science. Citizen Science has a long history. It has existed for as long as institutional science: interest in generating knowledge has never been limited to the ivory tower. Meteorology, nature preservation or astronomy are examples of fields where fundamental research has been carried out by passionate private citizens. However, it can be argued that the last few years have seen a spectacular increase in the number and diversity of citizen science projects. This popularity has been driven by access to digital technologies, such as smartphones and social media, but also by a growing academic interest in participatory approaches.
More recently, citizen science has found useful applications in the heritage sector. Recent research has demonstrated that measurements produced by citizens can be reliable, of enough quality to complement or even replace other types of data collection, and to be used as part of decision making in heritage management and conservation. In this talk, we will review what scientific tasks are well-suited to be done in collaboration with citizen scientists, and which ones still require further development. We will also examine what research avenues remain open in citizen science, beyond the assessment of data quality. Collaboration with citizen scientists may, in fact, hold the key to many complex questions in heritage science: for example, understanding how damage is perceived or how to build community resilience against climate change.

Speaker:
Dr. Josep Grau-Bove is Associate Professor of Heritage Science at the Institute for Sustainable Heritage, University College London. With his team, he uses science and engineering methods to improve the preventive care of heritage. He has pioneered the use of many types of modelling and simulation in heritage, such as computational fluid dynamics and system dynamics. He is the programme director of the Sustainable Heritage MSc, a pioneering course where students can specialise in data science for cultural heritage, heritage science and heritage management. He is also the chair of the Heritage Science Group of the Institute of Conservation.

More information and registration: https://www.iperionhs.eu/lecture-4-2022/

Please note: the lecture attendance certificates will be provided automatically to participants that attended the lecture and completed the anonymous post-event satisfaction survey questionnaire.

The lecture series “Current Topics in Heritage Science” of the IPERION HS Academy aims at providing online training on fundamental aspects of heritage science, such as techniques and methodologies, as well as on specific heritage typologies and other topics of interest to the field. The lectures are targeted at emerging professionals, such as students and young researchers, but also advanced conservators, curators, restorers, and other cultural heritage stakeholders.
The lectures are organized by a team of emerging professionals and are held online through Zoom webinar every third Thursday of the month. Attendance is free and the lectures are typically 30 min long, followed by Q&A.