IAEA Workshop on Innovative Approaches of Accelerator Science and Technology for Sustainable Heritage Management

The IAEA Collaborating Center Atoms for Heritage at Université Paris-Saclay

15 Jun 2022, 11:10

20m

Board Room C (IAEA Headquarters)

ORAL Track 5: Acces to research infrastructure, and international as well as regional collaborations and networks Access to research infrastructure, and international as well as regional collaborations and networks

Speaker

Loic Bertrand (Université Paris-Saclay, France)

Description

The International Atomic Energy Agency has designated Université Paris-Saclay as the first IAEA Atoms for Heritage Collaborating Centre in heritage sciences on Friday 17 September 2021. The new Centre will focus on five key themes linked to heritage preservation: characterising and dating materials; developing safe analysis methods; analysing and sharing data in accordance with Open Science strategies; educating and raising awareness among the public and future generations about heritage issues; and combatting the illicit trafficking of heritage objects.
The Collaborating Centre builds on a unique ecosystem of networks and infrastructure. The Collaborating Centre works closely with three of the University’s Graduate Schools (Humanities – Heritage Sciences, Physics and Chemistry), and in coordination with two interdisciplinary programmes (The Interdisciplinary Institute of Materials and Palabre).
Through the Atoms for Heritage Collaborating Centre, the IAEA and Université Paris-Saclay, alongside its partner organisations, aim to play a key role in the development and application of physical, chemical and digital techniques to study and improve the preservation of heritage objects, whether they are cultural artefacts such as monuments and paintings, or natural objects such as fossils.
The support of the IAEA will facilitate the hosting of international scientists, curators and technical personnel who will all come to Paris-Saclay for training, creating opportunities to establish and intensify international research collaborations through the arrival of experts from around the world as part of the University’s programmes.
Peaceful applications of nuclear science for development and cooperation
Two years after Université Paris-Saclay co-signed the Paris Declaration on “Heritage, Sciences and Technologies: An Opportunity for our Societies and the Global Economy” at the Institut de France, the launch of the Collaborating Centre will play a key role in the sustainable use of nuclear methods for the benefit of society.