During the week of January 17, 2000, representatives from the Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI) and the GCI met in Los Angeles to examine opportunities for further collaboration and a pooling of resources in conducting conservation science research.

Much of the meeting focused on the area of museum environment research, where collaboration between the CCI and the GCI is already occurring. A working group composed of Stefan Michalski and Jean Tetreault (CCI), and Jim Druzik and Cecily Grzywacz (GCI) met to discuss their participation on a technical committee of the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) that is responsible for a major revision of chapter 20, entitled "Museums, Libraries, and Archives," in the ASHRAE Application volume. The chapter has the potential for being the single most important reference source for mechanical engineers responsible for HVAC systems in new museum construction and in the retrofitting of older buildings. The working group also looked at ways to create greater symbiosis between the CCI's work on mathematical modeling of volatile compounds in enclosures and the GCI's work on the efficacy of pollutant absorbents in museum and display case applications. Another working group generally reviewed issues related to potential collaboration in laser cleaning. This group included Greg Young and Carole Dignard (CCI) and Dusan Stulik, Valerie Dorge, and Herant Khanjian (GCI), as well as Meg Abraham from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Mark Gilberg from the National Center for Preservation Training and Technology.

In addition to these meetings, Alberto de Tagle, GCI Scientific Group director, and Charlie Costain, CCI director of conservation and scientific services, discussed opportunities for staff exchanges, training options, and the frequency of future meetings between their staffs.

Following all the meetings, Costain said that the staff discussions "served a very concrete role in advancing our overall level of cooperation, with specific advances on a couple of key projects."

CCI and GCI have had collaborative projects in the past, but over the last 10 years, exchange between the two laboratories has consisted only of personal contact between staff members. Given the restrictions on budgets that affect the entire conservation profession, it seemed to both groups that renewed efforts should be made to explore the mutually beneficial leveraging of resources.

Alberto de Tagle (GCI), Tim Whalen (GCI), and Charlie Costain (CCI). Photo: James Druzik