Color photograph of Sarah Nunberg standing on a patio with several New York building backyards behind her

Sarah Nunberg

Adele Chatfield-Taylor Rome Prize
February 14–July 22, 2022
Profession
Visiting Professor, Department of Math and Science, Pratt Institute
Project title
Advancing Sustainable Practices in Cultural Heritage Preservation
Project description

Many aspects of cultural heritage preservation depend upon materials that deplete natural resources. As one of three principal directors on a National Endowment for Humanities grant awarded to the Foundation for Advancement in Conservation, I am creating a Tool and Library software program based on life cycle assessment (LCA) that will enable conservators and historic preservationists to make educated choices, lowering their environmental impact by easily incorporating sustainable practices into their activities ranging from treatment to storage and exhibition materials. The Tool and Library will be free and available on the American Institute for Conservation’s website in January 2022. Through my work during the Rome Prize, I will develop a curriculum to teach and disseminate use of the LCA Tool and Library to ensure that conservators and historic preservationists integrate LCA into their work and advance the 17 Sustainable Development Goals outlined by ICCROM and the United Nations.