Rebecca Ploeger joined the Art Conservation Department in January 2014 as Assistant Professor in Conservation Science. Before moving to Buffalo, she was a Charles E. Culpeper Advanced Training in Conservation Science fellow at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, in the Scientific Research Department, and collaborated as a guest researcher with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, MD. Rebecca has a Master’s degree in Engineering Chemistry from Queen’s University, Canada, and a Ph.D. in Chemical Sciences from the University of Turin, Italy, both specializing in polymer materials in cultural heritage. She was also a Lagrange Project post-doctoral fellowship recipient for the study of complex systems from the ISI Foundation (Regione Piemonte). During her doctorate and post-doctorate studies in Italy, she collaborated with a number of conservators of modern and contemporary materials in Turin and Milan, along with museums in Turin and the Piedmont region. Dr. Ploeger’s main interests are in the design, characterization, and stability of synthetic and polymeric materials used by artists and conservators. Her current research is focused on the development of a new consolidating adhesive for paintings and polychrome objects. This is a collaborative project, and has brought together internationally recognized cultural institutions and universities in Italy, France, the Netherlands, and the USA. She is also branching out in the local area, and working with Buffalo institutions, as well as some in Toronto, Canada. Rebecca teaches the organic and polymer section of our conservation science curriculum and a course in preventive conservation. In addition to the department, she has helped with the Shad Valley International Program (Queen’s University campus, Kingston Canada) in some capacity for the past 10 years, as a faculty member, guest lecturer, or program assistant.

Polymer science