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As part of UCL's Vote 100 programme, the Octagon gallery presents an exhibition exploring the lasting contributions to research, teaching and wider society of female students and staff at UCL a century ago.Disrupters and Innovators, curated by Dr Nina Pearlman, is dedicated to a group of remarkable women whose lives and careers were shaped by what they learnt, taught and researched at UCL. Their perseverance, originality and ingenuity continue to inspire. Echoes of the challenges they faced remain today. Download the exhibition guide.This is part of UCL Art Museum's research and curatorial platform Curating Equality and UCL's Grand Challenge Justice and Equality.The Octagon is a public space at the heart of UCL, directly under its iconic dome. On this page you'll find a selection of images from the forthcoming display that relate to the lives and work of these women in archaeology, art, education, politics, science and society. Discover more about the exhibitionThis UCL Culture exhibition is curated by Dr Nina Pearlman, Head of UCL Art Collections.Produced in association with:Maria Blyzinsky, Museum Consultant, The Exhibitions TeamVictoria Kingston, Interpretation Consultant, The Exhibitions TeamAngela Scott, Senior Graphic Designer, UCL Digital MediaDave Bellamy, Display Technician, Chiltern ExhibitionsUCL Culture would like to thank the following people for their support with the exhibition:Society: David Blackmore (UCL Slade School of Fine Art), Dr Georgina Brewis (UCL Institute of Education), Dr Claire Robins (UCL Institute of Education)Archaeology: Dr Emma Libonati (UCL Petrie Museum)Art: Helen Downes (UCL Art Museum), Grace Hailstone (UCL Slade School of Fine Art)Science: Deborah Furness (UCL Library Services), Lesley Hall (Wellcome Library), Dr Jenny Wilson (UCL Science & Technology Studies), Professor Ian Wood (UCL Earth Sciences)Thanks are extended also to:UCL Art Museum, Grant Museum of Zoology, Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, UCL Geology Collection, UCL Pathology Collection, UCL Institute of Education Archives, UCL Library Services, UCL Records, UCL Special Collections UCL Special Collections, and UCL Slade School of Fine Art for their generous loans.

Discover more about Disrupters and Innovators, UCL's exhibition dedicated to remarkable women, whose lives and careers were shaped by what they learnt, taught and researched at UCL. Here you'll find more detailed stories of the women featured in the display.The stories in this exhibition reflect the long struggle for democracy in the UK and for gender equality in higher education. They provide insights into educational reform, advancements in science and art and social and political change in the world in which these women lived.Some women were rewarded with professional recognition and personal accolades for their contributions to their discipline, culture and social reform. Others, despite equally significant contributions, received much less attention and reward. It falls to later generations to uncover their achievements and restore their reputations. [[{"fid":"8519","view_mode":"large","fields":{"height":"1510","width":"2347","class":"media-element file-large","format":"large","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Record card Aimee Nimr","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"%3Cp%3EStudent%20registry%20card%20for%20Slade%20student%2C%20Aimee%20Nimr%20(1907-1974).%20After%20graduating%2C%20Nimr%20became%20a%20driving%20force%20in%20the%20Art%20and%20Liberty%20Group%20founded%20in%201930s%20Cairo.%20Its%20members%20%26ndash%3B%20Surrealist%20artists%2C%20poets%20and%20writers%20%26ndash%3B%20aspired%20to%20connect%20art%20with%20social%20issues%2C%20particularly%20the%20impact%20of%20World%20War%20II%20on%20Egypt.%3C%2Fp%3E","field_caption[und][0][format]":"limited_html","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"},"link_text":null,"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"height":"1510","width":"2347","class":"media-element file-large","format":"large","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Record card Aimee Nimr","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"%3Cp%3EStudent%20registry%20card%20for%20Slade%20student%2C%20Aimee%20Nimr%20(1907-1974).%20After%20graduating%2C%20Nimr%20became%20a%20driving%20force%20in%20the%20Art%20and%20Liberty%20Group%20founded%20in%201930s%20Cairo.%20Its%20members%20%26ndash%3B%20Surrealist%20artists%2C%20poets%20and%20writers%20%26ndash%3B%20aspired%20to%20connect%20art%20with%20social%20issues%2C%20particularly%20the%20impact%20of%20World%20War%20II%20on%20Egypt.%3C%2Fp%3E","field_caption[und][0][format]":"limited_html","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"}},"attributes":{"height":"1510","width":"2347","class":"media-element file-large"}}]]Exploring new disciplinesDisrupters and Innovators is displayed across four cases in UCL's Octagon Gallery. Each case addresses a different area of academic study: Archaeology, Art, Science, and Politics and Society. Visitors can explore how women pioneered new disciplines and their often interdisciplinary approaches.ArchaeologyArchaeology was a new science at the end of the 19th century. The study of Egypt – Egyptology – was on the edge of this new science. It did not require the same formal qualifications, such as knowing Latin and Greek, demanded by more established subjects. As women were less likely to have these qualifications, Egyptology was easier for them to enter.The attitude of the first UCL Professor of Egyptology, Flinders Petrie, was crucial to women’s advancement in this subject. Petrie helped to transform archaeology from treasure-hunting to a scientific discipline, and his collection is held at the UCL museum established in his name. Petrie's own career was made possible by the generosity and support of women, particularly his benefactor Amelia Edwards and his protégé Margaret Murray, who is featured below.Murray enabled Petrie to make long trips to Egypt to carry out excavations, as she taught most of UCL's Egyptology classes. Her high profile as a scholar, teacher and advocate for women’s rights in turn contributed to the subject’s popularity with women. In 1907, Manchester University Museum received a rare collection of two mummies, complete with the contents of their tomb, and Murray worked to catalogue the objects. A year later she took part in the public unwrapping of one of the mummies to an audience of 500 with extensive media coverage.[[{"fid":"8467","view_mode":"large","fields":{"format":"large","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Margaret Murray, mummy unwrapping","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"%3Cp%3EMargaret%20Murray%20and%20team%20unwrapping%20the%20mummies%20of%20the%20%26lsquo%3BTwo%20Brothers%26rsquo%3B%20at%20Manchester%20University%20Museum%20in%201908.%20%26copy%3B%20Courtesy%20of%20Manchester%20Museum%3C%2Fp%3E","field_caption[und][0][format]":"limited_html","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"},"link_text":null,"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"large","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Margaret Murray, mummy unwrapping","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"%3Cp%3EMargaret%20Murray%20and%20team%20unwrapping%20the%20mummies%20of%20the%20%26lsquo%3BTwo%20Brothers%26rsquo%3B%20at%20Manchester%20University%20Museum%20in%201908.%20%26copy%3B%20Courtesy%20of%20Manchester%20Museum%3C%2Fp%3E","field_caption[und][0][format]":"limited_html","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"}},"attributes":{"height":"1772","width":"2490","class":"media-element file-large"}}]]“The shelf is not a comfortable place and I have no desire to be on it...I look forward to working till the last."Egyptologist Margaret Murray aged 100, autobiography, 1963ArtThe Slade School of Fine Art was founded in 1871. Teaching was grounded in the study of the human figure, setting the Slade apart from other schools. The admission of women to study alongside men formed another radical departure from established models. The Royal Academy followed suit nearly twenty years later, with other disciplines at UCL even slower to adopt a co-education approach: medicine was the latest in 1917-18.The Slade influenced women’s integration into wider College life and society, and many Slade women worked across disciplines or were involved in socio-political reform. Female students quickly outnumbered male ones at the Slade and their achievements were recognised by prizes. While 45% of the artists in the Slade Collection are women, many including Clara Klinghoffer (featured below), Winifred Knights and Aimee (Amy) Nimr in the exhibition, remain largely unknown today.Clara Klinghoffer (1900-1970) was an Austrian Jewish émigré who enrolled at the Slade in 1918. A year later, she won second prize for Figure Drawing and received the Orpen Bursary for students who ‘intend to become Professional Artists’. Promoted by influential artists such as Sir Jacob Epstein and Alfred Wolmark, she presented her first critically acclaimed exhibition in 1919. Reviewers compared her to the grand master of Italian Renaissance, Raphael. Journeys of early 20th-century women artists like Klinghoffer are explored in the UCL Art Museum's 2018 exhibition Prize & Prejudice. [[{"fid":"8531","view_mode":"medium","fields":{"format":"medium","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Clara Klinghoffer © The artist's estate","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"%3Cdiv%3E%3Cp%3EClara%20Klinghoffer%2C%20%3Cem%3EFive%20Studies%20of%20a%20Female%20Nude%2C%3C%2Fem%3E%20c.1918-1919%2C%20pencil.%20UCL%20Art%20Museum%206075%26nbsp%3B%26copy%3B%20The%20artist%26%2339%3Bs%20estate%3C%2Fp%3E%3C%2Fdiv%3E","field_caption[und][0][format]":"limited_html","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"},"link_text":null,"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"medium","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Clara Klinghoffer © The artist's estate","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"%3Cdiv%3E%3Cp%3EClara%20Klinghoffer%2C%20%3Cem%3EFive%20Studies%20of%20a%20Female%20Nude%2C%3C%2Fem%3E%20c.1918-1919%2C%20pencil.%20UCL%20Art%20Museum%206075%26nbsp%3B%26copy%3B%20The%20artist%26%2339%3Bs%20estate%3C%2Fp%3E%3C%2Fdiv%3E","field_caption[und][0][format]":"limited_html","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"}},"attributes":{"height":"800","width":"504","class":"media-element file-medium"}}]]“Girl Who Draws Like Raphael - Success at 19"—Review of artist Clara Klinghoffer’s exhibition in The Daily Graphic, 1919Politics and SocietyWomen’s and workers’ rights, prison reform, education and Irish independence were key social and political concerns of the early 20th century. Women working across the sciences and humanities at UCL became forces for change in these areas, often alongside significant contributions in their own disciplines.Constance Markievicz (née Gore-Booth) was the first woman elected to the British House of Commons in 1918. She became an MP for a Dublin constituency while in prison, along with many Sinn Féin MPs who were political prisoners at this time. As with other Sinn Féin MPs, then and now, Markievicz did not take her seat in Parliament.Markievicz previously studied at the Slade School of Art and she became increasingly involved in the suffrage cause during this time. Despite her aristocratic background and marriage to a Polish count, she felt passionately about art and workers’ rights throughout her life. She was imprisoned and sentenced to death for her part in the 1916 Easter Rising against British rule, but was later released under a general amnesty.[[{"fid":"8543","view_mode":"medium","fields":{"height":"5688","width":"3960","class":"media-element file-medium","format":"medium","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Constance Markievicz","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"%3Cdiv%3E%3Cp%3EDigital%20reproduction%20of%20studio%20portrait%20of%20Countess%20Constance%20Markievicz%2C%20Keogh%20Brothers%20Ltd%2C%20c.1910-1927%20NPA%20POLF206%20%26copy%3B%20National%20Library%20of%20Ireland%3C%2Fp%3E%3C%2Fdiv%3E","field_caption[und][0][format]":"limited_html","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"},"link_text":null,"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"height":"5688","width":"3960","class":"media-element file-medium","format":"medium","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Constance Markievicz","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"%3Cdiv%3E%3Cp%3EDigital%20reproduction%20of%20studio%20portrait%20of%20Countess%20Constance%20Markievicz%2C%20Keogh%20Brothers%20Ltd%2C%20c.1910-1927%20NPA%20POLF206%20%26copy%3B%20National%20Library%20of%20Ireland%3C%2Fp%3E%3C%2Fdiv%3E","field_caption[und][0][format]":"limited_html","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"}},"attributes":{"height":"5688","width":"3960","class":"media-element file-medium"}}]]“...When I urged that the women’s suffrage movement had gone too far to be stopped he disagreed."—Reformer Isabel Fry reflecting on a conversation with retired Judge Bacon, known for his anti-feminist views, 1911Sciencey the 1990s, the scientific community had started to uncover the missing histories of women scientists. Disciplines such as botany and geology had long traditions of amateur contributors, often women, alongside professionals. The uncertain career paths offered in emerging scientific disciplines were often less attractive to men, and new disciplines often had less defined entry paths, or involved applied research that carried less academic prestige. These circumstances all provided opportunities for women to further develop research and careers.Dame Kathleen Lonsdale (née Yardley) (1903-1971) is pictured below. She was one of the first two women to become a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1945, and the following year she founded a research group in Crystallography at UCL. In 1949, Lonsdale became the university's first female professor and she received both the Royal Society’s Davy Medal and a DBE in under a decade.During her lifetime, Lonsdale worked with influential professors such as William Bragg and Christopher Ingold. Nobel Prize winners Bragg and his son Lawrence pioneered the use of X-rays to determine crystal structures, and Lonsdale applied this technique to the petrochemical benzene, confirming its long-disputed structure. As a scientist she worked at many institutions but UCL was her first, last and longest. UCL marked her legacy by naming a university building in her honour, the only building to be named after a women. The refurbished Kathleen Lonsdale Building is located on Õ¬ÄÐÊÓƵ main Bloomsbury campus.[[{"fid":"8471","view_mode":"large","fields":{"height":"1308","width":"1772","class":"media-element file-small","format":"large","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Kathleen Lonsdale with crystal models","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"%3Cp%3EKathleen%20Lonsdale%20with%20crystal%20models%2C%20photographer%20unknown%2C%20c.1946.%20Courtesy%20of%20Professor%20Ian%20Wood%2C%20UCL%20Earth%20Sciences%3C%2Fp%3E","field_caption[und][0][format]":"limited_html","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"},"link_text":null,"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"height":"1308","width":"1772","class":"media-element file-small","format":"large","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Kathleen Lonsdale with crystal models","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"%3Cp%3EKathleen%20Lonsdale%20with%20crystal%20models%2C%20photographer%20unknown%2C%20c.1946.%20Courtesy%20of%20Professor%20Ian%20Wood%2C%20UCL%20Earth%20Sciences%3C%2Fp%3E","field_caption[und][0][format]":"limited_html","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"}},"attributes":{"height":"1308","width":"1772","class":"media-element file-large"}}]]“...questioning of the established order is the hallmark of the true scientific outlook..."—Crystallographer Dame Kathleen Lonsdale, The Melbourne Herald, 1966 The history of women at UCLThis exhibition is part of UCL's year-long Vote 100 programme, which marks the centenary of the Representation of the People Act that granted the vote to some women over the age of 30 in the UK.Beginning in the 1860s, UCL experimented with providing classes for women. From 1878, women could study alongside men and receive University of London degrees: the first time this had happened in the UK. It was not until 1918 that new legislation allowed the first women to vote in the UK. This was part of wider electoral reforms accelerated by World War I. Ten years later, women received equal voting rights with men. This process was a backdrop to the lives of female students and researchers at UCL and beyond in the early 20th century. However, co-education was not adopted in all subjects and female students and staff continued to face many obstacles.The UCL Vote 100 programme reveals the impact of the pioneering women who built the university, and imaginatively explore the battles still to be won. Find out more about UCL Vote 100 here. This UCL Culture exhibition is curated by Dr Nina Pearlman Manager of UCL Art Museum who also produced this interpretation text. Exhibition produced in association with:Maria Blyzinsky, Museum Consultant, The Exhibitions TeamVictoria Kingston, Interpretation Consultant, The Exhibitions TeamAngela Scott, Senior Graphic Designer, UCL Digital MediaDave Bellamy, Display Technician, Chiltern ExhibitionsUCL Culture would like to thank the following people for their support with the exhibition:Society: David Blackmore (UCL Slade School of Fine Art), Dr Georgina Brewis (UCL Institute of Education), Dr Claire Robins (UCL Institute of Education)Archaeology: Dr Emma Libonati (UCL Petrie Museum)Art: Helen Downes (UCL Art Museum), Grace Hailstone (UCL Slade School of Fine Art)Science: Deborah Furness (UCL Library Services), Lesley Hall (Wellcome Library), Dr Jenny Wilson (UCL Science & Technology Studies), Professor Ian Wood (UCL Earth Sciences)Thanks are extended also to:UCL Art Museum, Grant Museum of Zoology, Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, UCL Geology Collection, UCL Pathology Collection, UCL Institute of Education Archives, UCL Library Services, UCL Records, UCL Special Collections UCL Special Collections, and UCL Slade School of Fine Art for their generous loans. 

The Grant Museum of Zoology has a long history as a teaching collection and has traditionally been used for comparative anatomy - dissecting the physical form in order to understand its mechanical functions. This project breaks with this tradition by using specimens as the starting point to explore the dynamic relationships of organisms in ecosystems. Animals are keenly adapted to specific ecological niches, and the processes by which they interact are as defining of their lives life as their mechanics. Science, however, often describes these processes through relatively obscure means, in diagrams, graphs, and equations. Drawing Life investigates how an expanded notion of drawing that links personal meaning to these abstract formulae can help us to better appreciate biological concepts.To find out more about Drawing Life project - have a look at the project blog Project LeadsJoey O'Gorman Research Associate and Nathan Cohen Course Leader MA Art and Science, Department of Fine Art, Central Saint Martins. Email: w.ogorman@csm.arts.ac.ukJack Ashby, Museum Manager, Museums and Public Engagement, UCL Grant Museum of Zoolog

This project – a partnership between Barts Pathology Museum, Queen Mary University of London and UCL Pathology Collections – responded to a need for serious and balanced discussion around the display of pathology collections. The project surveyed the attitudes of specialist and non- specialist audiences through a series of practical workshops. Participants encountered photographs and drawings of pathology specimens as well as specimens themselves. Participants were encouraged to share their views, developing their encounters through drawing and dialogue. Findings from the project will inform how such specimens are interpreted and displayed at both collections.To discover more about Drawing Parallels check out the project blogImage used - courtesy of Tony ‘TK’ SmithProject LeadsDr. Alex Freeman, Division of Surgery and Interventional Science, UCLNick Booth and Subhadra Das, Teaching & Research Collections, Museums & Public Engagement, UCLCarla Valentine, Technical Curator, Barts Pathology Museum,Queen Mary UniversityDr Lucy Lyons, Artist in Residence,  Barts Pathology Museums, Queen Mary University

Emerging artists in the footsteps of old masters and their Slade predecessors from a century ago.During the fifth annual UCL Art Museum/Slade collaboration, a group of Slade students were selected to develop their own practices while taking the time to consider and appreciate what had gone before. Over one term, the artists were given special access to works from the UCL Art Museum collection and invited to contribute their own responses under the concept of ‘Duet’.The selected works evidence the range of the UCL Art Museum catalogue, with contemporary Slade artists responding to William Hogarth’s Industry and Idleness series; Eduardo Paollozzi’s collages from the Bunk! series; a watercolour by Slade alumna Gwen John, a plaster phrenological heads; Japanese woodblock prints and printing tools.Many of the featured artists have gone on to forge prolific artistic careers, exhibiting internationally and publishing research, such as Dana Ariel, Jonathan Kipps,  Jumpei Kinoshita, Julia McKinlay, Eleanor Morgan, Marianna Simnett, Georgina Tate,  and Milou van der Maaden with some like Kipps, Simnett and van Der Maaden returning to collaborate with us for the exhibitions Time Based Media at UCL Art Museum in 2014 and RE-LAUNCH in 2015.The full list of featured artists includes: Dana Ariel, Sheenagh B. Geoghegan, Andrew Gomez, Lauren Keeley, Jumpei Kinoshita, Jonathan Kipps, Mollie King, Siân Landau, Julia McKinlay, Eleanor Morgan, Marianna Simnett, Georgina Tate, Danielle Tay, Eunice Tsang, Milou van der Maaden, Patrick White, Tom Worsfold.Ariel, McKinlay, Morgan and Tate formed The Printers’ Symphony for Duet in 2013. All artists work in different media but the printmaking process brings them together. As a collaborative print group they work with museums, galleries and institutions to reveal the hidden marks of printmaking. They were the first recipients of the UCL Art Museum Prize for their contribution to this exhibition - A Printer's Symphony, 2013.An interview with Siân Landau is available here.For more information about the UCL Art Museum/Slade Collaboration series, see here. 

The E-Curator 3D scanning research project was completed at Õ¬ÄÐÊÓƵ Museums and Collections in 2008. This project drew on UCL's expertise both in curatorship and in e-Science. The project explored the use of 3D colour scanning and e-Science technologies to capture and share very large 3D colour scans and detailed datasets about museum artefacts in a secure computing environment.The E-Curator 3D scanning research project was completed at Õ¬ÄÐÊÓƵ Museums and Collections in 2008. This project drew on UCL's expertise both in curatorship and in e-Science. It took advantage of the presence at UCL of world class collections across a range of disciplines and of a state of the art colour scanner, the quality of which is unequalled in the UK. The project explored the use of 3D colour scanning and e-Science technologies to capture and share very large 3D colour scans and detailed datasets about museum artefacts in a secure computing environment. The combination of these technologies could assist curators and conservators in object identification and assessment, both locally and remotely.The E-Curator project was jointly funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), the Arts and Humanities e-Science Support Centre (AHESSC), the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC).The aim of this project was to bring together, through workshops, practical sessions and conferences, as well as in an edited publication, museum conservators, educators, scientists, curators and other professionals from the higher education and museum sectors who are interested in this technology and its implications across the heritage sector.Recently, the advantages of 3D scanning and e-Science technologies have gained increasing attention in Art and Humanities research. The application of these two technologies to museum work and artefact analysis is the main goal of the E-Curator project.The AHRC-oriented aims of e-Curator are to:develop a traceable methodology for recording the surface detail and colour quality of a range of object types and materialsexplore the potential for producing validated datasets that would allow closer and more scientific examination of groups of objects, the processes involved in their manufacture, and issues of wear and deterioration.examine how the resulting datasets could be transmitted, shared and compared.begin to build expertise in the use and transmission of 3D scan data as a curatorial toolAt a time when museums are being urged to enter into more international partnerships, to engage with different cultural perspectives, and to loan their collections more freely, the development of e-Curator could alleviate some of the practical barriers to the movement of people and objects, enhancing international scholarship and facilitating the safe movement of artefacts.3D Colour Laser Scanning Research3D colour scanning offers the potential to revolutionise artefact documentation. 3D colour scans can record the whole object, in the round, in great detail. There are many potential ways in which such scans could be used. They could enable curators in different institutions to compare closely ostensibly similar artefacts without travelling to see them. They could assist in the monitoring of decay and environmental damage over time, both within a museum or gallery or more critically when objects travel, for instance in touring exhibitions.Objects have been selected from Õ¬ÄÐÊÓƵ Museums and Collections, to form the basis of this study. The artefacts represent a range of organic and inorganic materials and cover a range of disciplines; archaeology, anthropology and art. They have been selected by curators because they also present a range of issues in recording surface details. For instance, they will test the potential of 3D colour scanning technologies to recompose important markings lost to the naked eye, and offer new means of analysing, recording and comparing surface decay. One of the project aims is to develop a traceable methodology for recording the surface detail and colour quality of a range of object types and materials as well as to extend the scanning methodologies used and the level of possible analysis towards flexible objects.Each of these objects will be scanned using a state of the art Arius3D Foundation Model 150 Colour Scanner, which is unique in the UK, to create detailed object ‘fingerprints’ of a range of artefact types. The scanner, which has recently been commissioned at UCL, is able to deliver 3D coloured point data at a sampling interval of 0.1mm (~250 dots per inch) at an accuracy of the order of 0.025mm over the surface of an object. Object of cross section up to 89cm x 50cm can be scanned. The scanner collects 3D geometry information through the use of a laser triangulation system, whilst colour is collected by analysis of the reflected light from three lasers at 638 nm, 532 nm, and 473 nm. These capabilities confer the project with the ability to produce state of the art 3D models which have a level of geometric and colour standardization that easily surpass any other available recording process.External Links:Arius3D WebsitePointstream SoftwareE-Science technologies are being widely applied in scientific fields such as meteorology, chemical engineering, medical research and electronics. This project would make use of e-science storage system (the Storage Resource Broker with Globus Grid Security Infrastructure) to securely distribute very large 3D object scans between museums and academic institutions, whilst ensuring that the data was reliable enough to be used for purposes such as checking the condition of touring artifacts and allowing the verifications of that condition by insurers.Object scans will initially be stored on a file server at UCL running the Storage Resource Broker (SRB) server software. Metadata drawn from museums catalogues will also be stored, allowing partner sites to search for objects using standard curatorial terminologies. More about the E-Curator prototype software architecture here.During the project this server will be federated with other SRB systems sharing comparable data, particularly at partner sites that are making heavy use of the scans. These sites will also be assisted with obtaining X.509 certificates from the UK e-Science Certification Authority in order that they may securely access confidential SRB data.The project will also experiment with directly integrating SRB access into the Web browser plugins used to visualize the object scans, taking advantage of new WSRF-compliant Web Service architectures such as GT4. This will remove the need for the use of separate file manager applications such as inQ to access the object database.External links:National e-Science CentreStorage Resource BrokerThe E-Curator application basically consists of two major parts: the server and the client.The serverThe server comprises three major software components: the Storage Resource Broker (SRB), MetaData Catalog (MCAT) and e-Curator middleware. The SRB and MCAT systems are software produced by San Diego Supercomputer Centre (SDSC). The SRB is an e-Science storage system, which is used to store large 3D scan images; while MCAT is a metadata repository system, which is used to store metadata drawn from museum catalogues. E-Curator middleware handles user requests and responses sent via the Internet.The clientOn the client side, curators and conservators can access the 3D object scans and catalogue information via the e-Curator website. The website enables users to compare records collected at different institutions and stored remotely, or collected over a period of time under different conditions. The full 3D colour data provide rotational viewing and allow users to freely observe the virtual representation of the object from any viewpoint and over a range of magnifications. By using mouse clicks, users can zoom, rotate, tumble and pan the 3D scans. Such scans supplemented by the catalogue information could be used in many ways. They could aid identification, for example enabling the reading of hitherto illegible inscriptions on degraded surfaces. They could enable curators in different institutions to compare closely ostensibly similar artefacts without travelling to see them. They could assist in the monitoring of decay and environmental damage over time, both within a museum or gallery or more critically when objects travel, for instance in touring exhibitions. The data is also reliable enough to be used by insurer to verify the condition of touring artifacts.The E-curator Steering Group members were:Sally MacDonaldDirector of Õ¬ÄÐÊÓƵ Museums and Public Engagement. Principal Investigator of the E-curator Project.Dr Graeme WereWas Head of Teaching and Research Collections at UCL and is now Lecturer in Museum Studies at the University of Queensland, Australia. He was responsible for the selection of suitable objects and co-ordinate the scanning process from the curatorial side. Dr Stuart RobsonDepartment of Geomatic Engineering at UCL, he is an expert in laser scanning and engineering metrology and will coordinate and ensure quality control in the acquisition and data processing stages of the project.Dr Ian Brown He is a research fellow at the Oxford Internet Institute, Oxford University, and an honorary senior lecturer at University College London. He will manage the design and implementation of the e-Science framework for the project, supervising the Computer Science research assistant. Yean-Hoon OngComputer Science-based research assistant is undertaking a technology transfer process within which existing e-science, model visualisation and engineering metrology software tools are integrated to produce a computing environment that is appropriate for use by those working on the chosen objects from the arts and humanities components of the project.Mona HessMuseums and Collections-based research assistant has joined the project once the core software tools were at a stage where they can be tested with larger data sets. She is working with the Steering Group to organise the formative workshop, and all interim evaluation sessions with curators and conservators. She will organise the summative workshop contribute to the final report and publish in appropriate professional contexts.Francesca Simon MillarThe AHRC Project student will explore the usage of the developed tools and undertake re-scanning and comparison of the objects on a periodic basis. This work will form the basis of a PhD investigation of the abilities of 3D colour scanning and e-science based data sharing and visualization for the museum community.DisseminationDuring the project, a number of internal and external formative workshops will be organised to offer investigators, curators, conservators and other interested parties at UCL the opportunity to look in more detail at the proposed project and produce a more detailed specification and review criteria. These workshops will also consider the requirements for the user interface, and requirements for labelling and linking to external data sources.WorkshopsThe first E-Curator workshop took place on February 29th, 2008, at UCL. Several curators and conservators from Õ¬ÄÐÊÓƵ Museums were invited by the e-Curator steering group. The goal of the workshop was to find out what the users expect from the e-Curator application and to seek an ideal outcome for designing the interface for the web-based software tool.A participatory approach to user designed systems was used during the workshop. It began with a 'Condition Report and Catalogue Entry' session, in which curators and conservators demonstrated the preparation of condition report and catalogue entry using objects from Õ¬ÄÐÊÓƵ Museums and Collections. Following that, participants were requested to write a list of the features they would think as being most useful within the software. These features were then brought together and were ranked according to their priorities. The workshop continued with presentations about the scanning process with Airus3D and the planned software architecture. It closed with a Discussion Session.PublicationsAn important part of the dissemination and feedback was reached by giving papers and posters on international conference in the sector of 3D, Heritage and Museums. The E-Curator team has published in the following conference proceedings/ papers:2011Hess M., MacDonald S., Brown I, Simon Millar F., Were G., Robson S.,: Well connected to your digital object? E-Curator: a web-based e-science platform for museum artefacts. Special Issue about cyberinfrastructure for the arts and humanities and the digital object of Literary and Linguistic Computing, Oxford Journals2010M. Hess, S. Robson: 3D colour imaging for heritage artefacts. ISPRS Commission V - Close Range Image Measurement Techniques, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, 22-24th June 20102009Hess M., Robson S., Were G.,Simon Millar F., Hviding E., Berg C. A. : Niabara - the Western Solomon Islands War Canoe at the British Museum. 3D documentation, virtual reconstruction and digital repatriation. Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Virtual Systems and Multimedia VSMM 2009. "Vision or Reality? Computer Technology and Science in Art, Cultural Heritage, Entertainment and Education", Vienna, Austria, September 9-12, 2009Final report on the E-Curator project on the AHESSC website.Ariadne online magazine for information professionals in archives, libraries and museums in all sectors (Issue 60/ July 2009): E-Curator: A 3D web-based Archive for Conservators and Curators.2008Traceable storage and transmission of colour laser scan datasets. S.Robson, I. Brown, M. Hess, S. MacDonald, Y-H. Ong, F. Simon Millar (pp 93-99) in Digital Heritage. Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Virtual Systems and Multimedia (full papers), Editors: M. Ioannides, A. Addison et al., Archaeoloingua/ Budapest 2008. ISBN: 978-963-8046-99-4. VSMM/ CIPA 2008 Conference dedicated to Digital Heritage: Our Hi-tech-STORY for the Future; Cyprus, 20 - 26 October 2008, http://www.vsmm2008.org/E-Curator: 3D colour scans for object assessment. S. Robson, I. Brown, M. Hess, S. MacDonald, Y-H. Ong, F. Simon Millar. CIDOC 2008 conference in Athens dedicated to The Digital Curation of Cultural Heritage;, Athens/ Greece, 15-18 September 2008, http://www.cidoc2008.gr/cidoc/ Hess M., Simon Millar F., Ong Y-H., Robson S., Were G., Brown I., MacDonald S. : 3D colour scans for objects assessment, EVA conference "Electronic Imaging and the Visual Arts", 22-24 July 2008, London/ England, Conference Proceedings, Editors: S. Dunn, S. Keene, G. Mallen, J. Bowen. The British Computer Society, Plymouth 2008, ISBN 978-1-906124-07-6, pp 125 – 13.