NCPTT 2020 Annual Report

National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

National Center for Preservation Technology and Training

2020 Annual Report

2 NCPTT 2020 Annual Report

National Park Service 3

National Center for Preservation Technology and Training

2020 Annual Report

Table of Contents

Welcome 5

Mission 5

Responding to COVID-19 6

Responding to Disasters 8

Projects 11

Partnerships and Outreach 13

Training 15

Grants 17

Publications 17

Staff 18

Appendix A: Training 20

Appendix B: Media 21

Appendix C: Grants 25

Appendix D. Technical Services 26

Appendix E: NCPTT Labs 27

National Center for Preservation Technology and Training

Natchitoches, Louisiana

National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

Cover Photo - Steve Pine, a

conservator with the Museum of

Fine Arts Houston, studies a wood

sample under a microscope as part

of NCPTT’s wood identiﬁcation

course.

Photograph on the left - Students

from the University of Hawai’I at

Hilo learn best practice techniques

for cleaning concrete gravesites

during participation in the HOPE

Project at Kalaupapa, Hawaii.

4 NCPTT 2020 Annual Report

National Park Service 5

Welcome

FY2020 was a challenging year for NCPTT, as it was for most federal programs and the nation.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic halfway through the ﬁscal year, NCPTT staﬀ pivoted to

working from home and canceled long-planned face-to-face training and symposia. Despite these

challenges, the staﬀ bounced back quickly and found ways to be productive in our new remote

work environments. Focus shifted to publications and other noncontact activities and to ramping

up research pursuits. Of special note, Mary Striegel and the Materials Conservation interns made

a signiﬁcant impact on the conservation community by rapidly producing a Preservation Matters

technical brief and a series of instructional videos on managing collections during the COVID-19

crisis.

Hurricane Laura struck Natchitoches in August as a category 2 hurricane, a rare occurrence in

Northwest Louisiana which typically escapes the worst impacts of storms that batter the coast.

Power and water losses aﬀected both the staﬀ and Nelson Hall and presented further personal and

professional challenges to all. Once again, the staﬀ rebounded quickly, managing to keep lab experi-

ments running and work moving forward, even while they dealt with days or weeks without power.

NCPTT managers and staﬀ learned to work with both NPS and outside partners in an all-virtual

environment in 2020 and began developing new ways to deliver content and engage with others.

Many experienced personal loss and trauma because of the pandemic but continued to serve the

American people through their dedication and perseverance. FY2021 will bring new challenges as

we reinvent our training processes and work to provide more online resources until we can meet in

person once more.

Kirk A. Cordell

Executive Director

Mission

NCPTT helps preservationists ﬁnd better tools, better materials, and better approaches to preserv-

ing historic buildings and landscapes, archeological sites, and museum collections. It conducts

research and testing in its laboratories, provides cutting edge training around the United States, and

supports research and training projects at universities and nonproﬁts. NCPTT pushes the envelope

of current preservation practice by exploring advances in science and technology in other ﬁelds

and applying them to issues in cultural resource management.

The Center’s work is multidisciplinary and includes eﬀorts in archeology, architecture, collections

management, engineering, historic landscapes, and materials conservation. NCPTT tackles its mis-

sion through three primary mechanisms – projects, partnerships, and grants.

The HOPE Crew working on

gravesites at St. Philomena Church

in Kalawao, part of the Kalaupapa

National Historical Park.

6 NCPTT 2020 Annual Report

Responding to COVID-19

COVID-19 Live Webinars in Response to COVID-19

Pandemic

Cultural resources stewards and preservation staﬀ were faced

with many questions regarding the spread of COVID-19 in

March 2020. How did people contract the virus? Was it spread by

surface contact? Information evolved quickly and museum pro-

fessionals needed guidance. NCPTT led the way with Facebook

Live broadcasts starting on March 23, 2020. The three-part Cul-

tural Resources and COVID-19 Basics covered information about

the virus and its persistence on surfaces, personal protective

equipment, and re-entry into cultural sites. All live broadcasts

were turned into online videos. The ﬁrst video was translated

into Spanish, Portuguese, Hindi, and French to serve the interna-

tional community.

“In April 2020, APOYOnline-Asso-

ciation for Heritage Preservation of

the Americas (www.apoyonline.org)

translated the videos produced by the

NCPTT on caring for collections dur-

ing the pandemic into Spanish and

Portuguese, including recording them in

both languages. We teamed up with the

GE-IIC, Grupo Español of the Interna-

tional Institute for Conservation for the

Spanish translations. The videos were

widely distributed throughout Latin

America, Portugal and Spain receiving

an overwhelming appreciation from

our colleagues in the region.”

BEATRIZ HASPO, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (VOLUNTEER), APOYO ONLINE.

Mary Striegel presented three

Facebook Live presentations on

COVID-19 and cultural resources

National Park Service 7

NCPTT supports COVID-19 ﬁrst responders

In the early days of COVID-19’s emergence as a health threat

to communities around the world, NCPTT partnered with the

Clemson Architecture Design Center’s Architecture + Commu-

nity BUILD program in Charleston and the Medical University

of South Carolina to develop protocols for building emergency

sample collection facilities in response to the immensely high

volumes of patients seeking testing. Though this project was not

directly related to NCPTT’s cultural preservation mandate, the

technology, skills, and knowledge required to implement it ex-

isted in-house and the Center stepped up to assist its partners in

Charleston in preserving life. Architecture & Engineering Chief

Simeon Warren assisted their design team, ultimately helping to

save lives, support local medical professionals in an emergency,

and leave in place a model document that will support future

best practices in the medical emergency ﬁeld.

Developing portable COVID-19 Pods to preserve life.

Simeon Warren also supported the design and construction of

a model COVID-19 Portable Points of Dispensing (PPOD) unit.

The PPOD was developed to provide a more aﬀordable, safe,

and accessible walk up testing and vaccine dispensing unit in the

United States, especially in areas that support rural and disad-

vantaged communities. The goal was to develop an easy pop-up

stand-alone supplement to any healthcare facility for patient

registration, as well as becoming the future for virus testing so

that patients can be safely and eﬃciently tested while protecting

medical staﬀ. This project was completed in partnership with

the Clemson University Architecture + Community BUILD in

Charleston and the Medical University of South Carolina.

“In addition to the documentation of

the design of the Respirator Specimen

Collection Site, the NCPTT, Clemson

and Medical University of South Caro-

lina (MUSC) designed and produced

30 portable pods. These pods are set

up across the state of South Carolina

and not only are they keeping our

care team safe during the changes in

temperature, and preventing infec-

tion using on board positive pressure,

they have reduced the cost of testing to

the organization in Personal Protec-

tion Equipment and staﬃng hours.

If the National Center for Preserva-

tion Technology and Training had not

contacted MUSC to ask in what way

they could help as the pandemic began

to rapidly unfold, there is no way we

would have such a robust guide to a

pandemic testing operational picture.”

-- MARY MAULDIN, EDD, PROFESSOR, MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA.

One of 30 COVID-19 Portable

Points of Dispensing (PPOD) Units

used in South Carolina to combat

COVID-19

8 NCPTT 2020 Annual Report

Responding to Disasters

Evaluating One-Step Cleaning Methods for Heritage

Building Materials Impacted by Wildland Fire Chemicals

Chemical retardants and suppressants have become increasingly

important tools in controlling wildland ﬁres. During the course

of an incident, these chemicals can be intentionally or acciden-

tally introduced to historic materials. Swift action to remove

these chemicals from sensitive structures may be required, but

the question remains, “What is the best method to accomplish

this?”

In 2020, Kaitlyn Eldridge gained an understanding of the various

eﬀects ﬁre chemicals have on materials such as brick, sandstone,

and wood. This data informed the development of experiments

to remove the ﬁre chemicals from each material; the tests will be

carried out in 2021.

“The world of Fire and Archeology became an inter-

est of mine beginning in 1977 as a ﬁre-ﬁghter. Then I

was assigned a NPS detail as Field Director conduct-

ing post-ﬁre archeological assessment and treatment

at the 1996 Dome Fire at Bandelier National Monu-

ment. Since then, I have worked on ﬁve catastrophic

wildland ﬁres at Mesa Verde National Park as a

Burned Area Emergency Rehabilitation (BAER team

member), conducting post-ﬁre archeological assess-

ment and treatment. With each of these ﬁres comes

damage assessments to our World Heritage Cultural

Resources sites (both prehistoric and historic) by ﬁre

suppressants. Little was known as to what chemicals

are used in the chemical retardants and ﬁre sup-

pressants and their long-term damage eﬀects on our

resources. We are thankful that Kaitlyn Eldredge is

conducting a study on ﬁre suppressants. Her research

shows the negative impacts of chemical retardants

and ﬁre suppressants to cultural resources. It is hope-

ful, that more studies will enlighten the use and

practice of ﬁre suppressants within a World Heritage

Park. “

GAY IVES, SUPERVISORY COMPLIANCE ARCHEOLOGIST, MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK

A wildﬁre near Mountain Home,

Idaho, burns sagebrush (black

smoke) and cheatgrass (lighter

colored smoke).

LICENSED UNDER CC CREATIVE COMMONS BY 2.0

Different ﬁre suppressant chemi-

cals for testing

National Park Service 9

2020 Hurricane Season Preparedness for

Cultural Institutions

This webinar prepared cultural institutions

across the Gulf Coast region for what was

predicted to be a heightened hurricane sea-

son. Instructors included Dan Riley from the

National Weather Service, Jason Church from

NCPTT, and Melody Gayeski from the Ameri-

can Red Cross. Steve Pine, Senior Conservator

of Decorative Arts at the Museum of Fine Arts,

Houston, served as the moderator for the event.

More than 159 participants attended the online

event held August 20, 2020, in partnership with

Texas Cultural Emergency Resources Alliance

(TX-CERA).

Soldiers from the Louisiana National

Guard respond immediately after

Hurricane Laura destroyed much of

Lake Charles.

THE CREATIVE COMMONS PUBLIC DOMAIN LICENSE PDM 1.0.

10 NCPTT 2020 Annual Report

Sea Level Rise and Archeological Resources in the

Mississippi Delta

The Mississippi River Delta has hundreds of archeological sites

that represent thousands of years of human occupation. Archeo-

logical sites are rapidly disappearing because of climate change,

sea level rise, storm surge, and modern development. NCPTT is

part of a team conducting research that assists in the preserva-

tion of at-risk coastal cultural resources that are being directly

impacted by the eﬀects of climate change. In 2020, NCPTT ana-

lyzed data that was collected from drone imaging, site visits, and

historical information. Data sets from this study are being used

to develop and implement mitigation strategies for at-risk coastal

cultural resources. Results from this ﬁeld eﬀort were published

in the Parks Stewardship Forum: An Interdisciplinary Journal of

Place-Based Conservation (2020) and the Society for American

Archaeology Archaeological Record (2020).

Macy Linton (LSU) and Dr. Kory

Konser (LSU) operating an un-

manned aircraft system (UAS), or

drone, used to collect aerial pho-

tographs during the survey

View facing south of the principal mound at the

Magnolia Mound Site (16SB49) in St. Bernard Parish,

Louisiana

Dr. Kory Konser (left) and Samuel Huey (right) docu-

menting an eroding shell midden in Plaquemines

Parish

National Park Service 11

Documenting At-Risk Resources: Tenant Farmers

Houses

NCPTT began a multi-year project, traveling the back roads

of America to document still-standing tenant farmer houses.

Many of these vernacular structures were constructed origi-

nally to house enslaved plantation workers. A team of three

– two laser scanning research associates and a videographer

overseen by project founder Jason Church – are document-

ing these structures using photography and laser scanning.

In addition, oral histories are being collected from former

tenant farmers, sharecroppers, and plantation workers.

Removing Crude Oil from Cultural Heritage

As considerable amounts of crude oil circulate through

North America by truck, rail, and pipeline, spills are inevi-

table. During an oil spill, cultural resources such as historic

buildings, structures, landscapes, and archeological sites

are among the resources at risk. In 2020, NCPTT initiated

phase II of the study and focused on two methods to im-

prove cleaning oil from cultural building materials such as

brick, concrete, Yellow pine, and Douglas ﬁr using surface

washing agents. Researchers applied West Texas Intermedi-

ate crude oil and Access Western Winter Blend crude oil to

samples. Half of the samples were then artiﬁcially aged using

a UV chamber. In the ﬁrst method, researchers removed the

bulk of the oil before applying a cellulose and surface wash-

ing agent poultice. In the second method, multiple surface

washing treatments were applied. Samples were not allowed

to dry between applications. In both methods, West Texas

Intermediate Oil was easier to remove from samples than

Access Western Winter Blend.

Paper Shale Consolidants Project

Paper shale samples from Florissant Fossil Beds National

Monument (FLFO) are in museums around the world since

the mid-1800s when colonists and settlers started excavating

fossils from the site. Since then, they have been treated ac-

cording to the standard practices of the period with a variety

of consolidants and adhesives. Catherine Cooper is working

with FLFO to examine how consolidants – both historically

popular and recent alternatives – that are applied to paper

shale fossils age over time. The purpose of this research is

to understand how previous treatments to samples in the

FLFO collections may age, and to be able to make recom-

mendations with regards to future treatments.

Grafﬁti Removal from Corten Steel

This year NCPTT and intern Hector Berdecia-Hernandez

conducted a literature review of conservation coatings and

cleaning techniques used on Corten steel. This literature

review will help NCPTT set priorities for future research on

Corten steel.

Projects

Vrinda Jariwala applies a surface

washing agent to a concrete

sample.

LOUISIANA.

12 NCPTT 2020 Annual Report

National Park Service 13

Partnerships and Outreach

Documenting A Campus Landscape: Tree

Survey

NCPTT and Northwestern State University of

Louisiana completed a tree survey on the uni-

versity campus, which will inform development

of a campus-wide tree walk. NCPTT served as

project manager and coordinated the work of

project contractor, landscape architect David

Driapsa, FASLA, who identiﬁed and measured

trees on the 900-acre site. As part of the proj-

ect, the contractor identiﬁed historic trees that

will be featured in the walk. The project was

funded in part by a grant from the Cane River

National Heritage Area.

Texas Cultural Landscape Symposium,

February 23-26, 2020

NCPTT, Preservation Texas and Guadalupe

Mountains National Park hosted the Texas Cul-

tural Landscape Symposium, February 23-26,

2020. The symposium focused on educating

and connecting regional preservation com-

munities in Texas and neighboring states with

cultural landscape training and practice. The

symposium attracted academics, government

employees, and practicing professionals who

shared and learned about documenting, pre-

serving, managing, and interpreting cultural

landscapes. The conference included a ﬁeld

session to Bassett Farms Conservancy, a Texas

Historic Landmark.

Air Force-Tribal Relationship Building

The Archeology and Collections Program at

NCPTT is providing technical support for Na-

tive American tribal relationship-building meet-

ings between interested tribes and our partner,

the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s

(AFLCMC) Acquisition Environmental and

Industrial Facilities Division located at Wright

Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio. The

AFLCMC manages four Air Force Plants (AFPs)

located in Fort Worth, Texas, Marietta, Geor-

gia, Palmdale, California, and Tucson, Arizona,

that will host the virtual relationship-building

meetings. This ongoing project additionally

includes the development of Installation Tribal

Relationship Plans that facilitate a process to

ensure meaningful and timely input and consul-

tation with tribes regarding proposed projects

aﬀecting tribal lands and/or interests. NCPTT

archeologists are coordinating with cultural

resource managers across these AFPs to ensure

meaningful and eﬀective communications, con-

sultations, and guidance for continuing positive

and productive relationships with interested

tribal nations.

NCPTT Helping Neighbors

Staﬀ at NCPTT pitch in to help their neigh-

bors. From emergency archeological salvage at

Los Adaes State Historic Site after a hurricane,

to helping Cane River National Historical

Park move their collections to new locations,

NCPTT staﬀ is willing and ready to help. We as-

sist with STEM educational activities for nearby

high schools and colleges. And we oﬀer special-

ized training to Jean Laﬁtte National Historic

Park and Preserve and other nearby National

Park Service units.

Kaitlyn Eldredge assists in emer-

gency salvage archeology at Los

Adaes. Kaitlyn is water-screening

soil collected from the root ball of

a fallen tree to locate artifacts.

David Driapsa measuring the

trunk of a mature water oak on

the campus of Northwestern State

University of Louisiana.

David Driapsa recording tree sur-

vey ﬁeld notes on the campus of

Northwestern State University of

Louisiana.

Professor Robert Melnick leading a

ﬁeld session at Bassett Farms Con-

servancy during the Texas Cultural

Landscape Symposium. Photo by

Jean Laﬁtte National Historical

Park and Preserve Ranger Jena

Rocket removes epoxy from an

old, failed repair to grave marker

at Chalmette National Cemetery.

14 NCPTT 2020 Annual Report

National Park Service 15

Training

The ﬁscal year started in October and appeared

to be like most other years. NCPTT planned

to hold face-to-face workshops and training

with its partners in locations across the country.

Changes were on the horizon. On March 10,

2020, the National Park Service issued opera-

tional changes and recommended telework for

its employees. Telework was a public health

strategy to slow the spread of COVID-19 by

minimizing person-to-person contact and to

protect the most vulnerable, including the el-

derly and people with underlying conditions.

On March 11, 2020, the Governor of Louisiana

declared that a statewide public health emer-

gency existed in the State of Louisiana because

of COVID-19.

NCPTT postponed or canceled in-person train-

ing and symposia due to the pandemic. Can-

celed and postponed events included:

• Preserving Race for Space Symposium, June

2-4, 2020, postponed

• Preserving Modern Architecture Course,

postponed to 2021 and to be oﬀered as an

online course

• Preserving Mid Century Modern: Inside

and Out Workshop, October 2020, canceled

The Center was able to hold two face-to-face

workshops at the beginning of the year.

Wood Identiﬁcation Workshop, February

26-28, 2020, at MFA, Houston.

Wooden objects are common in collections and

range from ancient art, such as the Key Marco

Cat from Florida, to historic furniture such as

works made by Gustav Stickley. The ability

to identify the wood from which objects are

made makes it possible to better understand

their history such as their point of origin or

construction as well as how to care for these

objects. Eighteen participants in the Wood

Identiﬁcation Workshop sponsored by FAIC

and NCPTT spent three days at the Museum

of Fine Arts, Houston with instructor Suzana

Radivojevic. Over the course of the workshop,

Suzana instructed the participants in the pro-

cess of identifying wood samples using hand

lenses and microscopes. The participants had

time to practice the skills needed to complete a

successful identiﬁcation including observation,

sampling with razor blades, mounting and stain-

ing samples, and examining them with a micro-

scope. NCPTT’s Catherine Cooper assisted

with technology for the course, including the

use of NCPTT’s 11 petrographic microscopes.

Hope Crew project, Kalaupapa National

Historical Park, Kalaupapa, Hawaii, March

8-21, 2020

NCPTT’s Jason Church was one of the con-

servation experts conducting a HOPE Crew

Project at Kalaupapa National Historical Park

(KALA). Jason and Rusty Brenner (Texas Cem-

etery Restoration) led 14 students from the Uni-

versity of Hawai’i at Hilo in hand cleaning more

than 1,200 graves at the KALA cemeteries. The

grave markers varied from small cast concrete

markers to large mausoleums constructed of

lava rock and lime mortar. The HOPE Program

is part of a youth training initiative of the Na-

tional Trust.

Suzana Radivojevic observing

participants completing an iden-

tiﬁcation of a wood thin-section

mounted on a microscope slide.

One of the participants is looking

through the microscope oculars

while the other has references to

assist with the identiﬁcation.

Participant in the wood identi-

ﬁcation workshop using a hand

lens to examine a newly exposed

surface on a wood block. Around

her are other tools for wood

identiﬁcation, including reference

books, water, and a petrographic

microscope.

NCPTT hosts students from Loui-

siana Christian University to learn

about color and art through chro-

matography. The event allows

NCPTT to assist in educational

activities with universities and col-

leges in the region.

16 NCPTT 2020 Annual Report

Technical Services

Cooley House: Paint Sampling and Analysis

The Prairie Style Cooley House is a unique home designed by

Walter Burley Griﬃn and Marion Mahony Griﬃn in Monroe,

Louisiana. One aspect of design was the use of color schemes

that reﬂected the landscape surrounding the building with the in-

tent to bring the outside into the home. Paint colors and aesthet-

ic taste change over time, and the current interior of the Cooley

House is now a monotone oﬀ-white. Catherine Cooper took

paint samples from every room of the house in order to identify

the original design intent and history of colors used in the house,

in preparation for restoration of the interior ﬁnishes of the home.

These samples were brought back to the lab for mounting and

microscopical examination to identify the original color scheme.

“Dr. Catherine Cooper and the NCPTT

team were a tremendous help in discov-

ering the vibrant Prairie School reality

of what had been covered by layers of

white paint. The G.B. Cooley House

was designed by Marion Mahony Grif-

ﬁn and Walter Burley Griﬃn, before

they won the international competition

to design a new capital city for Aus-

tralia. By understanding the original

color scheme, we were able to see that

the interior was just as complex and

playfully geometric as the exterior of

the house.”

BRIAN M. DAVIS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, LOUISIANA TRUST FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION,

AND PRESIDENT, COOLEY HOUSE FOUNDATION

Catherine Cooper samples paint

and marks each location with

post-it notes for photo documen-

tation. (Cooley House in Monroe,

Louisiana)

National Park Service 17

Publications

NCPTT began developing short publications in hopes of creating

a new publication series that oﬀers sound information to the pub-

lic in easy-to-understand language. We tested the market with two

Preservation Matters Briefs – Cultural Resources and COVID-19

and Saving Wet Textiles After a Flood.

Additionally, NCPTT released its latest proceedings from the

2019 Preserving Military Heritage Symposium. More than 100

participants experienced captivating talks like Richard Hulver

and Blair Atcheson’s presentation, “USS Indianapolis Discovered!

Now What? – Analysis of a Wrecksite,” Janet Folkert’s discussion

on “Preserving Public Memory: Caring for Mementos Left at

the Vietnam Veterans Memorial,” and Stephanie Nutt and Adam

Smith’s presentation, “Rehabilitating the WWII Black Oﬃcers’

Club, Fort Leonard Wood,” among others. The proceedings in-

clude 32 fascinating papers that address the unique challenges of

preserving military heritage.

Grants

In 2020, NCPTT awarded $202,660 in grants for projects to de-

velop or adapt techniques that preserve historic sites and cultural

heritage. Advancements in science and technology have always

played an essential role in historic preservation. These grants en-

courage innovation and creativity for conducting research, sharing

knowledge, and preserving historic places and cultural objects that

tell the story of our past.

Examples of projects funded this year include:

• The City of Fairfax, Virginia, will conduct research aimed

at implementing new methods for assessing and preserving

interior surfaces of historic structures with in situ advanced

imaging.

• Texas Tech University will investigate measuring pitch pine

physical and chemical defense mechanisms of pitch pine in

historically and culturally important forests in Concord, Mas-

sachusetts, and how those defense mechanisms may protect

them from the expected arrival of the southern pine beetle.

• The University of Texas San Antonio will conduct a methodi-

cal investigation of HVAC integration and its impact on US

historic stone buildings.

A full list of this year’s grants can be found in Appendix C.

Cover Image of the 2020 Publica-

tion, Preserving U.S. Military Heri-

tage, World War II to the Cold War.

18 NCPTT 2020 Annual Report

Kirk Cordell, Executive Director

Andrew Ferrell, Deputy Director

Kevin Ammons, Administrative Oﬃcer

Mary Bistodeau, Administrative Assistant

John “Tad” Britt, Chief, Archeology and Collections

Seth Butler, Executive Assistant

Jason Church, Chief Technical Services

Catherine Cooper, Scientist, Technical Services

Deborah Dietrich-Smith, Chief, Historic Landscapes

Mary Striegel, Chief, Materials Conservation

Simeon Warren, Chief, Architecture and Engineering

NEW PERSONNEL

NCPTT welcomes the following new staﬀ member:

Simeon Warren

As a trained cathedral stone carver, mason and conservator,

Simeon Warren spent his formative years studying at Weymouth

College Architecture Stone Carving Program and worked at Lin-

coln Cathedral and Wells Cathedral in the UK, both 800-year-old

structures. In 2001 he immigrated to the USA and became part

of the formative team developing the American College of the

Building Arts in Charleston, South Carolina. He was the found-

ing Dean of the College and was awarded the title Dean Emeritus

in 2013. Upon leaving the college to take the position at NCPTT,

the faculty voted him to the position of Professor Emeritus and

the college board awarded him an honorary degree for his ser-

vice to the college. In 2019 he received South Carolina highest

arts award the Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Governor’s Award for

the Arts. As Chief of Architecture and Engineering, Warren is

excited to expand the Center’s reach by developing projects that

unify NPS priorities and projects and developing external part-

ners, thus more actively implementing preservation technology

into the heritage ﬁeld.

Staﬀ

Simeon Warren receiving the

South Carolina Elizabeth O’Neill

Verner Governor’s award in 2021

National Park Service 19

New Interns and Research Associates

Hector Berdecia-Hernandez

Hector joined NCPTT as a summer intern through the NPS Diversity Pro-

gram. Working remotely, Hector spent his ten-week internship doing a lit-

erature review focused on published research on cleaning and coatings for

Corten steel. Hector is ﬁnishing his master’s degree in historic preservation

at Penn State.

Sreya Chakraborty

Sreya is a Laser Scanning Research Associate. She will spend the next

year working on an ongoing project documenting existing tenant farmer

houses, most of which started as houses for enslaved people. Sreya is a

recent graduate of Columbia University with a master’s degree in historic

preservation.

Kaitlyn Eldredge

Kaitlyn is a Materials Conservation Research Associate studying how dif-

ferent chemical ﬁre retardants and suppressants interact with cultural ma-

terials. Kaitlyn is an historical archeologist from Boise, Idaho. She received

her master’s degree in archeology from the University of Idaho’s graduate

program in Anthropology.

Continuing Interns and Research Associates

We are excited to have the following staﬀ continue at NCPTT.

Gilda Chan

Gilda is studying mathematics at Northwestern State University of Louisi-

ana and expects her bachelor’s degree in spring of 2022. Gilda serves the

oﬃce in many capacities including a general administrative clerk and a

digital data researcher.

Vrinda Jariwala

Vrinda is a Materials Conservation Research Associate working on the

third phase of the research on removing crude oil from cultural resources

using surface washing agents, funded by the Inland Oil Spill Preparedness

Project. She received her master’s degree in architectural conservation

from the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi.

Isabella Jones

Isabella is ﬁlming and producing videos on a wide variety of topics from

informative shorts on NCPTT’s various scientiﬁc instruments to recording

oral histories with former tenant farmers. Isabella is an Arts graduate from

Northwestern State University of Louisiana.

Ina Sthapit

Ina is a Laser Scanning Research Associate. Ina will spend the next year

working on an ongoing project documenting existing tenant farmer

houses, most of which started as houses for enslaved people. Ina is a recent

graduate of the University of Florida with her master’s degree in historic

preservation.

PTT BOARD

Fred Limp, Ph.D.

Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies

University of Arkansas

Nancy N. Odegaard, Ph.D.

Arizona State Museum

University of Arizona

Jonathan C. Spodek, AIA

Associate Professor, Department of Architecture

Ball State University

20 NCPTT 2020 Annual Report

Hope Crew Project at Kalaupapa National

Historical Park, March 8-21, 2020, Kalaupapa,

Hawaii. NCPTT and the National Trust for His-

toric Preservation’s HOPE Program partnered

to host the two-week training for 14 University

of Hawai’i at Hilo students and four park em-

ployees.

Responding to Graﬃti, June 29, 2020. NCPTT

participated in the online NPS panel discussion.

Removal of Crude Oil from Cultural Resources,

August 5, 2020. NCPTT and the Inland Oil Spill

Preparedness Program presented the webinar to

the USGS National Resource Damage Assess-

ment and Restoration Program.

Cleaning and Disinfection for COVID-19, June

1, 2020. NCPTT presented the webinar to the

Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area.

2020 Hurricane Season Preparedness for Cul-

tural Institutions: Disaster Response & Recov-

ery, August 20, 2020. NCPTT partnered with

the Texas Collections Emergency Resources

Alliance (TX-CERA) to present the two-hour

webinar.

Removing Graﬃti: Panel Discussion of the Sci-

ence Behind Treatments, September 15, 2020.

NCPTT participated in a webinar at the Tradi-

tional Building Conference.

Appendix A: Training

National Park Service 21

PUBLICATIONS

“Cleaning Techniques for Historic Memorials” in Monument

Builders News

Cultural Resources and COVID-19

Proceedings of Preserving U.S. Military Heritage: World War

II to the Cold War Symposium

Recursos Culturales y El COVID-19

Recomendaciones de Mejores Prácticas para Limpiar Lápidas

Emitidas por el Gobierno

Saving Wet Textiles After a Flood

Borromeo, Georgina E., Ingrid A. Neuman, Catherine Coo-

per, Scott Collins, David Murray, and Derek Merck, “Framing

the Heron Panel: Iconographic and Technical Comparanda.”

Originally published in Mummy Portraits of Roman Egypt:

Emerging Research from the APPEAR Project ©, J. Paul Getty

Trust, 2020.

Podcasts

Podcast 88: Paths through History: Accessible Trails at Voy-

agers National Park, interview with David Driaspa, FASLA,

and Jason Christensen, maintenance worker at Voyageurs

National Park.

Podcast 89: Conserving Captain America: Using Klucel M on

Comic Books at the Library of Congress, interview with Cath-

ie Magee and Michiko Adachi, Library of Congress interns.

Podcast 90: Building a Career in Historic Masonry, interview

with Theodore Pierre, historic brick mason in Louisiana.

Podcast 91: Painting Palettes for Miss Griswold: Continu-

ing an Art Colony Tradition, interview with David Rau and

Matthew Marshall of the Florence Griswold Museum in Old

Lyme, Connecticut.

Podcast 92: Creating Coast Salish Imprints - The Public Art

of Susan Point, interview with Robert Watt, author of People

Among the People: The Public Art of Susan Point.

Podcast 93: The Caddos and Their Ancestors, interview with

Jeﬀ Girard, retired regional archaeologist for the Louisiana

Division of Archaeology.

Appendix B: Media

Podcast 94: Documenting Slave Structures and Tenant Cab-

ins, interview with Jason Church, Chief of Technical Services

at NCPTT.

Podcast 95: Looking at a Career with Master Mason Dom

DuRubis, interview with DuRubis, historic preservation ma-

son at the National Park Service Historic Preservation Train-

ing Center.

Podcast 96: Advocating for Preservation with the LGBT+ Ar-

chives Project of Louisiana, interview with Frank Perez, presi-

dent of the LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana.

Podcast 97: Applying Polymer Science in Conservation, inter-

view with Drs. Stuart Croll and Dante Battocchi.

Podcast 98: Hawaiian Studies at the University of Hawai’i at

Hilo, interview with students from the University.

Podcast 99: Finding and Preserving LGBTQ Southern History

with the Invisible Histories Project, interview with Josh Bur-

ford and Maigen Sullivan, co-founders of the project.

Podcast 100:

University of Hawai’i at Hilo

Students Caring for ‘Ohana at Kalaupapa, interview with the

students.

Podcast 101: Running a Small Museum during the Pandemic,

interview with Allison Titman, Executive Director of the

American Helicopter Museum and Education Center in West

Chester, Pennsylvania.

Podcast 102: Discussing the Display of Mummies with Curator

Gina Borromeo, Curator of Ancient Art at the Rhode Island

School of Design Art Museum.

Podcast 103: Celebrating the 19th Amendment with Stories

from the Lucy Burns Museum, interview with Laura McKie,

creator and current director of the museum, located at the

Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, Virginia.

22 NCPTT 2020 Annual Report

Partner Videos

The Cultural Landscape at Frederick Law Olmsted National

Historic Site, Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation.

The Cultural Landscape at Women’s Rights National Histori-

cal Park, Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation.

COVID-19 Videos

COVID-19 Basics: Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

COVID-19 Basics: Disinfecting Cultural Resources

COVID-19 Conceitos Básicos: Desinfecção Patrimônio Cul-

tural

COVID-19 Conceptos Básicos: Desinfectar Materiales

Históricos

COVID-19: Nettoyage et Désinfection du Patrimoine Culturel

कककककक ककककक ककककककक कककककक ककककक: कककककककककक कककककककक कक

कककककककककक कककक

COVID-19 Basics: Re-Entry to Cultural Sites

WEBINAR

2020 Hurricane Season Preparedness for Cultural Institutions,

Steve Pine, Dan Riley, Jason Church, and Melody Gayeski.

Symposia Videos

Preserving U.S. Military Heritage: World War II to the Cold

War. NCPTT and the National Museum of the Paciﬁc War

held a three-day symposium to discuss the preservation of

United States military heritage from World War II to the Cold

War. The following video presentations from the symposium

are closed-captioned and available on the NCPTT website:

Silent Voices of World War II: When the Land of Enchant-

ment met the Land of the Rising Sun, Nancy Barlitt.

The Ongoing Battle of Ewa Plain, Hawaii: Resurrection of a

Lost Battleﬁeld, Ben Resnick, GAI Consultants.

USS Indianapolis Discovered! Now What? – Analysis of a

Wrecksite, Blair Atcheson and Dr. Richardson Hulver, Naval

History and Heritage Command, Underwater Archaeology

Branch.

Using 3D Laser and Sonar Scanning to Monitor Oil Spill Im-

pacts on Deepwater World War II Shipwrecks in the Gulf of

Mexico, Melanie Damour, Bureau of Ocean Energy Manage-

ment.

The MARAD Collection – Conserving Salvaged Military Ob-

jects, Joseﬁna Maldonado, EverGreene Architectural Arts.

Preserving the Historic Military Landscape at Camp Adair: A

U.S. Army World War II Combat Training Camp in the Willa-

mette Valley, Northwestern Oregon, Rick Minor and Kathryn

A. Toepel, Heritage Research Associates, Inc.

Camp Laguna, Arizona, William J. Heidner, U.S. Army Center

of Military History, U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground.

Rehabilitating the WWII Black Oﬃcers’ Club, Fort Leonard

Wood, Missouri, Dr. Steven D. Smith, South Carolina Insti-

tute of Archaeology and Anthropology; Stephanie L. Nutt,

USAG Fort Leonard Wood; and Adam Smith, US Army Corps

of Engineers, ERDC- CERL.

Preserving Second World War Internment History: A Texas

Perspective, Dr. Lila Rakoczy, Military Sites and Oral History

Program, Texas Historical Commission.

Preserving What Remains: Fort Sheridan WWII POW Branch

Camps in the Cook County Forest Preserves in Illinois, Paula

L. Bryant, Illinois State Archeological Survey.

Cultural Landscapes of the Manhattan Project: Preserving

the The Pajarito Site, Los Alamos National Laboratory, New

Mexico, Julie McGilvray, Guadalupe Mountains National

Park and Robert Melnick, University of Oregon.

Preserving World War II-era Atomic Weapons Research and

Development Sites within Los Alamos National Laboratory

for the Newly-created Manhattan Project National Historical

Park, Jeremy C. Brunette, Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Conducting an Assessment of Wooden Parabolic Arch Trusses

in a World War II Blimp Hangar, Ron Anthony, Anthony &

Associates and Doug Porter, Porter & Associates.

High Flying Science – The Story behind the Bomber in the

Lake, Susan R. Edwards and Jeﬀrey R. Wedding, Desert Re-

search Institute.

Plastics in Early Aircraft: Enclosing the Cockpit, Odile Mad-

den, Getty Conservation Institute’s Modern and Contempo-

rary Art Research Initiative.

No Lone Zone: Two Preservation Paths in Preserving ICBM

Facilities, Eric Leonard, Minuteman Missile National Historic

Site and Christina Bird, Wyoming State Parks.

Nike: Bringing a Site Up to Speed, Allan Blank, Golden Gate

National Recreation Area.

National Park Service 23

The Mole Hole: Eﬀort to Help Save a Cold War Concrete

Resource, Travis Ratermann, Arkansas Historic Preservation

Program.

Bringing a Cold War Relic Back from the Brink, Kim Dailean-

der and Emily Eig, EHT Traceries.

Preserving Public Memory: Caring for Mementos left at the

Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Janet Folkerts, National Mall

and Memorial Parks.

Conservation of a Vietnam-era Aluminum Swift Boat for The

National Museum of The United States Navy, Paul Mardikian,

Terra Mare Conservation, LLC.

The Positive Impact of the United States Army Airborne and

Special Operations Museum on the Surrounding Civilian

Community, James Bartlinski, Denise Wald, U.S. Army Air-

borne and Special Operations Museum.

Preserving the Hardware of War: Challenges Faced in the

Adaptive Exhibition and Storage of the US Army’s Technolog-

ical Artifacts, Raymond Barnett, US Army Center of Military

History, Museum Support Center-Anniston.

Outdoor Display Aircraft: Considering Costs and Beneﬁts,

Daniel L. Phoenix, Air Force Global Strike Command, Barks-

dale Air Force Base.

A Veritable Arsenal: Museum Collection Management at

Springﬁeld Armory National Historic Site, Alexander MacK-

enzie, Springﬁeld Armory National Historic Site.

Conservation of the Iwo Jima Monument Parris Island for the

United States Marine Corps, Claudia Chemello, Terra Mare

Conservation, LLC.

Changing Landscapes: Challenges of Interpreting and Pre-

serving Cold War Military Resources at the Former Olathe

Naval Air Station, Johnson County, Kansas, Caitlyn M. Ewers,

Assistant Cultural Resources Specialist and Brandy M. Harris,

Senior Cultural Resources Specialist and Architectural Histo-

rian, Burns & McDonnell Engineering Company, Inc.

Changes and Challenges in the Archives at the National Mu-

seum of the Paciﬁc War 1963-क2019, Chris McDougal, Na-

tional Museum of the Paciﬁc War.

Texas Cultural Landscape Symposium.

NCPTT partnered with Preservation Texas and Guadalupe

Mountains National Park to hold a three-day symposium on

the preservation of Texas cultural landscapes. The following

video presentations from the symposium are closed-cap-

tioned and available on the NCPTT website:

Cultural Landscapes: Places That We Look at Every Day, But

Often Don’t Really See, Robert Melnick, MIG.

Cultural Landscapes of Austin Park System, Kim McKnight,

City of Austin.

Houston: A Case Study, Anna Mod, MacRostie Historic Advi-

sors.

Tribal Cultural Landscapes: Beyond Archeological Sites, Holly

Houghten, Mescalero Apache Tribe.

Before the Bomb: Inclusive Archeology in the Cultural Land-

scape of the Manhattan Project National Historic Site, Rachel

Adler, National Park Service.

Texas Parks & Wildlife Cultural Landscapes, Dr. Michael

Strutt, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Voices from Small Places: A Transdisciplinary Approach to

Identifying, Documenting, and Preserving Rural Cultural

Landscapes, Dr. Perky Beisel, Stephen F. Austin University.

The Texas Freedom Colonies Project: Thick-Mapping Vanish-

ing Black Places, Dr. Andrea Roberts, Texas A&M University.

Defend the Adobes: Discriminatory Taxes on Adobe Homes

in West Texas, Sandro Canovas, Adobero and Activist.

Managing Environmental Change in Cultural Landscapes:

Vegetation, Susan Dolan, National Park Service.

Managing Environmental Change in Cultural Landscapes:

Built Environment, Lauren Meyer, National Park Service.

Restoring the Cultural Landscape at Palo Alto Battleﬁeld, Ro-

lando Garza, National Park Service.

The Living Landscape of the Guadalupe Mountains, Eliza-

beth Jackson, National Park Service.

Cultural Landscapes: The Development of a National Park

Service Perspective, Susan Dolan, National Park Service.

24 NCPTT 2020 Annual Report

Evolving Cultural Landscapes Through the Lens of the Na-

tional Historic Preservation Act, 1966-2020, Nancy Brown,

Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (retired).

Cultural Landscapes and the National Register of Historic

Places, Greg Smith, Texas Historical Commission.

Bringing New Voices to Cultural Landscapes, Cary Dupuy,

National Parks Conservation Association; Jenny Burden,

Texas by Nature; and Eric Ray, Texas Parks and Wildlife De-

partment.

Blackshear Elementary School: A Case Study of Public Mem-

ory Versus Documented History in a Historically African

American Public Elementary School Campus, Sydney Land-

ers, The University of Texas at Austin.

The Melissa Pierce Project: Assessing the Cultural Landscape

of Joppa, Texas, and the Trinity River, Dr. Katheryn Holliday,

The University of Texas at Arlington.

Introduction: Use of 3D Data in Carlsbad Caverns, Julie Mc-

Gilvray, National Park Service.

Laser Scanning in Carlsbad Caverns, Malcolm Williamson,

University of Arkansas.

Using 3D Documentation to Create 2D Maps of Carlsbad

Caverns, Kimball Erdmann, University of Arkansas.

Creating a Repeatable Method for Viewshed Analysis Using

Lidar Data in Carlsbad Caverns, Claire Goreman, Yale Uni-

versity.

The Cultural Landscapes of Georgia O’Keefe, Katherine

Boles, University of New Mexico.

A River Used to Run Through It: The Borderlands Cultural

Landscape of the Oñate Crossing in El Paso del Norte, Rachel

Feit, Acacia Heritage Consulting.

Symposium Closing Remarks, Robert Melnick, MIG.

Potential Future Uses for Laser Scanning Data Collected in

Carlsbad Caverns, Erin Gearty, National Park Service.

National Park Service 25

List of 2020 Grants

Rapid Midden Assessment of the Cross Florida Greenway -South Barge Canal

Gulf Archaeology Research Institute, $20,000

Systemic Capture and Processing of Digital Documentation of Historic Land-

scapes to Promote Active Management and Broad Accessibility

Isle Royale National Park, $8,142

Mud Talks: Preserving Earthen Architecture

Cornerstone Community Partnerships, $14,991

Open-Access Remote Sensing Toward an Online Repository of Archaeological

Geophysical Data

Research Foundation for SUNY, $19,941

Tri-Cure Hybrid Organo-Silicon Coatings for Monument Preservation

Bowling Green State University, $20,000

Keeping History Above Water -- Charleston: A Workshop for Communities in Ac-

tion

Clemson University, $19,665

Database of Vernacular Architecture

Texas A&M University, $20,000

Measuring pitch pine physical and chemical defense mechanisms in historically

and culturally important forests in Concord, Massachusetts

Texas Tech University, $19,983

A Methodical Investigation of HVAC Integration and Impact on U.S. Historic

Stone Buildings

The University of Texas at San Antonio, $20,000

Virtual Field Trip of Sleeping Rainbow Ranch in Capitol Reef National Park

Utah Valley University, $19,962

New Insights into Interiors Surfaces of Historic Structures with Advanced Imag-

ing Research

City of Fairfax, Oﬃce of Historic Resources, $19,976

List of Grant Reports and Publications

Field Toolkit and Methodology for Evaluating IEQ Performance of Historic

Buildings for Their Sustainable and Eﬀective Reuse, The Catholic University of

America.

Cultural Landscapes Digital Mapping Tool (CLDMT) and Workshop, University

of New Mexico.

Testing and Treatment of Microbial Impacts on Generic Archeological Collec-

tions, Southern Methodist University.

Appendix C: Grants

26 NCPTT 2020 Annual Report

Alex Haley Museum: Mortar Analysis

Catherine Cooper analyzed a mortar sample from the porch of

the Alex Haley House Museum in preparation for repointing

work.

Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site: Wood

Identiﬁcation

Catherine Cooper sectioned and mounted a sample from a rail-

road tie at Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site for

wood species identiﬁcation.

Chalmette National Cemetery: Adhesive Repairs to

Headstones

Jason Church repaired 14 broken veterans’ grave markers at Chal-

mette National Cemetery. All graves were cleaned, reset, and

repaired using structural epoxy and a marble ﬁller.

San Juan Island National Historical Park

Jason Church cleaned ﬁve historic grave markers and two histor-

ic monuments at the park. Grout injection and crack ﬁlling was

carried out on four of the historic grave markers and a leaning

marker was reset.

Camp Beauregard, Pineville, Louisiana

Jason Church co-authored a preservation and documentation

plan for historic WWII graﬃti found at Camp Beauregard’s KD

Firing Range. Church also helped the National Guard base write

a plan for moving some of the graﬃtied materials to the on-site

museum.

Appendix D. Technical Services

Catherine uses a series of sieves

to separate the particle sizes of a

dried, acid-digested mortar sam-

ple from the Alex Haley Museum.

National Park Service 27

Equipment and Laboratory Upgrades

Thermo Fisher Nicolet iS50 FTIR with Raman

and FTIR Microscope (installation January 14-

15, 2020)

Photo Stand (installation 18-19 Nov 2019)

VersaTester (installation 28-29 Jan 2020)

Appendix E: NCPTT Labs

Jason Church testing the compres-

sion strength of a mortar sample

using the new Shimadzu Versa

Tester in the Sample Preparation

Laboratory at NCPTT.

National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

National Center for Preservation Technology and Training

645 University Pkwy

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