Invitation to "Imaging a future for the past - uncovering lost text from manuscripts" event

Dear members of RIT Croatia community,

You are cordially invited to the following events that will take place next week in Dubrovnik (RIT Campus and Public/Scientific Library). The lectures and workshop on the use of spectral imaging for the recovery of ancient texts will be delivered by Dr. Roger Easton, Dr. David Messinger and Tania Kleynhans from RIT Rochester.

Public lectures on Imaging a future for the past - uncovering lost text from manuscripts

Presented by Dr. Roger Easton and Dr. David Messinger

• RIT Campus (Room 15) at 14:00 on Monday 18.03.2019.

• Public Library (Ulica od puča 6) 2^nd floor at 18:00 on Monday 18.03.2019. This lecture will be followed by a reception.

Abstract of the lecture:

Cultural Heritage Imaging is a growing field of research into the use of novel imaging techniques to study historical objects of known or unknown significance. Of particular interest are imaging techniques that go beyond the capabilities of the human visual system to discover new information about artifacts, either through the enhancement of faded or otherwise unreadable text, or through techniques that study the materials used in the creation and modification of the objects (i.e., pigments, substrates, tools, etc.). We will be presenting a high level overview of spectral imaging and how it is used to "see through" faded, damaged or palimpsested texts. Examples of discoveries made through spectral imaging will be shown and discussed.

There will be a workshop on the use of spectral imaging technology

Presented by Dr. Roger Easton, Dr. David Messinger and Tania Kleynhans

• Tuesday 19.03.2019. (10AM to 3PM) at the Scientific library (Cvijete Zuzorić 4) on the 3rd floor

Abstract of the workshop:

The goal of the historical spectral imaging workshop is to familiarize librarians, curators and scholars with the capabilities (and shortcomings) of spectral imaging. The workshop will consist or short presentations about successful recovery of texts, the basics of spectral imaging, and a high-level overview of how these imaging systems works. We will be imaging a handful of objects from the Scientific library (parchment fragments, possible palimpsested material, faded text) to explain and demonstrate the imaging process. This will be followed by a discussion and demonstration of how to process the collected images so that we (possibly) can uncover text.

Biographies of the presenters

Dr. Messinger received a Bachelors degree in Physics from Clarkson University and a Ph.D. in Physics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He is currently a Professor, the Xerox Chair in Imaging Science, and Director of the Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science at the Rochester Institute of Technology where he previously was the Director of the Digital Imaging and Remote Sensing Laboratory. He is also an Associate Editor of the journal Optical Engineering and a Senior Member of SPIE. He has published over 150 scholarly articles. His personal research focuses on projects related to remotely sensed spectral image analysis using physics-based approaches and advanced mathematical techniques with applications ranging from precision agriculture to analysis of historical documents and artifacts.

Tania Kleynhans received a Bachelors degree in Mathematics and Operational Research from the University of South Africa, and an M.S. in Imaging Science at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Currently, Tania Kleynhans is an Associate Scientist at the Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science, RIT. She leads the Rochester Cultural Heritage Imaging, Visualization and Education group (R-CHIVE) and is responsible for the organization of the R-CHIVE conference, assisting student research and coordinating collaboration efforts. She assists in various research projects with involvement in measuring ink and material spectra, updating scripts on the prototype spectral imaging system for display at exhibitions, and research on application of algorithms to satellite imagery. Tania is doing her PhD part time on hyperspectral image analysis of illuminated manuscripts and paintings.

Dr. Roger Easton has been on the faculty of the Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science since 1986 after receiving his Ph.D. in Optical Sciences from the University of Arizona. He has worked to apply modern imaging technologies to the study of historical manuscripts since 1995, particularly the development of new image processing procedures for this task. He led the imaging team for the Archimedes Palimpsest project, and has been a team member on projects to image the David Livingstone Nyangwe Diaries, the Syriac-Galen palimpsest, "Les Échéz d'Amours" in Dresden, the Scythica Vindobonensia in Vienna, the ca. 1491 world map by Henricus Martellus Germanus at Yale University, and the Petermann II Nachtrag 24 palimpsest in Berlin, among others.