Dr. Gregory Smith, The Otto N. Frenzel III Senior Conservation Scientist, Indianapolis Museum of Art, will speak about his use of science to unravel mysteries surrounding the artworks at the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields. Using a range of spectroscopic, chromatographic, and imaging techniques, his team employs the tools of chemistry to discover lost paintings, explore the material history of objects, and detect forgeries. The lecture will explore the various roles that chemists can play in a fine arts museum, culminating in recent research repurposing the world’s oldest man-made pigment — Egyptian blue first synthesized in 3200 BCE — as a luminescent fingerprint dusting powder to catch modern-day criminals.

Co-sponsored by CORE Science, University Museums, Museum Studies, and the Department of Chemistry.