Light sources around the world are playing an increasingly important role in helping to uncover the past and protect historical objects for generations to come. Ida Fazlić is currently a PhD student at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France. Her research is focusing on the use of metal catalysts that are used to speed up the drying reactions of historical and industrial paints. Ida’s project will provide valuable information to collaborator Rijksmuseum on the use or misuse of dryers throughout history and up to the current day. Also there effect on the stability and aesthetic of the painted objects.
Ida was attracted to this area of work through her valuable experience of working as a conservator and restorer at the national gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This work led her to question the chemical and physical processes that caused the degradation of the painted layers that she was seeing on a daily basis. Ida decided to study the crucial and very important role of science and technology in conservation of cultural heritage objects. For Ida, the best thing about working at a light source is that, “You have endless opportunities of going as far in your research as you want to go and in any direction that you want to go because at any moment you have the world’s most powerful material investigation techniques at hand.”