This international, interdisciplinary conference will be held at the University of Iowa, March 16-18, 2020, to exchange research perspectives, expertise, and training in the application of enhanced digital imaging technologies. Utilizing “Virtual Unwrapping” with X-ray tomography and multispectral imaging (MSI), we expand the study of otherwise unreadable premodern manuscripts.
Initially developed for aerospace and bio-medical sciences, x-ray tomography and MSI are now being applied by cultural preservation pioneers to provide non-destructive means for bringing to view texts that are otherwise invisible to the human eye. Making their use widespread, effective, and safe for these cultural artifacts requires close and ongoing collaboration, which we plan to accelerate at the University of Iowa via this Workshop.
The conference welcomes current and future specialists who protect, provide access to, and work intimately with books and manuscripts: book conservators; special collections librarians and archivists; curators; digital humanities scholars; paleographers and codicologists; and computer scientists who are developing cutting-edge technology and software. Participants will deliver a series of papers, take part in workshops, and exchange ideas for developing best practices in this rapidly developing area of inquiry.