Aaron N Shugar

Biography

Aaron N. Shugar joined the department in January 2006 as our new conservation scientist, focusing on inorganic chemistry. Aaron comes to us from the Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute, where he was a visiting scientist. He also served as Co-Director of the Archaeometallurgical Laboratory at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA. With a Ph.D. in archaeometallurgy from University College London, Aaron’s work in the analysis of archaeological metals and glass has taken him around the globe, from the Middle East to Europe to Central America. You can even see him on the Discovery Channel, investigating the technology of 9th-century Samurai swords and on the History Channel's "Bible Battles". Dr. Shugar's main interest is in historic technologies and has led two workshops here in the department on traditional smelting techniques with Professor Thornton as well as helping to present a hands-on seminar to create Damascus steel. He has also made strides with the science curriculum adding hand-held XRF techniques as well as 3-D imaging scanning technology to help students gain a better understanding of the materials they are working with. In addition to his appointment here in the department, Dr. Shugar is a Guest Scientist at the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) and a member of the Graduate Faculty at the University of Toronto. He is also a former Research Associate with the Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute and has served as the President of The Society for Archaeological Sciences

Research Interest

Inorganic chemistry