I'm a chemist by training and have only been part of the heritage science field for a few years. This was my first conference in this field and just like I hoped, it was an amazing experience.
I was genuinely interested in all of the talks rather than in two or three as has been the case at chemistry conferences for me. For that I'm grateful to all the other speakers!
I'd like to give a special shout out to Josep Grau-Bové's talk on damage functions. The name makes it sound scary and mathematical, but Josep talked about it in such an interesting way that I've started researching the topic to learn more.
Though I hardly knew anyone going into the conference, I ended up meeting a lot of new people and making connections that will hopefully lead to exciting collaborations. I'm very glad that people approached me after my talk asking for a chat, as it gave me the courage to approach people myself, which was a crucial part of the event for me.
The chats we had also made something clearer for me. I found myself explaining how my detection method of heavy metals in red rotting leather bookbindings — extraction in artificial sweat solution + ICP-MS, differed from surface detection methods frequently used in heritage science, such as XRF. I was actually measuring what would end up on your hands when handling a binding, taken up in the sweat, instead of simply what was present in the original binding. That gives us more useful toxicological information. Now, I know that next time I give this talk, I need to emphasise that point.
Another shout out goes to Natalie Brown and Helen Wilson, the two co-chairs of the Icon Heritage Science group. I’m so glad I worked up the guts to ask them for advice. The help and encouragement they've offered me on the day and since has been very motivating.
The event was definitely worth the exorbitant prices of UK train tickets (partially alleviated by the BPG25 bursary, for which I am very thankful), getting up at 5:30 am, returning past 10 pm, and biking a bit over an hour from St Pancras to the National Archives and back. I've been struggling recently to find the strength to overcome adversity, but talking to the amazing people who organised and came to the conference has given me the energy to throw myself back into things. I hope that I contributed to someone else feeling this way too. I end this blogpost with a photo of me having just arrived at the National Archives after my intense morning workout (bike helmet included 😉).
Marysia Tarnowska