Putting Microbes to Work: Using Biotechnology to Restore Architecture Art in Italy

Grace Kim is a PhD student in MIT’s program in History | Anthropology | Science, Technology, and Society. She studies technologies for art and heritage restoration, asking how scientists today are contributing to concepts of authenticity. Drawing from science studies and anthropology, she investigates what happens to art and heritage materials as scientists use light, bacteria, and nanotechnology to collaborate with conservators and to treat deterioration. She received her AB in History and Science from Harvard and an MPhil in History and Philosophy of Science from Cambridge.