Bruker and The Metropolitan Museum of Art Announce Partnership in the Field of Cultural Heritage Science

New York, NY and Billerica, Mass. – December 13, 2017 – The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) and Bruker Corporation are pleased to announce a 10-year partnership to advance novel analytical technologies and methods in the field of cultural heritage science even further. This partnership builds upon and expands a long history of collaboration that has yielded considerable progress and results: among them, the introduction of the first Open Architecture Raman Microscope, the application of Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) to the identification of organic colorants, the development of Laser Ablation SERS, and just recently, the use of Macro Area Scanning XRF for the study of paintings. Our previous collaborations have yielded new instrumentation development and methods that are now commonly used around the world. With this new ambitious partnership, we will focus on advanced mass spectrometry instrumentation, as well as x-ray diffraction, and Raman imaging, adding state-of-the-art technology to the impressive array of scientific tools already in place at The Met. The new technologies will enable The Met’s scientists to advance scholarship in cultural heritage science and solve the most challenging conservation problems. 

As part of this collaboration, Bruker will also provide instrumentation and technical expertise for the Network Initiative for Conservation Science (NICS), the new program established by The Met to support research at other museums in New York City. As many of these museums lack the scientific resources to perform in-depth chemical and elemental analysis, Bruker portable infrared, Raman, and x-ray fluorescence instrumentation operated by Met scientists will play an essential role in establishing a mobile laboratory and in building a distributed scientific network benefitting all cultural heritage institutions in the city of New York. 

About The Metropolitan Museum of Art 

The Met presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world for everyone to experience and enjoy. The Museum lives in three iconic sites in New York City—The Met Fifth AvenueThe Met Breuer, and The Met Cloisters. Millions of people also take part in The Met experience online

Since it was founded in 1870, The Met has always aspired to be more than a treasury of rare and beautiful objects. Every day, art comes alive in the Museum’s galleries and through its exhibitions and events, revealing both new ideas and unexpected connections across time and across cultures. 

The Department of Scientific Research at The Met is responsible for investigating the material aspects of works of art in the collection. Scientists in the department cooperate with conservators and curators in studying, preserving, and conserving the works, and also pursue innovative research in analytical techniques, preventive conservation, and treatment methodologies.

About Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ: BRKR) 

For more than 55 years, Bruker has enabled scientists to make breakthrough discoveries and develop new applications that improve the quality of human life. Bruker’s high-performance scientific instruments and high-value analytical solutions enable scientists to explore life and materials at molecular, cellular and microscopic levels. In close cooperation with our customers, Bruker is enabling innovation, productivity and customer success in life science molecular research, in applied and pharma applications, in microscopy, nanoanalysis and industrial applications, as well as in cell biology, preclinical imaging, clinical research, microbiology and molecular diagnostics.

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