On the chilly evening of Thursday, February 19th, the Chemical Society of Washington welcomed Cecily Grzywacz to the February Dinner Meeting at ACS headquarters for a lecture on Sustainability and our Cultural Heritage. The presentation attracted a diverse crowd of scientist, engineers, and conservationist including guests from the Smithsonian.
Cecily Grzywacz is currently a Facilities Scientist at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. and is actively working to preserve collections by introducing and implementing sustainable, cost-saving, and energy efficient programs at the Gallery, which utilizes a system built in 1941. Ms. Grzywacz presented facts and figures illustrating the past, current, and projected costs to the Gallery to maintain environmental controls such as temperature and relative humidity. The Gallery has successfully reached its cost and energy reduction goals and continues to work towards a more sustainable environment.
The Gallery’s team of scientist, engineers, and conservators are working together to put to rest the concept of a rigorously controlled environment for the collections, which includes famous pieces such as da Vinci’s Ginevra de’ Benci. The sustainability program studies the use of steam, electricity, and water throughout their buildings. The Gallery has lowered the cost of energy from about $7.00 per square foot to approximately $4.00 within a span of only a few years. The presentation was well received as Ms. Grzywacz provided an enjoyable and engaging perspective of sustainability at the Gallery.
For more information, and to read Ms. Grzywacz’s abstract, click here.
