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Nancy N Odegaard

  • Conservator, Arizona State Museum
  • Volunteer
Contact
  • (520) 621-6314
  • Raymond H. Thompson Building, Rm. 125
  • Tucson, AZ 85721
  • odegaard@arizona.edu
  • Bio
  • Interests
  • Courses
  • Scholarly Contributions

Biography

 

Nancy is the Head of the Preservation Division at the Arizona State Museum on the campus of the University of Arizona in Tucson where she is also a professor with the Department of Material Science & Engineering, the School of Anthropology, American Indian Studies GIDP, and the Heritage conservation/historic preservation Certificate Program in the College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture.  She leads the effort to preserve the collections of the museum through loans, exhibits, excavations, research, storage, and repatriation; she teaches students at all levels and provides outreach services throughout the region; and she conducts research on topics related to conservation. Born in Minnesota, she moved with her parents to Arizona and then studied for a bachelor’s degree in California with a year abroad in Paris, France followed by graduate studies at George Washington University and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, and a doctoral degree in Canberra, Australia.  She gained early career experience in conservation at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Museo Ixchel in Guatemala, Smithsonian Museum of Natural History and the Peabody Museum at Harvard University.  She has worked at the Arizona State Museum since 1983.  She has received Fulbright Awards (1991, 2001, 2015), a Winterthur Research Fellowship (2000), an ICCROM Visiting Fellow (2015), a Getty GCI Scholar Fellowship (2007), a Visiting Scholar Award at the American Academy of Rome (2015), and an Honorary Professorship at the Institute of Archaeology- University College London (2014-2018), and visiting.  She is a Fellow of the AIC and IIC and received a Commendation Award from the US Department of Justice (2000), AIC Keck Award (2009), the AIC Conservation Advocacy Award (2013), and the Chancellor’s Alumni Award from the University of Canberra (2017).  In 2016 she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Gothenburg Sweden (Faculty of Science).

She has led major conservation projects involving survey, tribal consultation, research, treatment, and storage upgrades for collections of pottery, human remains, basketry, textiles, and pesticide residues.  Her books include:  A Guide to Handling Anthropological Museum Objects (WAAC); Old Poisons New Problems: Information and Resource Guide for Contaminated Cultural Materials in Museum Collections (AltaMira); Curating Human Remains:  A Guide for Museums and Academic Institution (AltaMira); and  Material Characterization Test for Objects of Art and Archaeology (Archetype). 

Degrees

  • Ph.D. Conservation
    • University of Canberra, Canberra, ACT, Australia
    • Archaeological and Ethnographic Painted Wood Artifacts from the North American Southwest: The Case Study of a Matrix Approach for the Conservation of Cultural Materials
  • M.A. Museum Studies; Anthropological Conservation
    • George Washington University, Washington DC, DC, USA
    • The Conservation of a Guatemalan House Model
  • B.A. Art History
    • University of Redlands, Redlands, California, USA

Work Experience

  • American Indian Studies, GIDP, UA (2017 - Ongoing)
  • Heritage Conservation Certificate Program, CAPLA, UA (2012 - Ongoing)
  • Department of Materials Science & Engineering - UA (2006 - Ongoing)
  • School of Anthropology, UA (2000 - Ongoing)
  • Arizona State Museum - University of Arizona (1983 - Ongoing)
  • Peabody Museum - Harvard University (1981 - 1983)

Awards

  • Chancellor's Alumni Award
    • University of Canberra, Fall 2017
  • Professor
    • American Indian Studies, GIDP, Fall 2017
  • Dark Horse Project Expert
    • Harvard University, Graduate School of Education, Summer 2017
  • Honorary Doctorate
    • University of GothenburgFaculty of Science, Fall 2016
  • Honorary Professorship extension
    • University College London, Institute of Archaeology, Fall 2016
  • Fulbright Senior Specialist
    • Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board and Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State., Summer 2015
  • Visiting Fellow
    • ICCROM; InternationalInternational Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration, Spring 2015
  • Visiting Scholar
    • American Academy of Rome, Spring 2015
  • Honorary Visiting Professorship
    • Institute of ArchaeologyUniversity College London, Fall 2014
  • Sabbatical
    • University of Arizona, Summer 2014

Licensure & Certification

  • RAM Tranporter, University of Arizona (2011)
  • Chemical Laboratory Safety, University of Arizona (2000)
  • Approval Holder Research Machine, University of Arizona (2015)
  • Advanced Training in Ethnographic and Archaeological Conservation, Smithsonian Institution (1983)
  • Globally Harmonized System, University of Arizona (2013)
  • Approval Holder Sealed Source, University of Arizona (2015)
  • Radiation Generating Machine Protection, Univeristy of Arizona (2009)

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Interests

Research

Pesticide Poison Residues- Detection and Removal; Conservation of SW ceramic vessels-ancient to historic; Conservation of American Indian Basketry-archaeological and ethnographic; Conservation of Painted Wood Objects; Care and Conservation Concerns for Human Remains; Terminology of hand crafted objects.

Teaching

Clinical Conservation Methods; Conservation Science Method and Theory; Materials Characterization Techniques; Archaeological Conservation; Preventive Museum Conservation.

Courses

2020-21 Courses

  • Honors Thesis
    CHEM 498H (Fall 2020)
  • Independent Study
    MSE 499 (Fall 2020)

2019-20 Courses

  • Independent Study
    MSE 399 (Summer I 2020)
  • Independent Study
    MSE 499 (Summer I 2020)
  • Archaeology
    ANTH 696A (Spring 2020)
  • Honors Thesis
    CHEM 498H (Spring 2020)
  • Independent Study
    MSE 399 (Spring 2020)
  • Independent Study
    ANTH 699 (Fall 2019)
  • Independent Study
    MSE 499 (Fall 2019)

2018-19 Courses

  • Archaeology
    ANTH 696A (Spring 2019)
  • Independent Study
    ANTH 699 (Spring 2019)
  • Independent Study
    MSE 499 (Spring 2019)
  • Internship
    MSE 693 (Spring 2019)
  • Thesis
    MSE 910 (Winter 2018)
  • Independent Study
    ANTH 699 (Fall 2018)
  • Research
    MSE 900 (Fall 2018)
  • Thesis
    MSE 910 (Fall 2018)

2017-18 Courses

  • Independent Study
    MSE 499 (Summer I 2018)
  • Independent Study
    ANTH 699 (Spring 2018)
  • Research
    MSE 900 (Spring 2018)
  • Thesis
    MSE 910 (Spring 2018)
  • Research
    MSE 900 (Fall 2017)
  • Thesis
    MSE 910 (Fall 2017)

2016-17 Courses

  • Research
    MSE 900 (Spring 2017)
  • Thesis
    MSE 910 (Spring 2017)
  • Dissertation
    MSE 920 (Fall 2016)
  • Independent Study
    ANTH 699 (Fall 2016)
  • Independent Study
    MSE 499 (Fall 2016)
  • Research
    MSE 900 (Fall 2016)

2015-16 Courses

  • Independent Study
    ANTH 599 (Summer I 2016)
  • Independent Study
    MSE 499 (Spring 2016)
  • Research
    MSE 900 (Spring 2016)

Related Links

UA Course Catalog

Scholarly Contributions

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