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In June
2004, an
international conference on
Scientific Instrument Collections in Universities (SICU) was held at
Dartmouth
College. The SICU conference brought to light significant collections
and began organizing a group of scholars with
common interests in formalizing university and college collections.
However, much
remains to be done to address the unique challenges faced by those who
deal
with these collections and to increase awareness among those who
may not
recognize the importance of their collections.
To continue where the first
SICU conference left off, the University of Mississippi will host the
SICU2 workshop
in June 2007. The aim of this workshop is
to solidify the foundation for finding, describing, organizing,
preserving, and
utilizing
the vast resource of instrument collections available in academic
institutions
worldwide. We seek an interdisciplinary gathering of people who care
for university collections, as well as historians,
scientists,
educators, curators, archivists, and others who are interested in
helping the SICU
community achieve :
1. increased
access to more collections by getting
scientists and educators more involved in efforts to expand scholarly
research using
historical instruments.
2.
improved security and preservation
of more
collections by expanding efforts to build a practical resource for
stewardship
of historical instruments.
3.
increased use and
appreciation of more
collections by developing and sharing creative ways of exhibiting,
reproducing,
studying, and recognizing historical instruments.
During the
Workshop, an expanded
exhibition of “The
Millington Barnard Collection of Natural Philosophy Demonstration
Apparatus” will be on display at the University Museum, and both
Barnard
Observatory (1859 replica of the Poulkovo Observatory) and
Kennon Observatory (with the largest Grubb telescope in the U. S.) will
be open
for tours. If there is sufficient interest, a post-workshop excursion
may be
planned to attractions in the Mississippi Delta and Memphis.
The
University
of
Mississippi is in Oxford, longtime home of William Faulkner and
70 miles
southeast of Memphis, Tennessee. Lodging will be available at The
Inn at
Ole Miss. Transportation
between Memphis International Airport and Oxford will be provided. For
those who may wish to
extend their stay, North Mississippi, the Delta, and the Memphis areas
provide
many literary, cultural and historical attractions.
The formal call for papers will
be distributed in October. A limited number of travel grants will be
available to graduate students, junior scholars, and international
participants; applications for these will be available in October.
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