IPI Staff

James M. Reilly, Director of IPI, is well known for his research on the effects of temperature and humidity on library, archives, and museum collections, deterioration of 19th-century photographic prints, environmental monitoring and control, management of film archives, and the major causes of image deterioration. He is the co-director of the Advanced Residency Program in Photograph Conservation at George Eastman House. He is a consultant to numerous museums and government agencies and is sought after worldwide as a teacher and seminar speaker. He has written extensively on preservation issues, and in 1998 he received a Technical Achievement Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Email: jmrpph@rit.edu

Dr. Peter Z. Adelstein retired from Eastman Kodak Company and joined IPI as a senior research associate. He is an authority on film base and its deterioration and has published over 80 papers. For the past 25 years he has been chairman of ANSI and ISO committees dealing with the permanence of imaging media. In 1998 he was awarded the Fuji Gold Medal by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, and in 1999 he received a Civic Award from the Rochester Chamber of Congress. In 2003 he was given a certificate of recognition by the International Imaging Industry Association for his contributions to international standards.
Email: pzapph@rit.edu

Jean-Louis Bigourdan received his diploma in art conservation from the Institut Français du Restauration des Oeuvres d'Art in Paris. His work at IPI has focused on the effects of enclosures and microenvironments on photographic film stability and on the effects of cycling conditions on library and archives materials. He designs and conducts collection surveys and consults on the implementation of cold storage. He publishes and lectures extensively on the topic of photograph preservation.
Email: jxbpph@rit.edu

Ryan Boatright received a B.F.A. in photography from Indiana University in 2005. Since joining IPI as a research scientist, Ryan has been developing new imaging infrastructures for the study of various photographic technologies. He is currently working on characterization projects, one of which involves the study of 20th-century black-and-white print characteristics. Ryan also pursues his own artistic endeavors, utilizing a variety of photographic processes. His work can be seen at www.ryanboatright.com.
Email: jrbpph@rit.edu

Daniel Burge received his B.S. in Imaging and Photographic Technology from Rochester Institute of Technology in 1991. He has been a full-time member of the IPI staff since 1990. His primary focus of research at IPI has been the chemical and physical interactions between imaging media and storage enclosures, including the development and improvement of testing methods. He lectures to various consumer and trade groups and writes for their publications on home archiving and photo storage products. He has also been a consultant to many archival supply companies. Currently he is investigating digital hard copy stability and storage issues.
Email: dmbpph@rit.edu

Lisa Cerra joined IPI in 2007 as Assistant Business Manager. Her major responsibilities include financial management of externally funded grants, contracts, gift and discretionary accounts; financial reporting and forecasting; and budget preparation and oversight. Managing the overall business activities of IPI, she also serves as liaison to PI’s, SRS, and SPA and ensures compliance with sponsor and institute guidelines.
Email: lmcpay@rit.edu

Patricia Ford joined IPI to coordinate the presentation of environmental services to the preservation field. With a BA in art history, Patti began her career at the Gallery Association of New York State, a service organization for museums and galleries. She then spent over 20 years focused on collection care, storage system development, and records management at the Rochester Museum & Science Center and the Rochester Historical Society. Patti serves as a liaison between specialists in the science and technology of environmental preservation and the staff of cultural institutions who work directly with material preservation issues.
Email: pafpph@rit.edu

Jannette Hanna received her B.S. degree in Biomedical Photographic Communication from Rochester Institute of Technology in 2005. Since joining IPI as a research scientist, her work has focused on enclosure testing, including pH testing, alkaline testing, and the photographic activity test.
Email: jfhpph@rit.edu

Douglas W. Nishimura received his degree in chemistry from McMaster University in Canada. He is a member of the joint ISO-ANSI committee responsible for the physical properties and permanence of imaging materials. Before joining IPI as a research scientist, he did stability research at the National Archives of Canada. He is technical supervisor for most major research projects and is well known as a teacher, lecturer, and consultant on image preservation.
Email: dwnpph@rit.edu

Jane Pestke is the lab's business manager. She is involved with long-term financial planning and personnel issues with daily emphasis on small contracts and the sale of products. She has been on staff since 1989. (She's also known as Mom.)
Email: cjppph@rit.edu

Gene Salesin, Research Assistant, received a B.S. in chemical engineering in 1958 from the University of Michigan and an M.S. and Ph.D. in chemistry from Case Western Reserve University in 1960 and 1962, respectively. He retired in 1997 after 36 years of employment in the research laboratories and several manufacturing divisions at Kodak. He held a mid-management position during his last few years there, leading the staff involved with providing the technical instructions and specifications for the manufacture of black-and-white films. Dr. Salesin joined IPI in 2004 and has been involved in the permanence properties of magnetic tape and digital prints.

Karen Santoro is IPI's publications coordinator. She designs and edits most of IPI's print and web publications, slide presentations, product packaging, and promotional materials.
Email: kaspph@rit.edu

Kristin Smith graduated from Indiana University in 2007, with a BA in History and French and a BFA in Photography. Soon after, she joined IPI as an intern, working on photograph characterization for the web resource Digital Sample Book. In December 2007, she officially joined the staff to assist with IPI projects related to environmental preservation. She will be specializing in library and archive environmental management, including environmental analysis and customer support for Climate Notebook®, the PEM2^tm, and MyClimateData.
Email: kmspph@rit.edu

Andrea Venosa received a degree in molecular biology from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Before joining IPI, Andrea did scientific research and technical work at the University of Buenos Aires and the University of Rochester Medical Center. Her work at IPI involves the development and implementation of experiments on the light-fastness of digital hardcopy and photographic materials.
Email: ajvpph@rit.edu

Gawain Weaver received B.A. degrees in art history and chemistry (2001) from Sonoma State University, and an M.A. in art history and diploma in conservation (2005) from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. He recently completed a fellowship in the Advanced Residency Program in Photograph Conservation, where his research focused on the deterioration of gelatin silver prints and the history of additive color photography. He came to IPI to work on the Digital Sample Book website, currently in development.
Email: gmwipi@rit.edu

Edward Zinn obtained his M.F.A. degree in Museum Studies at the Rochester Institute of Technology. He is an avid collector of historic photographic materials, particularly daguerreotypes. His work at IPI has included the design and operation of the pollution lab and light-fading lab. More recently, his work has focused on developing, field-testing, and providing technical support for the PEM® and Climate Notebook® software.
Email: edzpph@rit.edu