research guide - UTEP Magazine - University of Texas at El Paso

Catching Rays
Light filter protects masterpieces
It’s a Catch-22 for museums: drawings,
watercolors and other delicate masterpieces
often must be kept hidden away in dark storage
rooms, because displaying them would expose
them to damage from light.
But UTEP Chemistry Professor Carl W.
Dirk, Ph.D., believes he’s found a way to free
the precious works from their gloomy museum
cells.
Dirk has invented a light filter that removes
a significant amount of damaging light, without
leaving patrons in the dark.
“We can actually slice out parts of the visible
light spectrum that you don’t need to see
the object,” Dirk says.
The invention has drawn the interest of the
Getty Conservation Institute, which is partnering
with Dirk and the Georgia O’Keefe Museum in
Santa Fe, N.M., to create a special set of filters
for a display of O’Keefe’s art.
Dirk’s research also was highlighted at the
California Science Center in Los Angeles in an
exhibit titled FADE: The Dark Side of Light.
“It is a special privilege for academic scientists
to work on projects like this. Developing a
practical solution for this lighting problem has
been a high point for my career,” says Dirk.
Carl W. Dirk, Ph.D.
“Scientists usually work on
abstract things. This is rewarding
because people can understand it
and appreciate it.”
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