​Dr. W. Christian Petersen (Chris) has been appointed as affiliated associate professor in the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation effective September 1. 2010. Chris holds a BA from DePauw University and a PhD from Northwestern University. While employed by DuPont from 1969-1999 he gained experience in diverse areas of organic chemistry ranging from basic/discovery research to process development and scale-up. Chris has been a wonderful "volunteer" in the Scientific Research and Analysis Laboratory (SRAL) at the Winterthur Museum for the past 10 years and specializes in the analysis of organic materials in works or art using GC-MS. His activities include teaching and mentoring our undergraduate and graduate students and assisting our faculty with research projects. Described by our students as “awesome,” Chris is helpful, innovative, thoughtful, and enthusiastic. One of Chris’s many assets is his ability to clearly identify fundamental material science and chemical principles associated with the many varied chemical components found on objects of art no matter how unusual.