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Westminster College to Host Egyptology Expert

Posted on Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Dr. Jonathan Elias, director of the Akhmim Mummy Studies Consortium, will speak at Westminster College Friday, Feb. 8, at 12:35 p.m. in the Sebastian Mueller Theater in McKelvey Campus Center.

His presentation is sponsored by Westminster's Career Center and will cover a number of career topics, including: museum exhibition programs; exhibition design; museum research; forensic analysis; mummies, science, and the public; aspects of forensic facial reconstruction; technology in museum work; collaborative research and exhibit development.

Elias completed his master's and Ph.D. in anthropology at the University of Chicago. For more than 15 years, he has advised museums and other cultural organizations on the interpretation of their collections, and how to use them to inspire and educate their audiences.

Since 2001, he has directed a forensic research project on Egyptian mummies. He specializes in exhibit development based on CT scans of mummies in the United States, Europe, and Egypt.

Elias worked closely with Dr. Sam Farmerie, Westminster curator of cultural artifacts, on the College's 2,300-year-old mummy, Pesed. Through tests such as radio-carbon dating, CT scans, and x-rays, artists were able to create a forensic reconstruction of her face. Pesed is currently on display, along with her bust and a number of other artifacts, at the J.S. Mack Science Library in Westminster's Hoyt Science Resources Center. Visit www.westminster.edu/mummy for more information.

Elias has developed exhibit elements and research content for the Milwaukee Public Museum; the Kalamazoo Valley Museum; the Smithsonian Associates; the Buffalo Museum of Science; the Whitaker Center in Harrisburg; the College of Wooster (Ohio); and the Reading Public Museum.

The presentation is free and open to the public.

Contact Jackie Meade, director of Westminster's Career Center, at (724) 946-7343 or e-mail meadelb@westminster.edu for additional information. 

Pesed, Dr. Farmerie, Dr. Elias