Swiss Heritage Science Network Meeting 2026

What you can expect
Welcome + short introduction (10–15 min) 
~6–8 contributed oral presentations (15 min each)*
Poster session (PhD/Postdoc) during lunch break (2 hours)*
Laboratory visits in the afternoon 

* Upload your abstract during the registration process. Download the abstract template.

The scientific contributions presented during the meeting will be eligible for publication in a dedicated CHIMIA special issue, providing a panorama of current activities and developments in the field within the Swiss Heritage Science Network.

Registration Fees
Since it is conceived as a community-building event, participation is free of charge, especially to encourage attendance of PhD students and early-career researchers.
However, registration is mandatory via the button below.

Registration includes a vegetarian lunch; if you have severe allergies, you are welcome to bring your own lunch.

Scientific committee 
Laura Hendriks, Edith Joseph, Laura Brambilla, Chiara Croci

Program

09:30   Coffee welcome
                 Session chair: Laura Brambilla, Haute Ecole Arc Conservation-restauration

10:00   "Updates about Swiss Heritage sciences consortium"
                 Laura Hendriks, HEIA-FR School of Engineering and Architecture of Fribourg

10:20   "It’s All About the Surface: Case Studies on What We Learn Through Analytical Observation"
                 Nadim Scherrer, Hochschule der Künste Bern

10:40   "MIXE at PSI for Non-destructive Elemental Analysis of Cultural Heritage: From Depth Profiling to 3D Tomography"
                 Xiao Zhao, Paul Scherrer Institute

11:00   "Forensic Investigations of Art and Artefact Forgeries at the Zurich Forensic Science Institute"
                 Simon Wyss, Zurich Forensic Science Institute

11:20   “Forgotten Colors: Tracing the Origin of Mineral and Artificial Early Medieval Pigments in Raetia Curiensis" (TBC)
                 Chiara d’Erme, SUPSI Scuola universitaria professionale della Svizzera italiana

11:40   "In Search of a Lost Mosaic. Preliminary results of a multispectral analysis carried out to reveal the original aspect of the church of Santi Nereo e Achilleo, Rome"
                 Chiara Croci, HE-Arc CR Haute Ecole Arc Conservation-restauration

12:00   Lunch – Please confirm by May 22; otherwise, lunch cannot be guaranteed (and may not be covered).

13:00   Poster session - contributions from PhD students and postdocs.

14:00   3-minutes pitches: “last call” for potential contributions to the CHIMIA special issue on Heritage Sciences (open slot for participants not yet officially involved).

                 If you are interested in contributing, please make yourself known in advance, so we can get an idea of how many short pitches will be scheduled.

                 Next steps from the guest editors (Laura Hendriks, Edith Joseph). Wrap-up and announcement of the next edition in 2028

14:45   Guided tour of HE-Arc CR facilities, in small groups.