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Research Professor (organic chemistry, archeological chemistry) |
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Curt W. Beck taught organic chemistry at Vassar from 1957 to 1993 and chaired the Department of Chemistry 1963-66, 1969-71, and 1991-92. He continues research with students in organic archaeological chemistry, including the provenience analysis of prehistoric amber artifacts, the analysis of tar and pitch from ancient Mediterranean shipwrecks, and the identification of food and wine residues in Minoan and Mycenaean pottery, using infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry, and gas chromatography — mass spectrometry. His work has been supported by 23 research grants (ten from the National Science Foundation) and has led to the publication of three books and over 150 papers, many with undergraduate student co-authors. Mr. Beck has served as editor of Chemical Abstracts, Art and Archaeology Technical Abstracts, the Journal of Archaeological Sciences, and the Journal of Field Archaeology. He chairs the Committee on the Study of Amber of the Union Internationale des Sciences Préhistoriques et Protohistoriques. Among his honors are the Research Award of the Mid-Hudson Section of the American Chemical Society and the Pomerance Award of the Archaeological Institute of America for scientific contributions to archaeology. He has been elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (Great Britain). |
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