2023

Speakers

Katharyn Hanson

Smithsonian Secretary’s Scholar and the Head of Research at the Smithsonian’s Cultural Rescue Initiative (SCRI)

Katharyn Hanson, Ph.D., is an archaeologist specializing in the protection of cultural heritage. Hanson is a Smithsonian Secretary’s Scholar and the Head of Research at the Smithsonian’s Cultural Rescue Initiative (SCRI). She leads SCRI’s work on the Conflict Observatory and research group on damage to cultural heritage in Ukraine. She received her doctorate from the University of Chicago with a dissertation titled “Considerations of Cultural Heritage: Threats to Mesopotamian Archaeological Sites.” She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Bryn Mawr College and Master of Arts degree from the University of Chicago. Previously, she held a visiting research position with the Geospatial Technologies Team at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Pennsylvania Museum and Museum Conservation Institute. She directs archaeological site preservation training at the Iraqi Institute for the Conservation of Antiquities and Heritage in Erbil, Iraq, and serves on the Board of The Academic Research Institute in Iraq. She has been involved in various archaeological fieldwork projects for over 25 years and has curated museum exhibits and published on damage to ancient sites. Her research combines field archaeology, remote sensing, and cultural heritage protection methodology and policy with on-the-ground action to protect culture.