nologies, researchers focused on the technology of Far Eastern 

 ceramic glazes. 



In the biogeochemistry program, CAL researchers study ar- 

 chaeological and paleological organic materials to extract and 

 identify biomolecular information, including markers for 

 dietary habits, disease patterns, and genetic relationships. 

 Work continued on a number of projects, including the study 

 of preservation of biomolecular information in archaeological 

 and paleological skeletal material. 



In the research on preservation of natural history 

 specimens, work centered around specimens stored in liquid 

 preservatives. The influence of formalin fixing on the recovery 

 of DNA from such museum specimens is now better under- 

 stood, and protocols for such specimens, especially successful 

 for those that have been preserved using alcohol only, have 

 been developed. Several museum collections preserved using 

 different protocols have been sampled for a statistical evalua- 

 tion of recovery potentials. Meanwhile a new project was started 

 in which the preservation of light-element isotopic information, 

 essential in such studies as ecological stressed systems, in her- 

 barium specimens is evaluated. 



CAL's education programs address the needs a wide variety 

 of constituencies, ranging from professional training for con- 

 servators and other museum professionals to outreach and in- 

 formation programs for high school and college students and 

 the general public. The Furniture Conservation Training Pro- 

 gram (FCTP) continued the training of the class of 2000. 

 However, programmatic evaluation has led to a decision to 

 reformat the program after the graduation of the present class, 

 to address the needs of a wider audience. In the archaeological 

 conservation training program, two conservators, recently 

 graduated from one of the graduate school training programs, 

 completed one-year fellowships during which they received 

 practical training and field experience at two different 

 archaeological sites in the Near East and Central America, 

 as well as laboratory experience at CAL. RELACT, the 

 training program for managers of paper-based archival 

 research collections, organized several workshops/seminars 

 for a large audience of Smithsonian staff and coordinated 

 demonstration projects within various Institutional 

 research collections. 



"The Preservation of Imageries; Hispanic American 

 Religious Images on Wood" was a workshop organized by 

 CAL that attracted a large and wide-ranging audience, in- 

 cluding curators, conservators, collectors, and artists. The 

 enormous success of this workshop, which addressed specific 

 preservation needs connected with a continuing cultural tradi- 

 tion of Hispanic Americans, led to plans for follow-up events 

 outside Washington, including the Southwest and Puerto 

 Rico. 



In the collaborative program with the Suitland High 

 School, a local magnet school for the arts, CAL staff continued 

 to develop and test materials for eventual inclusion in a high 

 school curriculum for an interdisciplinary arts and science 

 course (Science Teaching Art Teaching Science). 



In the technical information program, CAL continued to 

 provide technical advice and expertise on preservation-related 

 subjects in answer to questions received from museum profes- 

 sionals as well as the general public. An important 

 mechanism for educating the general public in preservation is- 

 sues is provided with the "Guidelines" that, intended for dis- 

 tribution to a wide audience, provide background information 

 and tips on the care and maintenance of a variety of collec- 

 tibles. In this respect, CAL's regularly updated Internet web 

 page also continues to serve an essential role. 



Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute 



Ira Rubinoff. Director 



During FY 97, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute 

 (STRI) based in the Republic of Panama, continued its efforts 

 to increase our understanding of tropical nature and peoples 

 and to communicate this knowledge internationally. To carry 

 out its mission, STRI operates tropical forest and marine field 

 stations, well-equipped labotatories, a research vessel, and a 

 major tropical sciences library. These facilities support the 

 work of 35 staff scientists and hundreds of visiting researchers 

 and students that in FY 97 came from around the world. 

 STRI also reached out to various audiences this year through 

 its educational and public programs. 



STRI's new Center for Tropical Paleoecology and Archaeology 

 (CTPA) was officially dedicated on January 30 by Panamanian 

 Minister of Foreign Relations Ricardo Arias and SI Provost 

 Dennis O'Connor. A renovated 1919 building that originally 

 housed all of STRI, this facility brought together researchers 

 studying tropical environments and climate, as early as 20 

 million years ago, and including the advent of human coloni- 

 zation of the New World tropics. At this event, Provost 

 O'Connor presented STRI senior scientist Jeremy B.C. 

 Jackson, CTPA director, with the Secretary's Exceptional 

 Service Gold Medal for his scientific accomplishments at the 

 Smithsonian. 



During the month of January, STRI hosted rwo courses at 

 its Gamboa Education Facility. Thirty students from Prince- 

 ton University participated in a tropical ecology three -week 

 course that included lectures and field trips led by members 

 of the STRI staff. Thirty participants from Panama and other 

 countries in Central America took part in a course that 

 focused on environmental monitoring techniques and was con- 

 ducted as part of Si's Man and the Biosphere Program. The 

 course was sponsored by STRI's Office of External Affairs in 

 collaboration with Panama's Natural Resources Institute and 

 the Fundacion NATURA. 



Specialists gathered at STRI's Earl S. Tupper Research and 

 Conference Center for various scientific conferences on topics 

 related to the Institute's areas of expertise. From March 10 



68 



