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The Institute of Fine Arts Faculty

 
Photo by Martin Stollenwerk (SIK-ISEA)

francesco.caruso@nyu.edu

Francesco Caruso

Associate Professor of Conservation Science

Master’s (2005), PhD (2011), and teaching degrees (2015) in Chemistry, University of Palermo (Italy).

I am an analytical chemist with broad experience in the field of conservation science. During my PhD, I completed research internships at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London (2009) and at the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK-IRPA) in Brussels as an Erasmus LLP fellow (2010). From 2011 to 2016, I was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at ETH Zurich under the mentorship of Prof. Robert J. Flatt. I then served as Associate Professor (tenured) of Conservation/Conservation Science at the University of Oslo (2016–2019), and later as Head of Analytics at the Swiss Institute for Art Research (SIK-ISEA) in Zurich (2019–2023). Between 2022 and 2024, I held a María Zambrano Fellowship at the University of the Basque Country, funded through a competitive program for attracting international talent. In the first half of 2025, I worked as an R&D researcher at the biomedical engineering company i+Med in Vitoria-Gasteiz (Spain).

My position as Associate Professor of Conservation Science at the Conservation Center of the Institute of Fine Arts offers me a unique opportunity to pursue my passion for conservation science. I see the conservation scientist as a proactive bridge between the humanities and the natural sciences. To me, conservation science is the most fascinating and distinctive branch of materials science—one that requires both scientific rigor and cultural sensitivity.

At IFA, my research will continue focusing on the chemical and physical interactions between heritage and conservation materials and their environments, both indoor and outdoor. I aim to expand the use of advanced statistical methods (such as chemometrics and design of experiments) to ensure robust, reliable, and reproducible studies. Collaboration is central to my approach, and I plan to involve colleagues in the NYC area (and further) on interdisciplinary projects.

Teaching has been an integral part of my career from the very beginning. My teaching philosophy is rooted in inclusivity and active engagement: I treat students as junior colleagues, encouraging critical thinking, creativity, and the co-creation of knowledge.

Having lived in six countries—Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, the UK, Norway, and Spain—and traveled widely for research, I value collaboration in multicultural and multilingual environments. I believe that NYU’s international community offers extraordinary opportunities for tackling complex questions from fresh perspectives.

Selected publications

Articles

  • C. Adsuar Fuster, F. Caruso, O. Gómez-Laserna, M. Romani, R.J. Barrio, J.M. Vergès, V. Forgia, M. Maguregui, A. Vallejo, “Analytical Study of Lanolin as Potential Biomarker of Prehistoric Sheep-Shearing Practice”. Chemistry–Methods XXX (2025) e202400093. DOI: 10.1002/cmtd.202400093
  • I.F. Apneseth, M. Maguregui, A. Vichi, F. Caruso, “A non-invasive study of the effect of three commercial cleaning products on shellac-coated mahogany”, Materials Letters 337 (2023) 133963. DOI: 10.1016/j.matlet.2023.133963
  • S. Garrappa, T. Frøysaker, N.L.W. Streeton, D. Hradil, E. Platania, K. Beltinger, F. Caruso, “Micro-spectroscopic study of late 19th-early 20th century tube paints”, Spectrochimica Acta A 279 (2022) 121414. DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2022.121414
  • A. Kostomitsopoulou Marketou, F. Giannici, S. Handberg, W. de Nolf, M. Cotte, F. Caruso, “Synchrotron radiation-based micro XANES and micro XRF study of unsuccessfully produced Egyptian Blue from the late Hellenistic production site of Kos (Dodecanese, Greece)”, Analytical Chemistry 93 (2021) 11557-11567. DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.1c02063
  • S. Pérez-Diez, L.J. Fernández-Menéndez, H. Morillas, A. Martellone, B. De Nigris, M. Osanna, N. Bordel, F. Caruso, J.M. Madariaga, M. Maguregui, “Elucidation of the Chemical Role of the Pyroclastic Materials on the State of Conservation of Mural Paintings from Pompeii”, Angewandte Chemie 133(6) (2021) 3065-3073. DOI: 10.1002/anie.202010497
  • Y. Praticò, F. Caruso, J. Delgado Rodrigues, F. Girardet, E. Sassoni, G.W. Scherer, V. Vèrges-Belmin, N.R. Weiss, G. Wheeler, R.J. Flatt, “Stone consolidation: a critical discussion of theoretical insights and field practice”, RILEM Technical Letters 4 (2019) 145-153. DOI: 10.21809/rilemtechlett.2019.101
  • T. Ford, A. Rizzo, E. Hendriks, T. Frøysaker, F. Caruso, “A Non-Invasive Screening Study of Varnishes Applied to Three Paintings by Edvard Munch using Portable Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform Spectroscopy (DRIFTS)”, Heritage Science 7 (2019) 84. DOI: 10.1186/s40494-019-0327-1.
  • F. Caruso, S. Mantellato, N.L.W. Streeton, T. Frøysaker, “Unveiling Harriet Backer: ICP-OES study for the characterisation of the colour tubes from her original paint box”, Heritage Science 7 (2019) 1-23. DOI: 10.1186/s40494-018-0244-8.
  • R.J. Flatt, F. Caruso, A.M. Aguilar Sanchez, G.W. Scherer, “Chemomechanics of salt damage in stone”, Nature Communications 5:4823 (2014). DOI: 10.1038/ncomms5823
  • F. Caruso, D.F. Chillura Martino, S. Saverwyns, M. Van Bos, L. Burgio, C. Di Stefano, G. Peschke, E. Caponetti “Micro-analytical identification of the components of varnishes from South Italian historical musical instruments by PLM, ESEM-EDX, microFTIR, GC-MS, and Py-GC-MS”, Microchemical Journal 116 (2014) 31-40. DOI: 10.1016/j.microc.2014.04.002

Proceedings and book chapters

  • N.L.W. Streeton, F. Caruso, C.C. Steindal, T. Frøysaker, E. Platania, M. Maguregui, “Revealing Saint Anne with the Virgin and Child: Decoding Damage Via Non-invasive Scientific Investigations”. In “Sacred Medieval Objects and Their Afterlives in Scandinavia”. 2024. Editors: N.L.W. Streeton, T. Frøysaker, P. Bjerregaard. ISBN: 978-90-04-71203-4. Pp. 163-198. doi: 10.1163/9789004712034_007.
  • K. Beltinger, S. Meyer, S. Vuillemenot, F. Caruso, A. Vichi, “Kunsttechnologische Beobachtungen zu den Gemälden von Augusto Giacometti”. In “Augusto Giacometti. Catalogue raisonné der Gemälde, Wandgemälde, Mosaike und Glasgemälde”. 2023. Editors: M. Egli, D. Frey, B. Stutzer. ISBN: 978-3-03942-175-6. Pp. 121-143.
  • L. Porsmo Stoveland, B. Ormsby, M. Stols-Witlox, T. Frøysaker, F. Caruso, “Designing Paint Mock-Ups for a Study of Novel Surface Cleaning Techniques for Munch’s Unvarnished Aula Paintings”. In “Conservation of Modern Oil Paintings”. 2019. Editors: K.J. van den Berg, I. Bonaduce, A. Burnstock, B. Ormsby, M. Scharff, L. Carlyle, G. Heydenreich, K. Keune. ISBN: 978-3-030-19254-9. Pp. 553-563. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-19254-9_41.
  • Y. Praticò, F. Caruso, T. Wangler, R.J. Flatt, “Statistical analysis at the service of conservation science: DoE for the optimisation of stone consolidation procedures”. In “Science and Art: A Future for Stone: Proceedings of the 13th International Congress on the Deterioration and Conservation of Stone - Volume II”. University of the West of Scotland. Paisley (United Kingdom), 6-10 September 2016. Editors: J.J. Hughes, T. Howind. ISBN 978-1-903978-56-6. Pp. 923-930.
  • F. Caruso, R.J. Flatt, “Further steps towards the solution of Correns’ dilemma”. Proceedings of SWBSS 2014 – Third International Conference on Salt Weathering of Buildings and Stone Sculptures. Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK-IRPA). Brussels (Belgium), 14–16 October 2014. Editor: H. De Clercq. ISBN 978-2-930054-24-7. Pp. 199-209.