Julia Brand

Laser Cleaning of Heritage Materials

I am a laser cleaning research fellow in the Science Section, Collections Care and Access Department. I am undertaking scientific research in the laser cleaning of museum objects, in close collaboration with the scientists and conservators in the various studios. My role is to assess the effects of the Er:YAG laser on a range of heritage materials and identify situations where lasers offer an effective cleaning method. I will also provide training to the conservators with the aim of implementing laser cleaning in routine treatments within the department. 

Selected publications

Brand, J., Maximova, K., Madden, S., Wain, A., Rode, A. V., and Rapp, L., ‘Femtosecond pulse laser cleaning of Makrana marble’, Applied Surface Science, vol. 641, 2023.

Brand, J., Wain, A., Rode, A. V., Madden, S., and Rapp, L., ‘Towards safe and effective femtosecond laser cleaning for the preservation of historic monuments’, Applied Physics A, vol. 129, no. 4, 2023.

Brand, J., Wain, A. V., Rode, A., Madden, S., King, P.L., Mohan, M., Kaluarachchi, W., Ratnayake, J. and Rapp, L., ‘Femtosecond pulse laser cleaning of biofilm and dirt: preserving the Sydney Harbour Bridge’, Journal of Cultural Heritage, vol. 60, March – April 2023, pp. 86–94.

Brand, J., Wain, A., Rode, A. V., Madden, S., King, P. L., and Rapp, L., ‘Femtosecond pulse laser cleaning of spray paint from heritage stone surfaces’, Optics Express, vol. 30 (17), 2022, pp. 31122–31135.

Brand, J., Rode, A. V., Madden, S., Wain, A., King, P. L., and Rapp, L., ‘Ultrashort pulsed laser ablation of granite for stone conservation’, Optics & Laser Technology, vol. 151, July 2022.