Rocco Mazzeo is currently Full professor of chemistry for cultural heritage at the University of Bologna where he also heads the Microchemistry and Microscopy Art Diagnostic Laboratory (M2ADL) at the Chemistry Department of the same University. He is also the founder of the international Master degree course (LM) in Science for the conservation-restoration of cultural heritage completely taught in English language.
As a chemist he has devoted his entire career to science for conservation training and research at both national and international level, first as an employer of the Italian Ministry of cultural heritage (1981-1998) and then at ICCROM as responsible for the science for conservation programme (1998-2002).
Among the many national and international project he has been coordinating it is worth mentioning the establishment in 1998 of the Xi’an Centre for the Restoration of Cultural Relics in China (1995-1998), the UNESCO research study on the north Korean Koguryo dynasty (37 B.C – 668 A.D) mural paintings (2003-2006, and 2017), the coordination of the CURRIC project aimed at developing curricula for post-graduate education in science for conservation (2000-2003) and the first European PhD in Science for conservation (EPISCON project) funded by the Marie-Curie VI Framework Programme (2005-2009).
He is currently work package leader of the education and training activities within the European H2020 Integrated platform for the European research infrastructure on cultural heritage project (INFRAIA IPERION-CH) and Chair of the European Association for Chemical and Molecular Sciences Working Party on Chemistry for cultural heritage (EuCheMS).
He is author of more than 200 scientific papers on books, journals, and conference proceedings.In 2016 he has co-authored a book on “Chemistry for cultural heritage. Painting and restoration materials.” and in 2017 edited a book on Analytical chemistry for cultural heritage, Springer.
His main research interest and expertise deal with the application of different advanced analytical techniques, and FTIR and Raman molecular spectroscopy in particular, to the study of painted artworks and archaeological and artistic metal alloys.
