Volume 25, Number 5
Feb 2002

Glen R. Cass — A Tribute

Reprinted with permission from Conservation, the GCI Newsletter, v.16, #3, 2001

Professor Glen R. Cass––whose contributions to our understanding of the indoor concentration of air pollutants in museums and archives were seminal to preventive conservation science––passed away from cancer in July 2001 in North Carolina. He was 54.

Cass was a respected and prolific research collaborator of the Getty Conservation Institute. His interests spanned a wide range of related topics in environmental engineering, and he had more than 200 published articles, conference proceedings, book chapters, and technical reports to his credit.

Cass did extensive research for the GCI, including studies to determine which artists' colorants are subject to fading by gaseous pollutants like ozone. He also conducted many studies on air pollutant intrusion into historic sites and into museums and other facilities that house artwork.

Cass was a member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's advisory committee on Ozone, Particulate Matter, and Regional Haze Implementation Programs, and he formerly served on the EPA's Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee. He also served on advisory panels for the National Research Council, the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, the Center on Environmental Health Sciences at MIT, the Universities Corporation for Atmospheric Research, and the South Coast Air Quality Management District.