Research at the center has focused on many areas of concern in painting and paper conservation, including developing better varnishes, monitoring the fading of objects, bleaching of acrylic dispersion films, intervention and prevention of paper degradation, and developing ways to accelerate and monitor the oxidation process.  Above all else, the focus of the center’s research is to answer the questions “why is the material deteriorating” and “how can the objects best be treated to prevent further degradation.”  The ultimate desire is to disseminate this information to museums and libraries so that results from laboratory samples can be implemented on cultural artifacts.