Cologne welcomes the 12th MaSC workshop and meeting

The Users’ Group for Mass Spectrometry and Chromatography (MaSC) was established in March 2003 as a forum for heritage scientists to exchange information and ideas relating to issues such as strategies for sampling, sample treatment, approaches to analysis, data treatment and interpretation. The members meet biennially in events that combine a conference and practical workshops. From 21. – 25. September 2026 seventy experts from twelve countries participated in the 12th MaSC Workshop and Meeting organised by CICS / TH-Köln and German Mining Museum Bochum (DBM).

The week started with a two-day workshop on the topic of EGA/MS and Py-GC/MS analysis of elastomers and chlorinated thermoplastics. It provided hands on training and insights at the laboratories in Cologne and Bochum under the instruction of Nathalie Balcar (C2RMF), Eléonora Pellizzi (Bibliothèque nationale de France), Caroline Bouvier (Bibliothèque nationale de France), Michael Soll (Frontier Lab), Elena Gomez Sanchez (DBM) and Ester S. B. Ferreira (CICS / TH-Köln).

Hosted at the VHS Forum of the Stadt Köln with the support of the Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum, the MaSC meeting included oral and poster presentations covering topics ranging from methodology, VOCs, natural materials and synthetic polymers. Many thanks to Matthias Hochgürtel (Vice-President for Research and Knowledge Transfer at TH Köln) and Oliver Lued (Head of the Scientific Department at Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum) for their insightful opening words.

From 2026 MaSC is assuming stewardship of ESCAPE (Expert System for Characterization using AMDIS Plus Excel), an interpretation toolset created and developed in the context of the Getty Conservation Institute’s research on Asian and European lacquers. As part of this year's conference, participants had the opportunity to take part in a dedicated workshop, gaining hands-on experience with AMDIS and the Natural ESCAPE template for characterizing traditional artists’ materials. We are thankful to all the instructors Michael Schilling (Getty Conservation Institute), Henk van Keulen (Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands), Jennifer Poulin (Canadian Conservation Institute), Nathalie Balcar (C2RMF) and Saskia Smulders (Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands).

Local Organising Committee:
Ester S.B. Ferreira, Elena Gomez Sanchez, Charlotte Hoffmann, Emma Helfrich, Corinna Mally, Johanna Skrotzki and Hannah Krumm.

MaSC Committee:
Ester S.B. Ferreira (TH Köln), Ilaria Bonaduce (University of Pisa), Catherine Higgit (National Gallery London), Chris Maines (National Gallery of Art Washington), Jennifer Poulin (Canadian Conservation Institute), David Peggie (National Gallery London), Ken Sutherland (Art Institute of Chicago)