The Netherlands Institute for Conservation+Art+Science+ (NICAS) is a multidisciplinary research institute. It was initiated by the Rijksmuseum, the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands, the University of Amsterdam and the Delft University of Technology in close cooperation with the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). The main hub of NICAS is the Ateliergebouw in Amsterdam. NICAS brings together the disciplines of art history, conservation, the natural sciences (chemistry and physics) and data science (computer science and mathematics). NICAS seeks to integrate these disciplines in a lasting framework that is geared towards solving cultural heritage research problems, resulting in a research community that operates across and beyond disciplinary boundaries. The main research themes concern the origins of the cultural heritage objects, the changes of these objects over time, and the expected changes in the future. NICAS strives for a thorough understanding of cultural heritage objects that will lead to a better presentation to the public of the objects and an optimal preservation strategy to safeguard the objects for future generations.
