Özge Gençay Üstün

Having joined the team in 2013, Ozge Gencay Ustun is the Senior Conservator for the Alalakh excavations. Her work involves taking appropriate samples for various analyses procedures, testing appropriate adhesives for ceramics preservation in the climate of Hatay, and standardization of these two procedures for the site. Her interest lies in reflectance transformation imaging of seals to minimize handling of these artifacts and making the seals widely accessible to researchers who cannot visit and research them in person. In addition, the recent discoveries of copper-alloy pins with preserved woven cellulose fibers and wall painting fragments with various pigments got her interested in researching these materials and their manufacturing techniques using polarized light microscopy, FTIR, and SEM.