Biography

Elizabeth Salmon was born and raised in San Diego, California. She earned her BA in 2014 from Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY, where she studied anthropology and Asian studies. She was subsequently named a Critical Language Scholar by the U. S. Department of State, which allowed her to study Hindi in Jaipur, Rajasthan (India). She has since been involved with conservation projects that strive to preserve the material culture of India and strengthen an intercontinental dialogue that benefits conservation practices. In India, she has worked at the Leon Levy Foundation Centre for Conservation in Nagaur, and the Mehrangarh Museum in Jodhpur, both in Rajasthan. Later, as a Language Fellow at the American Institute of Indian Studies in Jaipur, Elizabeth studied the care of regional collections in order to understand the research needs of local conservators. With further support from the Critical Language Scholarship, she organized an event at the San Diego Museum of Art to promote conservation of works of art from India and to share her passion with her home community. Most recently, Elizabeth worked as a Research Associate at the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training, where she aimed to develop a response protocol for cultural sites threatened by their proximity to crude oil transportation routes. In her doctoral research she plans to look at traditional ecological knowledge and draw on her work in India to develop preventive care measures that are accessible, sustainable, and culturally relevant.