Alexandra Ratzlaff
Every month, we interview a faculty member for our undergraduate newsletter. In February 2022, we spoke to Alexandra Ratzlaff, Assistant Professor of Classical Studies.
Can you tell us about your academic background and your journey to Brandeis?
Academically I have always had a focus on archaeology. I first attended the George Washington University in Washington, D.C., for my bachelor's degrees in archaeology and classical studies and a minor in anthropology. My experience at GWU also included an invaluable internship of several years at the National Museum of Natural History, where I was first exposed to the archaeology of the ancient Near East. I then continued my studies at Boston University in the Department of Archaeology, where I received my PhD in classical and Near Eastern archaeology.
I followed my PhD at Boston University with a two-year Fulbright Post-doctoral fellowship in Israel to conduct research at the University of Haifa, then another year there with a Presidential Fellowship to continue my work on Roman and Byzantine ceramics found in underwater and coastal deposits. This research led to a National Endowment for the Humanities postdoctoral fellowship at the Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem. After four years working abroad, I was asked by a colleague while on my archaeological dig at Tel Kabri if I was interested in coming back to the Boston area where there was an opportunity to teach a class at Brandeis. At the same time, I took advantage of an opportunity to teach a course at Boston University giving me two great reasons to move back to Boston. After my first semester at Brandeis, teaching one class turned into two, then the more permanent position that I currently hold as an Assistant Professor of Classical Archaeology and Digital Humanities.
Can you tell us a bit about your work with CLARC?
CLARC, or the Classical Studies Artifact Research Collection, was founded by my predecessor Professor Ann Olga Koloski-Ostrow as a study collection for undergraduate students. The collection is composed of around 800 artifacts (ceramics, metal, stone, and glass, among other materials) ranging from primarily the Bronze Age to the Medieval period in the Eastern Mediterranean, with a few outliers from other sites and periods. Each year we have several undergraduate students and one graduate student lead CLARC projects. As director of CLARC, my focus has been in three areas: conservation, curation, and innovation. Our interns and other student volunteers work on re-housing artifacts in protective, composition-friendly materials to protect them from further degradation. This process also includes researching the artifacts, adding new information to our digital database of objects, and taking high-quality photos and 3D models to add to their profile.
As part of our curation efforts, students develop projects based on a theme they are interested in, or a research question they want to further explore. They select a group of artifacts to work with, research them in the context of their project and sometimes conduct scientific analysis such as FTIR or petrography, as well as digitally image the artifact through methods such as photogrammetry or structured light scanning. Their project is set up as a museum display in an exhibit case in the library as well as integrated into our new "Virtual CLARC" a virtual reality museum of our artifacts and student research. The last aspect of our goals in CLARC is innovation, where students explore new techniques in how we use and display artifacts, in addition to how we can disseminate information about archaeology and the world of antiquity to a broad audience in an accessible way.
How have you collaborated with the Maker Lab?
Shortly after joining the Brandeis community, I was approached by Autodesk to lead a Brandeis team at their Boston Technology Center. From this interest, I began a collaboration with the Brandeis library’s Department of Research Technology and Innovation, which includes the Maker Lab, Digital Scholarship Lab, and Robotics Lab – all of whose directors are now key members of the Brandeis Techne Group. Our research team is aimed at developing new equipment and methodologies in digital imaging used in archaeology and other applications. Our projects include the creation of the SCAPP, a Single-Camera Automated Photogrammetry Platform, new methods for artifact imaging that are low cost and yield high-end results, 3D printing of artifacts for use in the classroom, and learning experiences, and more recently experimenting with robots for archaeological field survey imaging.
Through the Techne Group, we work directly with CLARC and students interested in digital imaging applications. We are fortunate to be based at the Autodesk Technology Center where we can immensely expand our resources for equipment fabrication, as well as our access to other technologies. Our team also includes undergraduate and graduate members to allow for student input and provide them with a hands-on experience.
What excites you about working with Brandeis students?
Through my experiences in the classroom, in CLARC, Techne Group, and with students who join me on archaeological excavations, Brandeis students have proven to be innovative and motivated thinkers. I have had amazing experiences with students in which I have learned a great deal from their creative approaches to projects and problem-solving. I am always interested to see how students will bring together their own diverse experiences and backgrounds to further the goal at hand.