Nieves Valentin, an ICCROM council member since 2013, has been awarded the Spanish National Prize for Restoration and Conservation of Cultural Heritage 2015, granted by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport.
The jury stressed her significant contribution to the management of cultural heritage through innovative protocols in the field of preventive conservation and pest control, as well as for her innovative, affordable and sustainable solutions. Nieves Valentin developed a non-toxic treatment for controlling deterioration in museum and document collections, which has since been adopted by many institutions around the globe.
Nieves, who holds a PhD in Biological Sciences, was responsible for creating the first Spanish Laboratory on Biodeterioration Analysis in addition to the Microfilming bibliographic heritage laboratory. She has worked in both national and international research organizations on the conservation of organic collections and in the development of non-toxic methods for people, historic objects and the environment. Currently, she is involved in research projects related to air quality control and the use of natural plant extracts for biodeterioration control as a contribution to green museums.
She also teaches graduate level courses in several universities and institutions in Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa.
ICCROM wishes to congratulate her for this prestigious award.