CALL FOR PRESENTATION ABSTRACTS

The Association of Preservation Technology Northeast Chapter (APTNE) invites the submission of abstracts for consideration for presentation at the upcoming 2027 APTNE Annual Meeting & Symposium, to be held on Friday, March 5, 2027, with an in-person event in Mystic, CT, as well as a virtual program.  The overarching theme of the 2027 APTNE Annual Meeting & Symposium is preservation of community, craft, and structures along the waterfront, and will feature presentations from professionals, emerging professionals, and local students.

Throughout history, water access and navigation have been essential for the development of civilization allowing for the growth and prosperity of settlements. In the Northeast, protected harbors, navigable rivers, and teeming lakes helped spur the growth of the early colonies, provided ideal locations for strategic naval and military installations, and eventually facilitated the Industrial Revolution in America. Along these waterfronts diverse industries and infrastructure emerged and were shaped by the workers and community whose labor and traditions sustained the waterfront economy. As industries evolved and populations changed, these once dominant maritime towns and cities became less reliant on the waterfronts that once drove their economies. Urban renewal projects frequently took advantage of this decline by constructing new transportation corridors along waterways, cutting off waterfront access to both residents and commercial interests. From abandoned factories and mills to inactive canals and shipyards, these sites which were once considered evidence of industrial blight and outdated technology are finding new uses as stakeholders seek to reintegrate thriving waterfronts into their communities and restore public access to the water as a shared cultural resource.
 
Presentations must be tied to one of the following tracks:

Diverse Waterfront Structures: Preserving and adapting industrial, commercial, regulatory, and recreational waterfront structures to address evolving technologies, climate conditions, and ongoing water intrusion while maintaining essential functions and heritage, as well as driving tourism. 

• Assessment, Repair, & Resilience: Strategies for evaluating, repairing, and sustaining historic waterfront sites and materials, addressing corrosion, moisture, flooding, storms, and long-term durability in coastal environments. 
• Seafaring Craft: Traditional and contemporary techniques for creating and maintaining boats, woodwork, metalwork, sails, rope, adhesives, and other materials essential to maritime industries and waterfront heritage. 
• Maritime Infrastructure: Preservation and adaptive use of historic vessels, shipyards, docks, lighthouses, and/or navigation systems that supported working waterfronts and coastal communities. 
• Waterfront Communities and Landscapes: Preserving the broader context of waterfronts including communities, labor histories, cultural traditions and landscapes that consider planning policies to enable public access and review of patterns of use that give waterfront places their historic identity beyond individual or structures. 

• Contact Information- Name, Email, Phone Number
• Presenter Information- Resume, Head shot, Biography(200 words or less)
• Abstract Information- Title, Abstract (300 - 600 words in word doc and plain text)
• Thesis Statement- Up to two sentences about how your proposed abstract is related to technology in preservation and how it will build upon and/or advance the field of preservation.
• Photographs- at least two high quality photographs referencing the abstract with caption and credit

Abstract Submission