About me
Jiwen Fan is a Research Associate at The Center for Architectural Conservation of Stuart Weitzman School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania. She holds a Master of Science in Historic Preservation with a concentration in architectural conservation from the University of Pennsylvania. Jiwen has been involved with the Center for Architectural Conservation since 2023, initially as a student researcher, where she takes part in projects focused on baseline documentation and assessment methodologies for various archaeological sites in the American Southwest.
Jiwen earned her Bachelor of Arts in Art History and Anthropology with a focus on archaeology from Macalester College, Minnesota. Prior to attending graduate school, she interned as an assistant conservator at the Chinese Academy of Cultural Heritage, working on the experimental on-site conservation of polychrome wooden architectural decorations at the Shakyamuni Pagoda of Fogong Temple in Shanxi, China. Her passion for ancient building techniques and materials and interest in Central Asian archaeology drives her focus on the study of earthen and stone masonry materials during her graduate studies. She also developed skills in petrography, instrumental analysis, and laboratory testing. Her graduate thesis explored the use of biological materials to enhance soil-based shelter coats for archaeological earthen structures, the research of which continues through the works of the Center for Architecture Conservation.
