Dennis Piechota consults in conservation and soil micromorphology for the Fiske Center for Archaeological Research at the University of Massachusetts at Boston. There he helps to conserve finds from the Center’s many terrestrial archaeological sites and conducts research in micromorphology, micro-excavation and elemental analysis of artifacts and the soil matrix. Dennis is the founder and co-admin of two Google groups: pXRF for Cultural Heritage a group of more than 400 members that discusses issues in handheld XRF analysis, and ALTCONS a group of over 75 members formed to discuss aspects of the conceptual framework of conservation. Dennis currently consults for the Center as a retiree and former employee.