Prof. JoAnn Cassar is Full Professor and Head of the Department of Conservation and Built Heritage within the Faculty for the Built Environment, University of Malta. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of Heritage Malta, the National Agency for museums, conservation practice and cultural heritage and member of the Warrant Board for Conservators/Restorers in Malta. She is also the National Co-ordinator for E-RIHS.mt. She is a Fellow of the International Institute for Conservation (FIIC), Fellow of the Geological Society (FGS), Chartered Chemist and Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (CChem FRSC). Prof. Cassar has been carrying out research on stone characterization, deterioration and conservation for over thirty years, has lectured widely in foreign universities, and has given numerous presentations at international conferences in many different countries. She has over seventy scientific publications on conservation-related topics to her name, and is the co-editor of seven books.