The abilities required to document or preserve valuable cultural resources are wide-ranging and require the meeting of diverse fields of study. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s West Virginia University was extensively involved in teaching and research in the history of technology and the new field of industrial archaeology, utilizing a multidisciplinary approach to the preservation and interpretation of historic industrial and transportation sites. The creation of The Institute for the History of Technology and Industrial Archaeology in 1989, with Kemp as its first director, ensured WVU s long-term relationship with HAER and has resulted in the documentation of dozens of IA sites in the United States while providing unique educational opportunities to WVU students. In addition, the Institute can work on development of techniques for recording industrial sites and in the preservation of engineering works. 16 U.S.C. Sec.
Expertise comes from a variety of disciplines.
Its staff and associates include structural engineers, historians, delineators, landscape architects, drafting specialists, architects, and publications specialists. Together, professionals and students form the nucleus of an interdisciplinary approach to the scholarly study, documentation, and preservation of historic industries and engineering works. Scholarly studies in the history of technology. Professional consultations and sponsored research on America's industrial heritage for federal, state, and local agencies such as the National Park Service, Army Corps of Engineers, and State Historic Preservation Offices. Aid in the preservation of engineering works and development of techniques for structural analysis of historic and obsolete structural materials in cooperation with WVU's College of Engineering.