Sara Stratte
Application of Non-Destructive Technology to Document Seismic Damage on Historic Adobe
Sara Stratte completed her Masters of Science in Historic Preservation in 2018. At the time of this project in 2020, she worked as the Exhibit Specialist for Restoration at Channel Islands National Park, where a 2018 earthquake caused damage to an adobe structure built in 1889. The extent of the damage to this building and other structures like it cannot be fully explored without invasive or destructive techniques. Stratte used the Smuggler’s Ranch on Santa Cruz Island as a case study for non-destructive techniques to diagnose and document unseen deterioration conditions in adobe masonry.
Stratte chose Michael Spencer as her mentor. Spencer is chair of the Department of Historic Preservation at the University of Mary Washington and specializes in applying non-destructive technologies, such as infrared thermography diagnostics, to historic preservation projects. Stratte developed protocols for using infrared thermography to adobe.
