Stefan Simon is Director of Global Cultural Heritage Initiatives at Yale University.Trained as a conservation scientist, Simon earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich. He has broad experience in scientific research, specializing in material deterioration diagnostics, microanalytics, climatology, and non-destructive mechanical testing. Simon served as Director of the Rathgen Research Laboratory with the National Museums in Berlin and as a Council Member and Vice President of ICCROM, the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property. He is the current President of the International Council on Monuments and Sites’ (ICOMOS) Scientific Committee for Stone (ISCS). Between 2001 and 2005 he led the Building Materials Section at the Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles. Simon is a corresponding member of the German Archaeological Institute, and has been recognized with Honorary Professorships at X´ian Jiaotong University, China, and the Technical University Berlin. He has co-authored and published more than 150 articles on the preservation of cultural heritage.