CONTACT:   Michael Rubin
GIBBS & SOELL, INC.
(212) 697-2600
or
Jon Shaw
CARRIER CORPORATION
(315) 432-3147
Two identical cases were donated to the Catholic University of St. Mary in Arequipa, Peru so the 500-year-old mummy could be preserved, displayed and studied by scientists.
The original case was used during a month-long display of the mummy in the headquarters of the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C. The other case was assembled in Peru awaiting the mummy's return. After the display, which attracted more people than had ever visited a National Geographic event, the first case was returned to Syracuse for modification.
"We were breaking new ground in designing these cases," said Dr. Charles Bullock, the Carrier engineer who led the project, "and we had very little time. No one had ever tried to preserve frozen mummified remains while displaying them at the same time. Archaeologists, anthropologists, preservation experts . . . none of us had any experience to build on.
"In the month she was on display, we saw many ways in which the case could be improved, given the luxury of time."
"Our contacts in Peru say the original case has been operating nearly full-time since last July with no problems," Dr. Bullock said. "This modified case, along with three modified refrigeration units, will give the scientists in Peru added confidence that this rare glimpse from a past culture can be preserved well into the future for more scientific study and also for viewing by the Peruvian public."
Carrier Corporation is the world's largest manufacturer of heating and air conditioning systems and equipment. It is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation, provider of a broad range of high-technology products and support services for the aerospace, building systems and automotive industries.
# # # # #
( top of page | back )