Egyptologist Melinda Hartwig is the Michael C. Carlos Museum's new curator of ancient Egyptian, Nubian, and Near Eastern art.

Hartwig will oversee exhibitions, strategic partnerships and continued stewardship of the museum's collections in these specialty areas in line with the museum's continued mission to promote the study, preservation and exhibition of ancient art.

"I am thrilled to work with the Michael C. Carlos museum's top-notch board, donors and staff at one of the South's leading centers for ancient Egyptian, Nubian and Near Eastern art," she says.

Hartwig, who follows Peter Lacovara as curator, has worked for over 30 years in Egypt leading conservation and documentation projects, most recently in the Theban tombs of Menna and Neferrenpet, using the latest non-invasive scientific tools of analysis. She is a specialist in ancient Egyptian sculpture and painting, ancient Near Eastern interconnections, and the applications of science in art.

Hartwig wants to grow the Carlos collection and highlight it "through important exhibitions and publications to engage the Atlanta community and beyond."

Since 2001, Hartwig has taught at Georgia State University in the Ernest G. Welch School of Art & Design, as professor of ancient Egyptian and Near Eastern art and archaeology. She has curated exhibitions featured at the University of Memphis Art Museum and Atlanta's High Museum.

"I am excited to use my background as a curator and a full professor to expand professional training for students, which I see as a fundamental obligation of any university museum," she says.

Hartwig's expertise is recognized internationally with widely published books and articles and leveraged by major broadcast outlets, including the Discovery Channel, National Geographic Channel, BBC and PBS.

She has also received awards, grants and honors to further her work in Egypt, including from the United States Agency for International Development; National Endowment for the Humanities American Overseas Center for Advanced Study Fellowship; and United States Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Fellowship.