"Ancient Imprints: The Origins of Invisible Ink in the Arts of War and Love"

Time: 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.

Place: 6th Floor Conference Room, Chemical Heritage Foundation

Invisible ink originated in the ancient arts of love and war. Forged in a time of strife between the freedom-loving Greeks and the monarchic Persians, and sired in siege warfare, steganography (hidden writing) was the ultimate form of deception. While the Greeks used hidden writing during warfare, at the dawn of the first millennium the Romans adopted it for the art of love. The story of the ancient Greeks and Romans offers us a template for a better understanding of the human need for secret communication and the art of invisible writing.

Kristie Macrakis received her Ph.D. in the history of science from Harvard University. After rising through the ranks to become full professor at Michigan State University, she will be taking up a new position at the Georgia Institute of Technology in January 2009. She is the author of numerous books and articles, most recently Seduced by Secrets: Inside the Stasi’s Spy-Tech World (2008), which is a History Book Club selection.