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Scientists at the Rochester Institute of Technology are using the latest imaging technologies to digitally restore a 700-year-old palm-leaf manuscript containing key elements of Hindu philosophy. The project led by P.R. Mukund and Roger Easton will digitally preserve the original Hindu writings attributed to scholar Shri Madvacharya.

The document, a series of palm leaves bound together with braided cord, is turning to dust.

Mukund, an electrical engineer and Hindu scholar, first became involved with the project when his spiritual teacher in India told him about the decaying documents.

Mukund and his colleagues employed several methods to preserve the text for future generations, including printing it on long-lasting wafers made of silicon, the material used to make computer chips.