4:29 p.m., Feb. 9, 2011----A University of Delaware alumna will be featured Thursday, Feb. 10, on the National Geographic Channel in a documentary about “the book that can't be read.”

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The documentary explores the history of the exceptionally peculiar Voynich manuscript, a lengthy 15th century book “illustrated with bizarre, bewildering pictures in a language that even the best can't decode,” according to the film. In the documentary's journey to understand the book while searching for its author's identity, it depicts pages filled with optical phenomena, mystical drawings and meticulous zodiac maps.

Paula Zyats plays a significant role in the film as a major contributor to recent findings about the Voynich manuscript. Zyats, who earned her master's degree in 1997 from the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation, is assistant chief conservator at Yale University Libraries.

Zyats has spent many hours with the book itself, which is part of Yale's rare books collection, attempting to conquer what none before her have done -- decipher the manuscript that has been called “puzzling and remarkable” and uncover its true author. Due to her work with the manuscript, she is featured in the film as an expert on the subject.

The film will air Thursday, Feb. 10, at 4 p.m. For more information, visit the National Geographic Channel's website.

Article by Kayla Codina