Conservation Scientist
Naomi Luxford is a conservation scientist working for English Heritage. English Heritage is a registered charity and is one of the most important guardians of historic sites in England. English Heritage cares for over 400 historic buildings, monuments and sites spanning over 6,000 years of history.
Summary
- Research, including how objects or materials deteriorate, and how we can slow this process to preserve the collections for longer. Research can also answer questions about the suitability of new materials for use in collections, or for storage.
- Reading a research paper of someone else’s results that are relevant to our collections, planning an experiment to understand a particular challenge, or writing up the findings from analysis.
- Data analysis of environmental conditions, or whether a monitoring system is working properly, through to analyzing large volumes of data to look at changes in conditions or whether a control system (for example for heating) is working correctly.
Sectors
Conservation science includes data analysis of environmental monitoring, most commonly temperature, relative humidity (moisture), and light including ultraviolet, as well as pollution as these can cause objects to deteriorate. This can compare environments or assess the impact of changes. My role also includes how we control these parameters, usually with heating systems, but also filtration and specialist systems. I specify these solutions, alongside display cases for new exhibitions, and ensure they are installed and working correctly with testing and monitoring.
Location
Conservation Scientist
Conservation science includes data analysis of environmental monitoring, most commonly temperature, relative humidity (moisture), and light including ultraviolet, as well...