Dáire Browne
Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) in Geography and the Environment - Degree completed in 2023
Supervisors: Professor Heather Viles and Professor Grant Ritchie (Department of Chemistry)
Member of the Oxford Resilient Buildings and Landscapes Lab (OxRBL)
Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) in Geography and the Environment - Degree completed in 2023
Supervisors: Professor Heather Viles and Professor Grant Ritchie (Department of Chemistry)
Member of the Oxford Resilient Buildings and Landscapes Lab (OxRBL)
Breathing Stones - developing laser spectroscopic methods to study moisture uptake and release by historic limestone in polluted urban environments
Academic Profile
Dáire is carrying out an MRes in Science and Engineering for Arts, Heritage and Archaeology (SEAHA) at University College London (UCL), and is carrying out her dissertation at the School of Geography and the Environment. Before this, Dáire read Chemistry at the University of Oxford.
Current Research
Many important heritage buildings, monuments and sculptures in cities are constructed of limestone which is prone to deteriorate in polluted atmospheric conditions. Understanding moisture relations at the surface of limestone is fundamental both to understanding the reactions involved in limestone deterioration and to judging the success of conservation treatments. This project aims at addressing the lack of high resolution, near-surface methods to monitor the movements of pollutant gases and water vapour into and out of stone surfaces and identify how they are affected by conservation treatments. Dáire's project is undertaken in partnership with Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, University of Oxford Estates Services and Michell Instruments through SEAHA CDT.
