Dr Jennifer Richards

Dr Jenny Richards is a Supernumerary Teaching Fellow in Physical Geography at St John's College, Oxford. She recently completed her DPhil at the School of Geography and the Environment and held a studentship from the SEAHA (science and engineering in arts heritage and archaeology) Centre of Doctoral Training funded by EPSRC to undertake heritage science research. Jenny read Geography at Oxford University and has an MRes in heritage science from UCL. She has also undertaken research at Adelaide University.

Jenny is interested in how environmental processes shape the landscape around us and how they interact with heritage sites. Environmental conditions (e.g. wind and rain) can alter natural and man-made materials through processes such as weathering. At cultural heritage sites, these interactions can cause the loss of historic material as well as impacting other heritage values.

As part of her research, Jenny works in collaboration with the Getty Conservation Institute and uses a combination of modelling, laboratory and field methods to investigate deterioration processes at heritage sites located in dryland regions. By increasing our understanding of these interactions, her research tries to inform and suggest potential conservation strategies.