ISABELLA DEL GAUDIO CURRIECULUM VITA
I am a conservation scientist, trained in conservation science in Italy, with work experience across Europe, including countries like the UK, Germany, and Czechia. My research focuses on the development and application of analytical techniques for conserving modern organic materials in cultural heritage, as well as assessing the environmental impacts of preservation techniques used in museums and archives.
EDUCATION HISTORY
PhD in Science and Engineering in Arts, Heritage and Archaeology
University College London (UK) Sep 2017- Sep 2022
Thesis: ‘Study of cellulose acetate decay mechanisms in a museum environment.’
·Partnership with UCL Bartlett, UCL Chemistry, Museum of London, and Lacerta Technology (industrial company focused on the development of thermal mechanical test)
·Initiated collaboration with a professor and a postdoctoral student from Imperial College London
·Study the relationship between water vapour and plasticized cellulose acetate
·Surveyed plastics stored at Museum of London and Tate Modern
MSc in Science for the conservation-restoration of cultural heritage
University of Bologna (IT) Dec 2012 - Dec 2015
Thesis: ‘Chemical degradation of Polyester Urethane in an indoor environment’
BSc in Conservation Science
University of Bologna (IT) Sep 2009 - Dec 2012
Thesis: ‘Chemical, petrographic and physical-mechanical characterization of Sasso Marconi sandstone’
GRANT
The PhD is part of the project ‘COMPLEX - A study of chemical and physical degradation process using System Dynamic approach’ founded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No 716390)
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS
Publications
·J. Lee, L. Ireland, J. H. Townsend, B. A. Ormsby, D. Cane, A. Bartoletti, K. Curran, I. del Gaudio, R. King and S. Da Ros, Exploring the materials and condition of 20th-century dolls in Zoe Leonard's Mouth Open, Teeth Showing 2000 (in print)
·A. Gili, I. del Gaudio, R. King, L. Mazzei, and K. Curran, ‘Modelling plasticiser loss inside closed environments’, Polymer Degradation and Stability, vol. 206, p. 110204, Dec. 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2022.110204.
·I. del Gaudio, E. Hunter-Sellars, I. P. Parkin, D. Williams, S. Da Ros, K. Curran, Water sorption and diffusion in cellulose acetate: The effect of plasticisers, Carbohydrate Polymers, vol. 267, p. 118185, September 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2021.118185.
Conferences
Keynote Speaker at Plastic Heritage Congress, Lisbon (Portugal, 2019) and Naples (Italy, 2022)
Public Engagement
SEAHA Conference, Oxford University (UK) Apr 2019
·Workshop on the identification of natural and synthetic fibers.
·Practical tests on heritage materials with digital and optical microscope and burn test.
Society of Londoners, Museum of London (UK) Oct 2017
·Engaged the public on the issue of plastic collection in the museum
MAIN PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
·Postdoctoral Fellowship, Deutsches Bergbaumuseum (DE) Feb - Dec 2022, Jul 2023 - Sep 2024
oIdentified materials and decay products using FTIR, SEM-EDX, Raman, (py-)GCMS with cryo-trap
·Teaching Experience, Technische Hochschule Georg Agricola, Bochum (DE) Sep 2023 - Jun 2024
·Postgraduate Teaching Assistant, Institute Sustainable Heritage, UCL (UK) Sep 2020 - Jan 2022
·Conservation Scientist, Conservation Department Pardubice University (CZ) Jan - Sep 2017
oProvided scientific support to different conservation departments (such as painting, sculpture, book)
oLeft to pursue a PhD at University College London (UCL) in the UK
