{{short description|English chemist and conservator}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox scientist | name = Eleanor Schofied | birth_name = Eleanor Josephine Schofield | image = Schofield headshot.jpg | honorific_suffix = FREng | workplaces = {{Unbulleted list |Imperial College London | University of Kent | Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource | Mary Rose}} | doctoral_advisor = Mary Ryan | thesis_title = Formation and characterisation of nanoporous materials | thesis_year = 2006 | thesis_url = https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.429052 | website = {{URL|imperial.ac.uk/people/e.schofield}} | alma_mater = Imperial College London (MEng, PhD) | known_for = Conservation work | fields = Materials science<ref name=gs /> | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1980|03|26|df=y}} }}
'''Eleanor Josephine Schofield''' (born 26 March 1980<ref>{{cite web|url=https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/officers/UVNHEp6KempRIuu4DDJVAdI_7rk/appointments|publisher=Companies House|title=Eleanor SCHOFIELD|accessdate=2020-01-25}}</ref>) is the Head of Conservation & Collections Care at the Mary Rose Trust.<ref name="scopus">{{Scopus id}}</ref><ref name="gs">{{Google scholar id}}</ref><ref name="epmc">{{EuropePMC|ORCID=0000-0002-6231-8714}}</ref> She is an honorary Professor at the University of Kent. In 2015 she was selected as one of the Royal Society of Chemistry 175 Faces of Chemistry.<ref name=":3" />
== Early life and education ==
Schofield studied materials science at Imperial College London<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.materialstoday.com/dr-eleanor-schofield-lab-profile/|title=Lab Profile: Dr Eleanor Schofield|website=Materials Today|access-date=2018-12-06}}</ref> where she completed a Master of Engineering (MEng) degree followed by PhD<ref name="ePhD">{{cite thesis|degree=PhD|publisher=Imperial College London (University of London)|title=Formation and characterisation of nanoporous materials|first= Eleanor Josephine|last=Schofield|date=2006|id={{EThOS|uk.bl.ethos.429052}}|website=jisc.ac.uk|oclc=500283573}}</ref> under the supervision of Mary Ryan in 2006.<ref name=":0" /> She specialised in synchrotron science, working on dealloying.<ref name="SchofieldIngham2008">{{cite journal|last1=Schofield|first1=Eleanor J.|last2=Ingham|first2=Bridget|last3=Turnbull|first3=Alan|last4=Toney|first4=Michael F.|last5=Ryan|first5=Mary P.|title=Strain development in nanoporous metallic foils formed by dealloying|journal=Applied Physics Letters|volume=92|issue=4|year=2008|pages=043118|issn=0003-6951|doi=10.1063/1.2838351|bibcode=2008ApPhL..92d3118S}}</ref>
== Career ==
After graduating, Schofield joined the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource. Here she investigated ways to characterise radioactive ground water waste.<ref name=":0" /> She moved to the University of Kent as a postdoctoral researcher in 2009, where she worked with Alan Chadwick on sulphur in waterlogged wood.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://blogs.kent.ac.uk/spskent/2018/11/27/meet-our-newest-honorary-professor-dr-eleanor-schofield/|title=Meet our newest Honorary Professor: Dr. Eleanor Schofield|language=en-US|access-date=2018-12-06|date=27 November 2018|last=kem39|website=School of Physical Sciences at Kent Blog}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://impact.ref.ac.uk/casestudies/CaseStudy.aspx?Id=2547|title=Mary Rose : Protecting our Heritage through Chemistry|website=impact.ref.ac.uk|access-date=2018-12-06}}</ref>
In 2012 Schofield joined the Mary Rose Trust.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://maryrose.org/executive-team/|title=Executive team|website=The Mary Rose|access-date=2018-12-06}}</ref> In 2013 the ship drying began, and Schofield was responsible for developing a series of experiments with the Diamond Light Source and University of Kent.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://phys.org/news/2008-02-high-tech-solutions-warship.html|title=High-tech conservation solutions for old warship|website=phys.org|language=en-us|access-date=2018-12-06|date=February 18, 2008}}</ref> Today she oversees the conservation of the hull and over 19,000 other artefacts.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.iom3.org/materials-world-magazine/news/2018/sep/24/science-innovation-mary-rose|title=Science innovation at the Mary Rose|date=24 September 2018|last=Khai Trung Le|website=iom3.org|access-date=2018-12-06}}</ref> Throughout her career at the Mary Rose, Schofield has been involved with the designers and exhibition staff. thumb|Eleanor Schofield working on the Mary Rose ship The hull of the ''Mary Rose'' was excavated from the sea in 1982, and has since been sprayed with a cold-water spray and polyethylene glycol to replace the cellular structure of the wood.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=http://www.rsc.org/diversity/175-faces/all-faces/dr-eleanor-schofield/|title=Dr Eleanor Schofield|website=rsc.org|access-date=2018-12-06|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150416010318/http://www.rsc.org/diversity/175-faces/all-faces/dr-eleanor-schofield/|archive-date=2015-04-16}}</ref> It is kept inside an environment that allows controlled air-drying.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/articles/mary-rose-museum-reopens-in-portsmouth/|date= 20 July 2016|authorlink= Nigel Richardson|title=The best view of the Mary Rose in 471 years|last=Richardson|first=Nigel|website=The Telegraph|language=en-GB|access-date=2018-12-06}}</ref> Schofield continuously monitors the amount of sulphur and iron in the warship, working with Serena Corr at the University of Glasgow.<ref>{{cite magazine| last= Dominic Joyeux| last2=Dr Eleanor Schofield| last3=Christopher Dobbs| date= March 2018| title= Raising and conserving the Mary Rose| url= https://www.ingenia.org.uk/Ingenia/Articles/22d9ffd4-3288-46bb-a3ca-98ce58271774| magazine= Ingenia| issue= 74}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theengineer.co.uk/mary-rose-magnetic-nanotech/|title=Mary Rose hull preserved using magnetic nanotech|date=2018-08-22|website=The Engineer|language=en-UK|access-date=2018-12-06}}</ref> Sulphur is present on the seabed, and became incorporated into the hull of the warship whilst it was underwater.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/simon-m-clabby/what-has-science-got-to-d_b_5975902.html|title=What Has Science Got to Do With the Mary Rose?|date=2014-10-13|website=HuffPost UK|language=en|access-date=2018-12-06|last=Simon M. Clabby}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bangscience.org/2013/10/synchrotrons-ships-sulphur/|title=Synchrotrons, ships and sulphur: Using a particle accelerator to help conserve the Mary Rose|last=Warren|first=Matthew|date=2013-10-14|website=Bang! Science Magazine|language=en-US|access-date=2018-12-06}}</ref> Anaerobic bacteria react with sulphur in seawater, which can then produce iron sulfides by combining with iron corroded from fixtures and artefacts.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/2098166-the-long-scientific-voyage-of-tudor-warship-the-mary-rose/|title=The long scientific voyage of Tudor warship the Mary Rose|last=Simms|first=Chris|website=New Scientist|language=en-US|access-date=2018-12-06|date= 21 July 2016}}</ref> She also works with Rachel O'Reilly at the University of Birmingham as part of a Leverhulme Trust grant that looks to develop polymers that can remove iron ions from the wood, which could prevent these damaging acids from forming.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|url=https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/thebirminghambrief/items/2018/09/nanotechnology.aspx|title=Using nanotechnology to save a national icon|website=birmingham.ac.uk|access-date=2018-12-06|date= 13 September 2018|last=Rachel K. O’Reilly}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|date=2011-07-01|title=Nanoparticle de-acidification of the Mary Rose|journal=Materials Today|language=en|volume=14|issue=7–8|pages=354–358|doi=10.1016/S1369-7021(11)70166-3|issn=1369-7021|last1=Schofield|first1=Eleanor J.|last2=Sarangi|first2=Ritimukta|last3=Mehta|first3=Apurva|last4=Jones|first4=A. Mark|last5=Mosselmans|first5=Fred J.W.|last6=Chadwick|first6=Alan V.|doi-access=free}}</ref> To do this, Corr, O'Reilly and Schofield use core magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles that are embedded them into a thermoresponsive polymer. The treatment can be applied as a liquid, directed to particular areas of the wood using external magnetic fields.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/newsreleases/2018/august/bringing-salvaged-wooden-ships-and-artifacts-back-to-life-with-smart-nanotech.html|title=Bringing salvaged wooden ships and artifacts back to life with 'smart' nanotech|website=American Chemical Society|language=en|access-date=2018-12-06|date=August 21, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/how-tiny-magnets-could-save-historic-warship-once-sailed-king-ncna908081|title=How tiny magnets could save a historic warship that once sailed for King Henry VIII|website=NBC News|language=en|access-date=2018-12-06|date=September 10, 2018|last=Denise Chow}}</ref> They can then be set as a gel and peeled from the surface.<ref name=":4" /> She studied twelve of Henry VIII of England's iron cannonballs using synchrotron X‐ray powder diffraction.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Simon|first=Hayley|last2=Cibin|first2=Giannantonio|last3=Robbins|first3=Phil|last4=Day|first4=Sarah|last5=Tang|first5=Chiu|last6=Freestone|first6=Ian|last7=Schofield|first7=Eleanor|year=2018|title=A Synchrotron-Based Study of the Mary Rose Iron Cannonballs|journal=Angewandte Chemie International Edition|language=en|volume=57|issue=25|pages=7390–7395|doi=10.1002/anie.201713120|issn=1521-3773|pmc=6032935|pmid=29517157}}</ref>
She studied the composition of the cannonballs in an effort to better preserve them.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|url=https://advisor.museumsandheritage.com/features/conservation-collections-care/|title=Conservation and collection care: Using X-rays to preserve the Mary Rose Museum's Cannonballs|website=Museums + Heritage Advisor|language=en-GB|access-date=2018-12-06|date= 27 September 2018|last=Adrian Murphy}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2018/mar/going-ballistic-science-meets-conservation-mary-rose|title=Going ballistic! Science meets conservation on The Mary Rose|date=2018-03-09|website=UCL News|language=en|access-date=2018-12-06}}</ref> The cannonballs were produced in bulk, but subjected to different conservation methods and environments.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.diamond.ac.uk/Home/News/LatestNews/2018/09-03-2018.html|title=Determining the impact of post-conservation corrosion|website=Diamond Light Source|language=en|access-date=2018-12-06}}</ref> When chlorine from salt gets inside the archaeological iron it becomes corrosive.<ref name=":5" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.icorr.org/the-mary-rose-and-the-dynamic-duo-joint-meeting-of-the-institute-of-corrosion-london-branch-with-the-sci-london-group/|title=The Mary-Rose and the Dynamic Duo – Joint Meeting of the Institute of Corrosion, London Branch with the SCI London Group|website=INSTITUTE OF CORROSION|date=7 November 2018|language=en-GB|access-date=2018-12-06}}</ref> The Mary Rose Trust keeps 900 of the cannonballs preserved in high pH water to slows down corrosion. She works with University College London and the National Physical Laboratory to study other pollutants in artefacts.<ref name=":0" /> She hopes that understanding the corrosion of iron will inform future conservation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.soci.org/news/london/the-mary-rose|title=The Mary Rose: Fighting Corrosion on a Fighting Ship – Event Preview|website=soci.org|access-date=2018-12-06|date= 3 September 2018}}</ref>
Schofield was selected as one of the Royal Society of Chemistry 175 Faces of Chemistry in 2015.<ref name=":3" /> In 2016, 471 years after the Mary Rose sank, Schofield was involved with the reopening of the ship to the public.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hampshire-36802829|title=Full view of Mary Rose warship revealed|date=2016-07-19|work=BBC News|access-date=2018-12-06|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.apollo-magazine.com/henry-viiis-flagship-back-on-public-view-in-portsmouth/|title=Henry VIII's flagship back on public view in Portsmouth|date=2016-07-19|website=Apollo Magazine|language=en-US|access-date=2018-12-06}}</ref> In 2016 she delivered a public lecture at the Royal Society of Chemistry public lecture on ''Conserving a Tudor Collection''.<ref>{{Citation|last=Royal Society Of Chemistry|title=Conserving a Tudor Collection – Public Lecture|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmjceElwsuM|access-date=2018-12-06}}</ref> She was a speaker at the 2017 New Scientist Live.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/10/01/wreck-mary-rose-has-started-collapse-onto-warn-conservators/|title=Wreck of Mary Rose has started to collapse onto itself, warn conservators|last=Knapton|first=Sarah|date=2017-10-01|work=The Telegraph|access-date=2018-12-06|language=en-GB|issn=0307-1235}}</ref> Schofield is an honorary Professor at the University of Kent.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/e.schofield|title=Professor Eleanor Schofield|website=imperial.ac.uk|access-date=2018-12-06}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kent.ac.uk/physical-sciences/people/2046/schofield-eleanor|title=Professor Eleanor Schofield|website=kent.ac.uk|access-date=2018-12-06}}</ref>
In 2025 she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.<ref name="NF25">{{cite web |title=New Fellows 2025 |url=https://raeng.org.uk/about-us/fellowship/new-fellows-2025/ |access-date=24 September 2025}}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Schofield, Eleanor}} Category:1980 births Category:Living people Category:Alumni of Imperial College London Category:English women scientists Category:Women materials scientists and engineers Category:British materials scientists Category:Academics of the University of Kent Category:Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering Category:Female fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering Category:Chemists of the University of Kent