Dr Cyril Maucourant PhD, MSc
Postdoctoral Researcher
Summary
I am French native, my research background intertwines the fields of materials science, stone conservation, and heritage applied sciences in a broader sense. I did a MSc in Archaeometry at the University of Bordeaux (France) and another one in Conservation for Archaeology and Museums, at University College London.
Along my studies I specialised myself in stone consolidation where I dedicated my research in the development of nanolime-based consolidation techniques with improved performance, to be used for the preservation of built heritage and monuments made of limestone.
In 2022, I completed my AHRC funded PhD studentship at Sheffield Hallam University in collaboration with the British Museum and the Heritage Consortium. From September 2023 I have been offered the position of postdoctoral researcher associate at SHU, contract funded via Sheffield Hallam Research and Innovation Fund.
I am now continuing my research at the Materials Engineering Research Institute where I work at the Centre for Infrastructure Management with Professor Fin O'Flaherty on a nanolime project, which aims at developing state-of-the-art nanolime-based consolidation techniques and protective treatments designed to make the stone heritage more sustainable and resilient to damage induced by climate change.
Teaching
College of Business, Technology and Engineering
Stone conservation, nanolime, materials and heritage applied sciences
Research
AHRC PhD funded project entitled ‘Introduction of nanolime in a museum context: From experiments to applications on British Museum collections, a proposal for a protocol for stone conservation’ (Ref: AH/L503812/1).
Patent application (in process) covering the development of innovative nanolime-based stone consolidation techniques. Papers were recently published in the Journal of Cultural Heritage (Volume 62, July–August 2023, p. 339-348), the No. 1 ranked Conservation journal, and in the Advances in Science, Technology and Innovation Book Series (IEREK Series for Interdisciplinary Studies) to illustrate the research previously achieved.
Took part to ICURe (ICURe Programme | Innovation to Commercialisation of University Research) programs to investigate market opportunities with the view of commercialising aspects of innovative research carried out in the field of nanolime.
SHRIF
The British Museum,
The Victoria and Albert Museum
The commonwealth War Grave Commission
Cliveden Conservation Workshop Ltd
Publications
Journal articles
Maucourant, C., O'Flaherty, F., & Drago, A. (2023). Applicability and efficacy of an enhanced nanolime consolidation technique for British Museum limestone objects. Journal of Cultural Heritage, 62, 339-348. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.culher.2023.04.007
Book chapters
Maucourant, C., & O'Flaherty, F. (2025). Influence of treatment technique on the effectiveness of nanolime as a consolidant for low-porosity limestones. In Teba, T., & Di Raimo, A. (Eds.) Conservation of Architecture and Urban Heritage: Indigenous and Global Sustainable Practices. Cham: Springer: https://link.springer.com/book/9783031711442
Theses / Dissertations
Maucourant, C. (2022). Enhancement and development of nanolime techniques for the consolidation of limestones. (Doctoral thesis). Supervised by O'Flaherty, F., Mangat, P., Starinieri, V., Sweek, T., & Drago, A. http://doi.org/10.7190/shu-thesis-00556
Other activities
Teaching: give external lectures in stone conservation to MSc students in Conservation at University College London