Heritage Innovations Laboratory Oxford

eritage Innovations Laboratory Oxford is an initiative involving an interdisciplinary group of researchers and practitioners based at the University of Oxford, funded primarily by the University's Strategic Innovation Fund with additional funding from the Blenheim Estate. Our mission is to explore and trial new ways of working to enable University researchers to co-develop innovative solutions with partners across the heritage sector.

We are particularly focused on developing bespoke and collaborative programmes which link insights from the best academic research to the largest challenges facing the heritage industry. These programmes not only address the unique challenges of our partners, but are designed to facilitate the wider uptake of research evidence by the heritage sector - ultimately leading to dynamic and innovative solutions for heritage management and conservation.

Research team

Prof. Heather Viles

Lead

Heather is a geographer with major interests in geomorphology, heritage science, and a particular focus on the application of science to heritage conservation. In addition to leading the Heritage Innovation Laboratory Oxford, Heather is also Associate Head (Research) for the Social Sciences Division, Professor of Biogeomorphology and Heritage Conservation; Oxford lead and Co-Director of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Science and Engineering in Art, Heritage and Archaeology (SEAHA); and Honorary Professor at the Institute of Sustainable Heritage, University College London. She leads the Oxford University Heritage Network.

heather.viles@ouce.ox.ac.uk

Alice Purkiss

Co-Lead

Alice is Head of Heritage Partnerships at Oxford and leads a varied programme of research, training and events in collaboration with heritage partners to promote knowledge exchange and public engagement with research. She leads the university's flagship National Trust Partnership, co-leads the Oxford University Heritage Network, and co-convenes the Heritage Pathway Graduate Training Programme.

alice.purkiss@humanities.ox.ac.uk

Dr. Sterling Mackinnon

Project Manager

Sterling completed his doctorate at the Oxford School of Geography and the Environment where his research continues to concern the heritage sciences, digital culture, and the ontologies of data. In addition to project managing HILO, Sterling is a member of the Oxford Resilient Buildings and Landscapes Laboratory. He is also a facilitator of the Oxford University Heritage Network.

sterling.mackinnoniii@ouce.ox.ac.uk

Dr. Kenta Sayama

Researcher

Kenta completed his doctorate with the Oxford Resilient Buildings and Landscapes lab. His research concerns the conservation of quaternary palaeoenvironmental archives in the UAE and Oman. His work has a specific focus on analysing the conservation status of these vulnerable sites and investigating the role of contextualisation and science communication in raising awareness of their heritage values.

kenta.sayama@ouce.ox.ac.uk

To date we are working on co-developing innovative approaches to the following challenges for the heritage sector:

Predicting and managing risk to the fabric of built heritage (using data-informed digital twins)

Enhancing public engagement with heritage (using new ways of engaging people with under-appreciated elements of built heritage, such as lichens)

Assessing the carbon footprint of heritage sites and heritage organisations

Quantifying the ecosystem services provided by built heritage

The strength of our practice lies in its capacity to develop and deliver research with both immediate practical application and long term legacy-focused impact. In so doing, Heritage Innovations holds long-term potential to produce sustainable opportunities for researchers and practitioners at the University of Oxford while simultaneously developing novel approaches for bridging the gap between academic researchers and external partners in the heritage space.