Mary Ryan (materials scientist)

Ryan completed her undergraduate and postgraduate studies at the University of Manchester.[2] Her PhD was on using "in-situ ECSTM to study the formation of ultra-thin surface oxides on base metals", and she managed to show for the first time that these surface oxides have crystalline phases.[3][4] She spent three years at Brookhaven National Laboratory, New York, where she developed in situ electrochemical systems using synchrotron radiation-based techniques.[3][5]

Ryan is an expert in electrochemistry and interfacial material science.[6] Ryan joined Imperial College London as a lecturer in 1998.[2] Her research group explore the mechanism of corrosion, new protective materials and materials with thermal management capabilities.[2] She studies the process of electrochemical deposition, the stabilities of metals and the formation processes of metal and oxide nanostructures.[7] She pioneered the use of synchrotron X-rays to study reactive electrochemical systems, including the stability of nanostructures.[8]

In 2002, she published the seminal paper "Why stainless steel corrodes" in Nature.[9]

In 2012, she joined Amy Cruickshank to advise on how to preserve the Dornier Do 17 ('The Flying Pencil'), which was discovered in Goodwin Sands.[10] She also contributed to the 2016 World Economic Forum, where she discussed how nano-composite materials could use heat from a vehicle's engine to power air conditioning.[11]

Her recent work focusses on how nanomaterials interact with biological systems, including the toxicity of nanoparticles and development of plasmonic materials for biosensing.[12] She works with the heritage sector to develop new materials and conservation techniques.[12] She has worked with the Science Museum, the Royal Air Force Museum London and the Victoria and Albert Museum.[13] She collaborates extensively with Dr Eleanor Schofield, Head of Conservation and Collections Care at the Mary Rose Trust.[12][14][15]

In 2017, she was appointed Vice Dean of Research for the Faculty of Engineering at Imperial College London.[16] She is the Director of the Imperial-Shell University Technology Centre in Advanced Interfacial Materials Science.[17] Ryan is a member of the London Centre for Nanotechnology.[18] She is an editor for Nature's Materials Degradation Journal.[8]

She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2015.[6] She is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining. She is a member of the Strategic Advisory Network of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.[19] She is a Trustee of the Heritage science forum.[20]

Ryan was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2022 Birthday Honours for services to education and materials science and engineering.[21]