2020-21 - St Catherine's College Oxford

M E S S A G E S

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St Catherine’s College . Oxford

2020-21

The Year

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MASTER

Professor Kersti E Börjars, FK Stockholm, Drs Leiden, MA, PhD Manchester, MA Oxf

FELLOWS

A Gervase Rosser, MA Courtauld, MA Oxf, PhD LondTutor in History of ArtProfessor of the History of ArtLibrarian(Leave M21-T22)

John S Foord, MA, PhD Camb, MA OxfTutor in Physical ChemistryProfessor of Chemistry

Robert A Leese, MA Oxf, PhD DurhFellow by Special Election in MathematicsChief Technical Officer of the Smith Institute

Louise L Fawcett, BA UCL, MA, MPhil, DPhil OxfTutor in PoliticsWilfrid Knapp FellowProfessor of International Relations(Leave M21-T22)

Penny A Handford, BSc, PhD S’ton, MA OxfTutor in BiochemistryWolfson FellowProfessor of Biochemistry

Timothy Cook, MA, DPhil OxfFellow by Special Election

Richard I Todd, MA Camb, MA, DPhil OxfTutor in Materials SciencesGoldsmiths’ FellowProfessor of Materials

Marc Lackenby, MA Oxf, PhD CambTutor in Pure MathematicsLeathersellers’ FellowProfessor of MathematicsVice-Master

Marc E Mulholland, BA, MA, PhD Belf, MA OxfTutor in HistoryWolfson FellowProfessor of Modern HistorySenior Tutor

Gavin Lowe, MA, MSc, DPhil OxfTutor in Computer ScienceProfessor of Computer Science(Leave T22)

Richard M Berry, MA, DPhil OxfTutor in PhysicsProfessor of Biological Physics

Ashok I Handa, MB BS Imp, MA Oxf, FRCSFellow by Special Election in MedicineAssociate Professor in SurgeryTutor for Graduates

David J Womersley, MA, PhD Camb, MA, DPhil, DLitt Oxf, FBAWarton Professor of English Literature

Cressida E Chappell, BA, MA Hull, MA OxfFellow by Special ElectionAcademic RegistrarSecretary to the Governing Body

David R H Gillespie, MA, DPhil OxfTutor in Engineering ScienceRolls-Royce FellowAssociate Professor in Engineering Science

Patrick S Grant, BEng Nott, MA, DPhil Oxf, FREngVesuvius Professor of Materials

Justine N Pila, BA, LLB, PhD Melb, MA OxfTutor in LawCollege CounselProfessor of Law(Leave M21-H22)

Bart B van Es, BA, MPhil, PhD CambTutor in EnglishSullivan FellowSullivan Clarendon Professor of English Literature

Tommaso Pizzari, BSc Aberd, MA Oxf, PhD SheffTutor in ZoologyProfessor of Evolutionary Biology

Byron W Byrne, BCom, BEng Western Australia, MA, DPhil Oxf, FREng, FICEFellow by Special Election in Engineering ScienceØrsted/Royal Academy of Engineering Research Professor in Advanced Geotechnical DesignProfessor of Engineering ScienceFinance Bursar

W I F (Bill) David, MA, DPhil Oxf, FRSFellow by Special Election in Physics

Richard M Bailey, BSc Leics, MA Oxf, MSc, PhD RHULTutor in GeographyProfessor of Environmental SystemsDean

Gaia Scerif, BSc St And, PhD UCLTutor in PsychologyProfessor of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience(Leave M21-T22)

Karl Sternberg, MA OxfFellow by Special Election

Christoph Reisinger, MA Oxf, Dr phil Heidelberg, Dipl LinzTutor in MathematicsProfessor of Applied Mathematics

Kirsten E Shepherd-Barr, Grunnfag Oslo, BA Yale, MA, DPhil OxfTutor in EnglishProfessor of English and Theatre Studies

Angela B Brueggemann, BSc St Olaf, MSc Iowa, DPhil OxfFellow by Special Election in Biological SciencesProfessor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology

James E Thomson, MChem, DPhil OxfFellow by Special Election in ChemistryTutor for Admissions

Andrew J Bunker, MA, DPhil OxfTutor in PhysicsProfessor of Astrophysics

Adrian L Smith, BSc Keele, MSc Wales, MA Oxf, PhD NottTutor in ZoologyAssociate Professor in Infectious Diseases

Andreas Muench, MA Oxf, Dr phil, Dipl TU MunichTutor in MathematicsProfessor of Applied Mathematics

Udo C T Oppermann, BSc, MSc, PhD Philipps MarburgProfessor of Musculoskeletal Sciences

Alain Goriely, Lic, PhD Brussels, MA OxfProfessor of Mathematical Modelling

Naomi Freud, MA, MSc OxfFellow by Special ElectionDirector of Studies for Visiting Students

Duncan A Robertson, BSc Imp, MA, DPhil OxfFellow by Special Election in Management

Peter T Ireland, MA, DPhil Oxf, FREngDonald Schultz Professor of Turbomachinery

Pekka Hämäläinen, MA, PhD Helsinki, MA OxfRhodes Professor of American History(Leave M21-T22)

Benjamin A F Bollig, BA Nott, MA, PhD KCL, MA OxfTutor in SpanishProfessor of Spanish American Literature

Eleanor P J Stride, OBE, BEng, PhD UCL, MA Oxf, FREngFellow by Special Election in Engineering ScienceProfessor of Biomaterials

K W M (Bill) Fulford, MB BChir Camb, MA, DPhil Oxf, PhD Lond, FRCP, FRCPsychFellow by Special Election

Heidi de Wet, BSc North-West, DPhil Cape TownTutor in Pre-clinical MedicineAssociate Professor in Physiology

Philipp E Koralus, BA Pomona, MA Oxf, PhD PrincetonTutor in PhilosophyFulford Fellow in Philosophy of Mind & Cognitive ScienceFulford Clarendon Associate Professor in Philosophy of Mind

Andrew J Dickinson, BCL, MA OxfTutor in LawProfessor of Law

Ian P J Shipsey, BSc QMUL, MA Oxf, PhD EdinHenry Moseley Centenary Professor of Experimental Physics

Philip H S Torr, BSc S’ton, DPhil Oxf, FREng, FRSFellow by Special Election in Engineering ScienceFive AI/RAE Research Chair in Computer VisionProfessor of Engineering Science

Fiona R McConnell, BA Camb, MA, PhD QMULTutor in GeographyAssociate Professor in Human Geography

Laura Tunbridge, BA Oxf, MA Nott, PhD Princeton, FBATutor in MusicHenfrey FellowProfessor of Music(Leave H22-T22)

Anna Christina de Ozório (Kia) Nobre, MA Oxf, BA Williams College, MS, MPhil, PhD Yale, FBAProfessor of Translational Cognitive Neuroscience

Amanda Power, BA Sydney, MA Oxf, PhD CambTutor in HistorySullivan FellowSullivan Clarendon Associate Professor in History

Jessica M Goodman, MA, MSt, DPhil OxfTutor in FrenchAssociate Professor in French(Leave M21-T22)

Susannah C Speller, MEng, DPhil OxfFellow by Special Election in MaterialsProfessor of Materials Science

Alexander Teytelboym, BSc LSE, MPhil, DPhil OxfTutor in EconomicsAssociate Professor in Economics

Samuel J P Wolfe, MA, MPhil, PhD CambTutor in French LinguisticsAssociate Professor in French LinguisticsPresident of the Senior Common Room

Thomas C Adams, BA, BCL, DPhil OxfTutor in LawAssociate Professor in Law

Sumathi Sekaran, BSc, PhD ImperialFellow by Special Election in Biomedical Sciences

Ashley R Marshall, BS Pacific Lutheran, PhD Colorado BoulderJunior Research Fellow in Physics (M21)

Brian B Sheil, BEng, PhD NUIJunior Research Fellow in Engineering Science (M21)

Orestis Adamidis, Dipl NTU Athens, PhD CambTutor in Engineering ScienceAssociate Professor in Engineering Science

Mackenzie Graham, BA Western Ontario, MA Dalhousie, PhD WesternJunior Research Fellow in Philosophy

Master and Fellows 2021

S T C A T H E R I N E ’ S C O L L E G E / 1S T C A T H E R I N E ’ S C O L L E G E / 1

ContentsMaster’s Report 2

College Life Senior Tutor’s Report 6

Tutor for Admissions’ Report 8

Tutor for Graduates’ Report 10

Visiting Students Report 11

Remembering our Visitor, Prince Philip 12

From the Library & Archive 15

From the Development Office 18

JCR Report 20

MCR Report 21

Sports and Societies Review 22

Finals Results & Prizes 24

Graduate Degrees, Diplomas & Scholars 27

Student Perspectives Millie Brunton (2017, Modern Languages & Linguistics)

& Ross Jenkinson (2017, Physics) 30

Manon Johnes (2020, Geography) 34

Esthy Hung (2016, Physics) 37

Leo Geyer (2019, Music) 39

Alumni News Clementine Brown (2011, Oriental Studies) 42

John Renwick (1958, Modern Languages) 45

Jo Lennan (2008, Law) 47

Fellows Eve Morrison 50

Gaia Scerif 52

Regent Lee 54

Philip Torr 56

College News Catalyst: our flagship schools outreach programme 59

College Events 2022 & The College Time Capsule 61

Prize Crossword 62

News in Brief 64

Gazette Obituaries 66

Admissions 2020 83

Front cover image: The Boat Club on Lake Bala, Wales, during their summer training camp.

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Master’s ReportThe academic year 2020-21 has been my first full year

as Master, and what a year it has been! Because of the

pandemic it has been a year of ups and downs, with

tense times and with difficult decisions to be made, but

exactly because of this it has also been a year that has

shown the strength and resilience of the College and all

those who work or study within it.

Michaelmas term 2020 was preceded by meticulous

preparation to ensure that we were able to return to an

environment that was as Covid-safe as possible. Almost all

students came back into College, but we were operating

under severe Covid restrictions, including social distancing

and face coverings. Students were also organised in

households and the kitchen staff divided into bubbles.

These restrictions were strengthened in Hilary term,

with students not already living in College told to

stay at home. All activity took place online, and staff

were working from home whenever practicable. Trinity

saw a majority of students back in College, but many

restrictions were still in place and much of the teaching

had to be online. The term was also cut short somewhat

by the arrival of the Delta variant, and students who had

hoped to stay on after term to celebrate largely ended

up either isolating in College or returning home.

It has, then, been a challenging year for our students,

with testing and isolating, online tutorials and exams in

childhood bedrooms.

However, College teams have stepped up, providing extra

support during these exceptional times and I would like

to thank every member of the College whose dedication

The Master, Professor Kersti Börjars.

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M E S S A G E SM A S T E R ’ S R E P O R T


College teams

have stepped up,

providing extra

support during

these exceptional

times and I would

like to thank

every member

of the College

whose dedication

has pulled us

through this

unprecedented

year.

has pulled us through this unprecedented year. We

were also – thanks in no small part to the generosity of

our alumni – able to offer extra financial help to those

students that needed it. This allowed many of

our students to focus on their studies and not their

finances.

Our buildingsThe year has also presented challenges unrelated to the

pandemic. On 8 January 2021, the exact anniversary

of my arrival in College, I woke up at about 4am to the

sound of a fire engine pumping water from our flooded

boiler room into the moat. Everyone involved that

morning impressed me with their calm and constructive

approach: the Acting Home Bursar, Inge-Marie Rossouw-

Smith, the porters and the maintenance staff. I also

discovered the benefits of having in Byron Byrne a

Finance Bursar who is also a civil engineer! The boilers

have now been replaced and we should be safe from

flooding for a while.

The pandemic has meant that we were not able to

welcome conferences into College over the summer,

giving us the opportunity to completely renovate the

ceiling of the Hall. This even involved sending the

original light fittings to be cleaned and made ready for

efficient and future-proofed LED lights.

From one of our original buildings, to our newest – the

Ainsworth Graduate Centre. We are pleased that it

has this year been warmly adopted by our graduate

students, for whom this vital addition to Arne Jacobsen’s

beautiful buildings has become a home from home.

It has also been recognised by those outside the

College. In May it was shortlisted for the Design

Excellence Award at the Planning Awards 2021 and

at the Oxfordshire Property Festival it was highly

commended in the quirkily titled category ‘Best Interior

(Cool & Funky) Space’. It also recently received a

certificate in the Oxford Preservation Trust awards.

The College communityLast year, I reported on the departure of a number of

people who had played a central role in the College

for many years. This year, instead, I have the pleasure

of reporting on new arrivals. In February, Ian Wright

joined us as Home Bursar and our new Fellow in

Inorganic Chemistry, Dr Ludmilla Steier, was formally

elected at the Stated General Meeting in September.

Our new Director of Development, Laura Stoker, started

in January 2021. Since joining the College, she has

built up a team which have been able to recommence

plans for alumni events. In April, I was delighted to

meet around 50 alumni from across the globe as part

of the University’s Meeting Minds conference. When

it was held again in September, two of our fellows,

Alex Teytelboym and Bart van Es, spoke about their

research.

Another Fellow, Marc Lackenby, has taken on the role

of Vice-Master of the College. I would like to thank

Richard Todd, who is stepping down from this post: he

has carried out the duties that normally fall to a Vice-

Master efficiently, but he has also been someone an

inexperienced Master could speak to in confidence.

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In spite of the difficult times our students have had

over the past two academic years, they have kept their

academic work up to an excellent standard. In the most

recent Norrington Table, for the 2019-20 year, we are

again in second position. Catz being in the top five

is now becoming a familiar message in the Master’s

Report and this is a tribute to our students and all

those who teach and support them.

Achievement in spite of difficultiesThe achievements of our students go beyond excellent

degree outcomes. Nisha Hare, a final-year Medical

Sciences student, won several awards for her excellent

achievements in her clinical medicine studies, and DPhil

students Laura Molloy and Luigi Marchese were awarded

prizes from sector bodies for their respective theses.

Three of our undergraduates were elected to the Oxford

University Student Union for the 2021-22 term of

office. Aleena Waseem follows another Catz student,

Ben Farmer, into the role of Vice-President: Charities

and Community; and Bethan Adams and Dhitee Goel

have taken up their positions as student trustees.

In a difficult sporting year, the College was still

represented in the football Varsity matches, with two

women, Maddy Kowalenko and Daisy Connolly, and one

man, Finlay Ryan-Phillips, in the respective games. Both

matches were won by Oxford. We were represented,

too, in the men’s Boat Race by Augustine Wambersie.

Our fellows have achieved many good things, including

a remarkable treble of academy fellowship elections

this year. Laura Tunbridge was elected a Fellow of the

British Academy, Philip Torr of the Royal Society and

Byron Byrne of the Royal Academy of Engineering. This

is an annual haul that any full-scale university would be

proud of.

The final one of these also means that we now

have a quintuplet of fellows of the Royal Academy

of Engineering. Sources outside the College tell me

that this is likely to be a unique achievement of any

Oxbridge college, and is indeed something a reasonably

sized Department of Engineering could be proud of.

The work of these three fellows was also recognised

in other ways: Byron Byrne was awarded the British

Geotechnical Association Medal and Laura Tunbridge

was presented with the Royal Musical Association’s

Dent Medal. Philip Torr has received a hefty £3 million

research fellowship to improve the future of artificial

intelligence, something you can read more about later

in this edition of The Year.

Our alumni continued to achieve great things, including

internationally best-selling author and Catz alumna

Jeanette Winterson, who was awarded an honorary

degree by the University. I attended this ancient

ceremony, at which, this year, all recipients were

women, marking a century since Oxford’s first female

graduates.

The achievements mentioned here are just a few of the

successes of the College community this year, and you

can read much more in the pages that follow.

I am also

grateful to our

alumni who

have played an

important role

in making sure

we were able

to provide the

extra financial

support that

our students

needed during

this trying year.

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I was also delighted that were able to hold the final of

the Henfrey Prize for Composition in person in April,

when we welcomed Judith Weir, Master of the Queen’s

Music, into the College for the event. The competition

gives all Oxford students the chance to work with

industry professionals to develop an original piece of

music and is generously supported by Catz alumnus Tony

Henfrey.

That month, we also saw the death of the College’s

Visitor, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, just months

short of his 100th birthday. He was associated with St

Catherine’s since it became a college and we were very

grateful for his service and dedication to the nation and

the College. A reflection of his time at the College can

be found on pages 12-14

Earlier in the year we also mourned the loss of Emeritus

Fellow Bruce Tolley, who, as a Founding Fellow, had been

present at the College’s inception.

Thank youAt the end of a turbulent year, I want to thank all those

who have contributed to getting us through it relatively

unscathed: the bursars, the officers, the fellows, our

students and all those who teach them, and all members

of support staff, including porters, maintenance, kitchen

and housekeeping.

I am also grateful to our alumni who have played an

important role in making sure we were able to provide

the extra financial support that our students needed

during this trying year.

I hope that in these pages you will find interesting

tales from our College community, updating you on

the excellent research and exploits of our students and

fellows, and shining a light on some of the wonderful

achievements of our alumni.

Though I know that next year will be impacted by the

pandemic in a number of ways, I am hoping for a calmer

year; but whatever happens, I look forward to working

and enjoying my way through it with everyone involved

in St Catherine’s College. n

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C O L L E G E L I F E

In the academic year 2020-21, which will be

long remembered as the year of the great

pandemic, I was on sabbatical, locked down,

and enjoying the company of my lovely

new-born girl, Saoirse. What a strange world

for her to be born into! Streets and parks

deserted, shops and cafes closed, everyone

other than her mum and dad covering their

faces with strange blue swathes of fabric.

When not baby-wrangling I was deep in

research on the early industrial British working

class and the pre-Famine Irish peasantry. To

put it mildly, I was ‘socially distanced’ from

the normal buzzing vibrancy of the St Catz

community. I missed it, of course, though

who would regret sharing so much time with

the first year of their baby’s life!

It’s also true that I was not entirely in exile.

During the year, I retained my role and duties

as Senior Tutor. I should say, this was by

no means the onerous as job it was for the

deans, welfare team and accommodation

staff, whose efforts, cheerful and herculean,

deserve awed inscription in our annals.

There were very many students who, for

excellent pandemic-related reasons, applied

for ‘dispensation from the residence in Oxford

requirement’ in Michaelmas, and this involved

my having numerous online meetings to

discuss each individual case. It gave me some

insight into the real difficulties posed by

the pandemic for so many students, and the

fortitude with which they were met.

Even with complete lockdown in Hilary, the

show went on. Students were taught via

Microsoft Teams and, by all accounts, applied

themselves with grit and determination to

their studies. Learning really is a palliative, a

balm and restorative for the mind, in troubled

Senior Tutor’s Report

Professor Marc Mulholland, Senior Tutor, writes about the

2020-21 year at St Catherine’s.

times. The hard work, commitment and

ingenuity of Catz students really has been

second to none.

The famous ‘Catz exchange’ conference,

when students give seven-minute papers

on academic topics of their choosing, went

ahead online, well attended, and was a great

success.

Tiger Hills discussed ‘Globalisation, the

nation state, and migration policy’, Leo

Geyer introduced and performed a musical

piece, Cº-VI-dx19, Hannah Kidner gave us her

‘Insights to be gained from studying children’s

educational television in 1950s Britain’, and

Grace Olusola wondered whether ‘films are

like onions’ in her presentation on ‘Shrek

and the historical merit of studying cinema’.

The keynote speech was delivered by Naomi

Freud, a beautiful and immersive reflection

The hard work,

commitment and ingenuity

of Catz students really

has been second to

none.

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on ‘The tortoise in the grove’, lessons learnt

from her own efforts of growing olives in a

manner sympathetic to local ecology.

The students threw themselves into the

unfamiliar format of online, open-book

exams, and excelled. We try not to pay too

much attention to the Norrington Table

ranking colleges by Finals results. What

matters is how each and every individual

student grows and develops as confident,

ambitious and insatiably curious intellectuals.

Still, it does not perturb me to report that

our 2019-20 placement was confirmed at

number two in the table, as it had been the

year before. The Table for 2020-21 has yet to

be finalised, but we are confident that once

gain we are in the very upper reaches. Every

cohort who goes through Catz adds to its

lustre. I’m so pleased to see our current mix

gaining that recognition that is their due.

Saoirse is in nursery now, and I am back in

College and in harness, while she learns all

about the world around. It gives me great

cheer seeing what splendid young adults we

have in Catz – so inquiring, so various, so

creative – when I think about her future and

what drive all young people have. n

What matters

is how each

and every

individual

student grows

and develops

as confident,

ambitious

and insatiably

curious

intellectuals.

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8 / T U T O R F O R A D M I S S I O N S ’ R E P O R T

Tutor for Admissions’ Report

and 868 in 2017). A total of 381 candidates

were shortlisted for interview, and in excess

of 1,100 remote interviews were conducted

during ninth and tenth weeks of Michaelmas

term – over 100 more interviews than any

other college!

Our extremely dedicated team of 21 Student

Ambassadors also adapted to the fully

remote format by replacing the Student

Helpdesk normally held in the JCR with test

calls for each candidate. The main aim of

these calls was to test the connection and

check that candidates were comfortable

with the technology, but they also gave

the candidates an opportunity to chat with

a current Catz student. As a substitute for

the usual social interactions in the JCR, our

Admissions team organised several informal

Q&A sessions with a panel of current

students, which were also held online during

the interview period.

The pandemic forced us to reshape our

admissions system, by moving the December

2020 interviews fully online. We would

normally conduct remote interviews for a

small number of international students who

are not able to come to Oxford, but moving

the entire operation online was a massive

challenge for the whole University.

Most candidates were interviewed from their

school or home, and some subjects employed

two-way virtual whiteboards to help with the

discussion of technical material. The more

complex nature of this fully remote interview

exercise meant interviews had to be spread

over a significantly longer period than usual,

with some being scheduled very early or very

late in the day to accommodate the many

candidates in different time zones.

At Catz we received 1,054 applications

(compared with 926 in 2019, 961 in 2018,

Dr Jim Thomson, Tutor for Admissions, reports on how an

unprecedented year led to unprecedented adaptations to interviews

and to outreach activity at the College.

We were conscious that candidates had

missed out on the opportunity to experience

Catz first-hand at interview and so we held

a virtual event for offer holders in February.

Various sessions were held across four days to

give offer holders as much exposure to Catz

as possible. Each day featured a Q&A session

with the Admissions team, focussing on the

next steps in the admissions process, and a

Life at Catz session with current students.

There were also subject-specific sessions

where offer holders could chat with current

students in their subject, with tutors joining

midway through the session. We produced

an updated virtual tour of the College to give

the offer holders an impression of what it is

like to visit Catz, and resumed in-person tours

of the College once public health restrictions

allowed.

M E S S A G E S




It has been a very challenging year for

outreach. Not only were we unable to

welcome school visits to the College but

we were also aware that the priority for

schools was to get pupils back in the

classroom and delivering the full curriculum,

which left little time for the super-curricular

events and career planning sessions that

we offer. On a more positive note, though,

we were delighted to welcome Catz

alumnus Steffan Williams (2017, Human

Sciences) to the team as our new Outreach

Officer. Steffan has already had a huge

impact in this role, despite the limitations

on our ability to interact with schools in

person.

I am pleased to report that we have

been able to grow our flagship outreach

initiative, Catalyst, with new ‘hubs’ now

established in the London Borough of

Haringey, south-east Wales and Teesside.

We have also been able to activate our

grant from the Department for Education,

which provides £20,000 funding to support

the expansion of Catalyst over the next two

years. You can read more about Catalyst on

pages 59–60.

In addition, I am pleased to report that we

have established the Oxford Cymru outreach

consortium – a collaboration between Catz,

New College and Jesus College – to provide

sustained outreach support throughout

Wales. In addition to establishing our

Catalyst: Cymru ‘hub’, we have held various

online outreach events with schools across

Wales and organised a webinar with Careers

Wales, a network of teachers who support

students in making competitive applications to

university.

Other headline outreach events have included

the Music Taster Day on 31 May, a Modern

Languages & Linguistics Taster Day on 2 June,

and the Women in Science Day on 4 June.

These online events were all designed to give

Year 12 students a flavour of what studying

at university is like.

As always, I am extremely grateful to the

Admissions and Outreach team here at Catz

for their hard work and dedication under

these very challenging circumstances. In

particular, I would like to highlight the sterling

work of Charlotte Sansome, Deputy Academic

Registrar (Admissions & Access), who had a

critical role in the success of our first fully

remote interview exercise.

Undergraduate admissions interviews will

remain online for the next admissions cycle

but we are now open to school visits and are

excited about working in-person with schools

again and expanding further our outreach

offering. n


1 0 / T U T O R F O R G R A D U A T E S ’ R E P O R T

Compared to last year we have had more

interaction with our graduate students, but it has

still very much been a year disrupted by Covid-19.

Many students have been working away

from Oxford or have had restricted access to

laboratories and limitations on field work. Others

have also been required to isolate due to positive

contacts or travel restraints.

Despite this, our students have continued with

their studies and research, with most persevering

to make good or excellent progress.

We have continued to support many more

through the Academic Office than during

pre-pandemic times, and I have held an

unprecedented number of weekly meetings

with staff and students to achieve this. My

sincerest thanks go to the Academic Office for

their dedication during this very difficult and

demanding time.

We look forward, in Michaelmas 2021, to

welcoming a further 208 graduate fresher

students from 51 countries, continuing with a

Tutor for Graduates’ Report

very international graduate community. We also

plan to hold the induction and matriculation

ceremony in person.

The MCR Committee have planned an excellent

graduate freshers’ week with many of the

events taking place in the Ainsworth Graduate

Centre, which is finally being used to its full

potential.

Our graduands of 2021 will be able to have the

usual ceremonies in the University’s Sheldonian

Theatre and we are making arrangements to

welcome back last year’s graduates, who we

feel missed out on the final months of their

College experience.

I am looking forward to seeing our graduate

scholars visiting us again, using their High

Table dining rights to both interact with and

contribute to the richness of the Senior

Common Room.

We are blessed at St Catherine’s with a vibrant

and diverse graduate community and we

anticipate continuing to build on their success. n

Professor Ashok Handa, Tutor for Graduates, sums up the year

that was experienced by the College’s graduate community.

We are blessed at

St Catherine’s with a

vibrant and diverse

graduate community

and we anticipate

continuing to build on

their success.

S T C A T H E R I N E ’ S C O L L E G E / 1 1S T C A T H E R I N E ’ S C O L L E G E / 1 1


I shall remember this year as extraordinary.

It was the year that we welcomed and

shared our college with British students

from a number of US universities. At the

close of Trinity term in 2020 we had not

envisioned sharing our lives with them.

Indeed, their university rules would not have

allowed them to study in the UK. All was

about to change.

In July 2020, Immigration and Customs

Enforcement in the US announced that

international students would not be

permitted to study there if they were not to

be taught in person. Although this decision

was rescinded, colleagues from Harvard, MIT

and Yale were keen for Catz to offer their

British students stability and confidence.

By the close of the following week I had

interviewed and accepted all their eligible

students and the news that Catz was an

option for British students led to a number

of successful applications from Chapel Hill,

Dartmouth and Princeton.

Visiting Students Report

Students from universities across Europe and

further afield joined us also, creating what was

perhaps the most eclectic mix of students we

have had the pleasure to welcome, with some

remaining at Catz during vacation periods.

Before students joined Catz in person, Zoom

and WhatsApp provided the opportunity

to enter each other’s lives and homes.

It enabled those students who were not

permitted to join us in the UK to enjoy a

warm experience with their tutors and peers.

I felt this was a special time and I see these

platforms as ways of connecting in a way we

never had so easily before.

The College remained the wonderful and

vibrant place we all love, albeit muted by

bubbles and lockdowns that came our way.

Home universities acknowledged the work

the College put in place to provide all of our

undergraduates with practical, academic,

social and counselling support. This enhanced

the resilience of students and their tutors

to cope with the restrictions whilst working

creatively and diligently.

Naomi Freud, Director of Studies for Visiting Students, describes

the unusual journey faced by this year’s visiting students.

The learning journeys for some subjects take

different routes in the US and Europe from

our own and I would like to acknowledge, in

particular, the additional help, support and

kindness that colleagues within Mathematics,

Economics, Chemistry, Computer Science and

Physics showed to our students.

Conversations made clear that despite the

heavy reliance on remote learning (mostly

within Oxford), students valued their time at

Catz. They told me that their learning

experience and access to tutors was better

than they would have had in their home school

environments.

Importantly, they had found a home in St

Catherine’s and formed friendships that would

bind them to others for the rest of their lives. n


1 2 / R E M E M B E R I N G O U R V I S I T O R , P R I N C E P H I L I P

Remembering our Visitor, Prince Philip

Prince Philip first visited St Catherine’s with

Her Majesty the Queen in 1960, as the

foundation stone of the new St Catherine’s

College buildings was laid. The Prince later

accepted an invitation to become the Visitor

of the new College.

1964The Duke’s first visit to College as Visitor

was on 22 May 1964. On this day, he also

collected an honorary doctorate from the

University of Oxford.

On 9 April 2021, just two months short of his 100th birthday, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip died. The Duke served as Visitor ofSt Catherine’s from its foundation as a college until his death, choosing to continue in this role even after he ceased other official duties. Using archive material, we look back at the Prince’s time at St Catherine’s.

With Harold Macmillan, Chancellor of the University and former Prime Minister. (OM) I

Meeting Arne Jacobsen, architect of the College buildings. (OM) k

Descending the College library staircase. (OM) K

An Oxford Mail report as the Prince accepts the role of Visitor. (OM) L



Remembering our Visitor, Prince Philip

1968Prince Philip next visited College on 20 and

21 February 1968, as part of the celebrations

marking the centenary of the formation of

the Delegacy for Unattached Students, the

College’s predecessor institution.

1989St Catherine’s was celebrating another key

milestone when the Duke next visited on

3 March 1989: the 25th anniversary of the

ceremonial opening of the College. The

Prince wrote a letter of congratulations to the

College, also thanking those whose donations

had supported the College’s creation.

With Alan Bullock, College Master. (OM) J

With MCR President Grant Steven. (OM) L

The Prince’s letter to the College. L

Meeting students. (OM) K

1 4 / R E M E M B E R I N G O U R V I S I T O R , P R I N C E P H I L I P


1995Prince Philip returned six years later, on 14

February 1995, to formally open newly built

student accommodation. He unveiled a plaque

as, ‘the world’s most experienced plaque

unveiler’ (below).

2005Prince Philip’s final visit to College came on

11 November 2005, when he opened further

College buildings. The plaque he unveiled

remains in place close to the Lodge.

We are grateful for the time that Prince Philip

gave to the College during his almost six

decades of service in this post. The formal

process to find our next Visitor is underway.

Thanks go to the College Archivist for access

to these documents.

Images marked ‘(OM)’ reproduced courtesy of

the Oxford Mail.

Letter to the College from Prince Philip

reproduced courtesy of Buckingham Palace.

A full version of this piece, which was

released for what would have been the 100th

birthday of the Prince, can be viewed online

at www.stcatz.ox.ac.uk/prince-philip

With Brian Smith, Master, 1989. (OM) J

The plaque unveiled by the Prince. L

Greeting attendees with Roger Ainsworth, Master. L



From the Library & Archive

In October 2020, reopening the library and the

archives was not an easy task.

We had already been experiencing an almost

exclusively remote approach to library services

since March 2020, which had initially been an

even more challenging disruption, a nightmare

fantasy in our pre-Covid minds.

Besides this, we were asked and we were

willing to find a way towards a reopening

which had to go through a long ‘reopening

with restrictions’ phase, which turned out to

be complicated, and against the library spirit,

but inevitable due to the continuing pandemic.

We managed it, and somehow reinvented

ourselves!

In this scenario we were lucky to be

involved in a human project: everyone in the

College pulled together to make the new

arrangements work.

Another human project which involved us all

arose from the brutal and tragic event that

happened in May 2020: the killing of the

46-year-old African American George Floyd by

a police officer in Minneapolis.

Early in the summer, some black students of

St Catherine’s met with the Master, the Tutor

for Graduates and the Dean to talk about

their experiences in College. They proposed a

celebration of black alumni, and Black History

Month offered a natural context for doing this.

The Master contacted library staff to collect

some ideas, which we welcomed and developed

as an exhibition in the library, and with a virtual

version online.

This celebrated two former black students

from diverse periods: Christian Cole (1873,

Classics) and Eric Williams (1932, Modern

History), members respectively of the Delegacy

of Unattached students and of St Catherine’s

Society. It also featured more recent Catz alumni

who have all pursued remarkable careers.

Christian Cole became the first black African

practitioner of law in England and Eric Williams

was the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago.

Barbara Costa, Assistant Librarian, and Professor Gervase Rosser, Fellow Librarian, provide an overview of library and archive activity

this year.

Barbara Costa

Professor Gervase Rosser


1 6 / F R O M T H E L I B R A R Y A N D A R C H I V E

William Booth, Lecturer in Modern History,

wrote the short biographies of Christian Cole

and Eric Williams which accompanied artefacts

collected from the archives. These included:

l a handwritten letter signed by Christian

Cole on 30 September 1879

l a pamphlet, Reflections on the Zulu War,

published by Cole in 1879 (kindly lent by

University College)

l records of Eric Williams’ life in College in

the 1930s, from the magazine of

St Catherine’s Society

l a facsimile of a letter written by Williams’

granddaughter, who highlighted his human

character.

Lydia Ciaccio, the JCR President, contacted

the other featured alumni and collected their

photographs and their biographies. Kaylin

Chong, the JCR’s Academic Rep, helped to film

video clips for the online exhibition, including

a collection of comments from students about

the exhibition and their feelings of being a

black student at St Catherine’s.

Support was also given by the Master’s Office

and the Development Office, ensuring that

materials were printed and that the exhibition

could be seen by everyone, online.

All this collaboration enabled us to engage

creatively with the past, with the history of

our College, and with the wonderful people

who populated and populate it, in order to

take a stand against horrific incidents and race

violence, and as a cathartic project during a

time of pandemic.

‘Great Guns of Oxford’: a contemporary cartoon of Christian Cole.

Eric Williams, during his time at St Catherine’s Society.

Front cover of Reflections on the Zulu War, by Christian Cole.



The exhibition is still available online, at

www.stcatz.ox.ac.uk/bhm20

Following the ‘reopening with restrictions’

phase in Michaelmas term 2020, library staff

undertook their tasks to assist students both

remotely and in person, themselves working

both from home and in College, and on

flexible furlough for some months.

The acquisition of printed volumes was

briefly suspended in favour of the purchase

of electronic resources, to assist students

working remotely. However, thanks in part

to some valuable donations, the work of

acquiring physical copies and withdrawing old

and obsolete volumes quickly resumed.

The donations included some modern French

books from the library of the late Bruce

Tolley, Founding Fellow and Tutor in French,

later Emeritus Fellow, which were given by

his family. A number of law books from the

library of Derek Davies, Founding Fellow and

Tutor in Law, later Emeritus Fellow, were given

by his wife Margaret Davies, former archivist

of the College.

An important task to make space on

the shelves was undertaken in both the

French and law sections, and some pre-

1920 books were transferred to the library

store rooms. These books are still in the

University’s catalogue and can be reserved for

consultation with in the library spaces.

Some temporary book displays have been

exhibited in the library and advertised on

social media to encourage students, in

particular, to read new books which raise

awareness of social issues.

An example is the book display which marked

LGBT+ History Month, the annual celebration

every February which aims to promote equality

and diversity throughout society by celebrating

the lives, experiences and history of lesbian,

gay, bisexual and transgender people.

This exhibition stemmed from an initiative by

the College’s JCR and MCR LGBT+ Welfare Reps,

Gaia Clark Nevola and Chris Jones, who liaised

with library staff to arrange the display. n

The Black History Month exhibition.


1 8 / F R O M T H E D E V E L O P M E N T O F F I C E

From the Development Office

accessed this emergency hardship fund as the

impact of Covid-19 took its toll, and we were

very grateful that we could offer assistance to

them. Whether it was fixing a broken laptop

that was necessary for online tutorials and

essay writing, helping to relocate students

back home unexpectedly or providing extra

welfare support, the assistance received by

each student really made a difference to them.

The ramifications of the pandemic will be

felt by our students for some time to come

and we are very thankful to those of you

who continue to provide us with the means

to support both our undergraduates and

graduates. The award each student receives

helps to ease their personal financial

pressures, allowing them to focus on their

studies and enjoy their time in College.

Another of the beneficiaries of these funds

is our access and outreach work, especially

hard hit during the pandemic. This vital work

is something the College is committed to

expanding, as we seek to ensure that the

Oxford community reflects the best of the

academic talent available, and we aim to

encourage anyone anywhere to achieve their

potential. You can read more about this work

on pages 59–60.

opportunity to ask questions, live from living

rooms and offices across the world.

Meeting Minds Global returned in September

and we hosted lectures from two of our

fellows. English professor Bart van Es discussed

his Costa Prize-winning book The Cut Out Girl,

and economist Alex Teytelboym enlightened

attendees on his work with conservationists

and how together they used auctions to

increase bird populations in the UK.

We were thrilled to see so many alumni

across all our virtual events in 2021. Given

their success, we are looking at holding more

virtual events in future, to allow those who

cannot travel to College the opportunity to

join us.

Thank you

We wish to extend our thanks to those who

supported the College over the last year,

however you gave. Nearly 1,400 alumni and

friends generously did so during the year.

Thanks to this generosity, last year we were

able to award 112 students with means-

tested bursaries, and we financially supported

nearly 70 individuals through the Student

Support Fund. More students than ever before

The 2020-21 academic year was one of ups

and downs. We were unable to hold any

alumni events in College due to the pandemic

and had to delay our planned gaudies for

another year. We missed welcoming our

alumni and friends to Catz, but we were

grateful and touched that so many of you

remained connected with us, asking how

students were faring and updating us on your

news.

These interactions, at a time of tumult for us

all, shows how strong the Catz connection is;

whether current student or alumni from many

decades ago, there is a bond that brings each

one of you together.

Catz goes virtual

Although we were not able to meet in person,

we did host two virtual events in April 2021

in conjunction with the University of Oxford’s

Meeting Minds Global online conference.

Usually an annual, in-person event held in

Asia and North America, we were delighted to

still be able to meet with alumni in both these

continents, which in the circumstances felt

further away than ever. More than 50 alumni

joined us to hear from the Master on life in

College, and many took advantage of the



The College reopens

The College has now reopened to guests

and we are encouraging alumni to take

advantage of their right to dine on High

Table, up to three times per year. Coupled

with an exclusive discount on overnight stays

in College accommodation, we hope alumni

will join us to relive their Oxford days! Find

out more about dining or staying in College

on our website, or contact the Development

Office.

We hope you continue to keep in touch

with us and keep us updated on your

news: we’re always happy to hear from our

alumni community. Contact details for the

Development Office team can be found on the

back cover.

As restrictions ease we are looking forward to

welcoming you all back to College, and hope

you will be able to join us at High Table or at

one of our many upcoming events in 2022 –

see page 61 for what we have planned. n

‘I’m a final-year English

and History student and

only considered applying to

Oxford after attending an

outreach summer school. I

also receive a bursary which

has supported me throughout

my time at Catz. The money

I’ve received has been crucial

to letting me get on with

my studies without worrying

about my finances. Thank you

to everyone who supports

the College and, through it,

supports students like me.’Grace Olusola (2019, History and English)

M E S S A G E S

2 0 / S T C A T H E R I N E ’ S C O L L E G E2 0 / J C R R E P O R T


JCR Report

The 2020-21 academic year was perhaps

one of the most challenging ever faced by

undergraduate Catz students. During my

three terms as JCR President, one was spent

living under lockdown in College, one at

home and the last back at Catz – though

some undergraduates have not been back

since March 2020.

Thus, both the ways in which the JCR

Committee worked to support the JCR and

how the students of the JCR themselves

supported each other had to be adapted

to these overwhelmingly difficult

circumstances. The perseverance of my

peers in this community is something to be

commended.

The year began with a Freshers’ Week

that looked particularly different from its

previous iterations. The JCR Committee

and Angels worked their very hardest to

welcome the incoming freshers and ensure

their experience was as safe and enjoyable

as possible despite the limitations. Many

JCR events, including Open Meetings, and

welfare and social gatherings, had to be

held online until Trinity term.

Nevertheless, the Committee improvised

where possible. Our Welfare Reps organised

dog walks with Catherine – the Master’s

dog – our Disabilities Rep established more

support for rusticated students and others

on the Committee held a much smaller Hall

dinner for Christmas.

Come Trinity, Catz and Oxford more

widely felt relatively much brighter. Open

Meetings, husts and Munch were held in

person, the bar reopened, and our Arts

Reps even managed to organise a brilliant

Arts Week with an exhibition, film night and

music performances. Moreover, we were able

to hold (albeit very delayed) much-missed

formals, to make up for those that did not

occur earlier in the year.

Something I’m particularly proud to have

worked on is a new Personal Relationships

Policy. After a JCR motion passed in the final

Open Meeting of last year, a working group

was convened, and we drafted this new

policy and revised the College Harassment

Policy.

And finally, a new Ball Committee was

elected this year in preparation for Catz

Ball 2022! Their work to uphold the Catz

Ball’s reputation as the biggest and best in

Oxford is already well under way and it will

be tremendously exciting to see what they

achieve.

Here’s hoping to a brighter year ahead! n

Lydia Ciaccio (2019, History and Politics), the 2020-21 JCR President, gives an update on the

College’s undergraduate community.

The JCR Committee and

Angels worked their very

hardest to welcome the

incoming freshers and

ensure their experience

was as safe and enjoyable

as possible.

M E S S A G E S




MCR Report

How can one write about life in Covid times

anywhere in the world? The task becomes

doubly difficult when considering that

our role as the MCR Committee involved

creating a sense of community among the

graduate students at St Catherine’s College.

Addmittedly, the words that inevitably

come up when thinking about last year are

rather negative ones: from alienation and

solitude to loneliness and distress (add as

many synonyms as you like). As a world-

changing event like Covid made reality

rather uncanny for everyone, the graduate

community could not have remained

immune to it: students experienced a high

degree of alienation, being stuck in their

rooms and feeling desperate for social

connection. However, we tried not to allow

this situation to dampen our spirits as

the MCR Committee and did our best to

establish some much-needed support and

community.

For the most part, last year’s events

took place online. National lockdowns

meant that our hands were tied in terms

of restrictions and regulations that we

needed to consider, and therefore could

not organise the types of events that we

usually would. We tried to use the (online)

means we had in the best possible way:

organising speed dating events, online

games and regular online yoga sessions.

Within the restrictions, we even managed

to organise one in-person event in

Michaelmas term, a mulled wine initiative,

which turned out to be very well-attended

and was enjoyed by everyone.

Later, as restrictions gradually started to

be lifted, we gingerly began to organise

our first in-person events. A cocktail

night, with an impressive array of different

cocktails, and a Biergarten event, our

first initiaves at Catz House, were huge

successes and brought many MCR members

together, often for the first time in person.

The outdoor summer Garden Party, a

spectacular end-of-year event, also gave

an optimistic culmination to a difficult

2021.

On a more academic note, our Academic

Officer spearheaded several great

initiatives, including online co-working

sessions, online inter-college and inter-

disciplinary conferences, and the St

Catherine’s Academic Review (SCAR).

We are particularly excited about the

last of these as we are now approaching

publication of its first issue. It should

include book reviews and original research

covering a range of disciplines represented

by the College’s diverse MCR – and alumni

– community.

Now, with an optimistic outlook towards

the future, we are making up for every

second of lost time, as the world is

gradually hailing us back to normality. n

Isavella Vouza (2020, English Language and Literature) and Chloe Colson (2019, Mathematics), the 2020-21 MCR Co-Presidents, share their experiences of this academic year.

As the MCR Committee we did

our best to establish some

much-needed support and

community.

Sports and Societies Review


2 2 / S P O R T S A N D S O C I E T I E S R E V I E W

Despite a challenging year, and many students not being in College, sport and society activity continued

at Catz. Here’s a round-up of some of the highlights, provided by club captains.

The Boat ClubDuring lockdowns, training was delivered

online and had a solid turnout every week –

a testament to the commitment of the squad.

In Michaelmas 2020, the Club competed in

an inter-college competition, The Lockdown

Regatta, run by Christ Church Boat Club. This

involved a series of challenges (while wearing

subfusc), and visiting as many pubs as possible.

The Catz crew were the overall champions!



Five boats were entered for Torpids in Trinity

2021, following around just eight weeks’

training – including members who had never

rowed before. The men’s first boat came

third, the Club’s highest position on the river

in Torpids since 1876.

The College’s women’s club (pictured on

the river, left) is now the only women’s

club to compete in every Torpids since the

introduction of women’s divisions in 1978.

Their first boat was stuck as the ‘sandwich

boat’ and had to row twice every day. A

women’s third boat was also entered for only

the third time ever.

Feminist SocietyThe College’s Feminist Society continued

to bring women* together. This included

synchronised film screenings of feminist

titles, and the creation of a collaborative

music playlist on Spotify, Women* of

Wonder, for Catz’s favourite women* and

non-binary artists – which now includes over

300 songs.

FootballThe College’s women*’s team (above left)

reached the semi-finals of the five-a-side

Cuppers tournament in Trinity 2021.

Water PoloTrinity 2021 also saw the College’s water

polo team (pictured) win Cuppers.

Yoga SocietyYoga classes continued to be held online,

with students often joining alongside

members of their household – and many

said how nice it was to see so many smiling

faces. As the easing of pandemic restrictions

allowed, Tuesday evening classes returned. n

The College’s women’s

club is now the only

women’s club to compete

in every Torpids since the

introduction of women’s

divisions in 1978.

Finals Results 2021Biological SciencesHannah Fox – II (i)

Biomedical SciencesAbby Hespe – IEleanor Smith – I

Chemistry (MChem)Rebecca Clarke – II (i)Paramveer Kumar – II (i)Teodor-Razvan Mirescu – II (i)Jevhan Pandya – II (i)Chloe Ridsdill Smith – II (i)Ming Kit Sze – IDaniel Thomas Du Toit – II (i)

Computer Science (BA)Tudor Enescu – II (ii)Emil Indzhev – ITuan Nguen – II (ii)Markus Tuomi – II (ii)

Computer Science (MCompSci)Andrei Draghici – DistinctionMilos Golub – DistinctionIlia Manolov – DistinctionBenjamin Slater – DistinctionSerban Slincu – DistinctionJoshua Smailes – DistinctionBozhidar Vasilev – Distinction

Economics & ManagementAaron Aujla – ISuleika Fiumi – IDaniel Sitoh – II (i)

Engineering Science (BA)Kieran Young – III

Engineering Science (MEng)El-Amin Ahmed – II (i)Sara Beitlafteh – II (i)Charles Blake – II (i)Wesley Condren – IGakuto Fuse – IZachary Nairac – IMichael Watford – I

English Language & LiteratureCydney Beech – IJacqueline Brown – INatasha Curtis – IFinlay Field – IMolly Johnson – IPeter Lewis – IJoseph Lucas – ICharles Wade – II (i)

Experimental PsychologyJames Gurd – IKatie Hurman – IJosh Shepherd-Smith – II (i)

Fine Art (BFA)Eleanor Capstick – I

GeographyArchie Barker – II (i)Jay Bhandari – IIsobel Denby-Jones – II (i)James Egan – II (i)Antony Farag – IRobert Kilgour – II (i)Laura Mitchell – IRachael Parker Allen – I

HistoryFreya Boulton – IMatthew Emmett – IThomas Goodwin – IHannah Kidner – II (i)Aleena Waseem – II (i)Noah Wiener – II (i)

History & EconomicsAneurin Michael – I

History & PoliticsMilo Basak Whitbread – ILucy Nurcombe – II (i)

History of ArtDora Hosie – II (i)Shaun Miskelly – ICara Turner – I

Human SciencesMolly Foster – II (i)Elliot Frame – IZachary Lim – I

LawRhian Bevan – II (i)Emmanouil Daoulas – II (i)Robyn Harvey-Smith – II (i)Toran Kaul – II (i)Anisa Khan – INahida Khanom – II (i)See Hyun Park – IArunima Shrikhande – II (i)Andreas Wolf – II (i)

Law with Law Studies in EuropeRaphaelle Petit – II (i)Thomas Roy – II (i)Eve Thomson – I

Materials Science (MEng)Anthony Akinwale – II (i)Calum Cunningham – IWilliam Staunton – IXumo Yang – II (i)

Mathematical & Theoretical Physics (MMathPhys)Ivan Dimitrov – DistinctionChristopher George – Distinction

Mathematics (BA)Martin Parker – IBilly Twigge-Molecey – II (i)Thomas Wilkinson – I

Mathematics (MMath)Aikaterini Adamopoulou – MeritJulien Bruyninckx – MeritJulian Hitchcock – Distinction

Mathematics & Computer Science (MMathCompSci)Katherine Benjamin – DistinctionPaul Stoienescu – MeritAlexander Townsend-Teague – Distinction

Mathematics & Statistics (MMath)Yansong Zhao – Distinction

Medical SciencesHenry Aldridge-Waddon – II (i)Jenai Chinoy – IEleanor Ferris – ICatherine Foster – I

Modern LanguagesKatie Brookes – II (i)Charlotte Hughes – II (i)Amy Ryder – II (i)Elise Shepley – IJonathan West – I

Modern Languages & LinguisticsAmelia Brunton – II (i)Sadiyah Diallo-Geny – II (i)Rory Fisk – II (i)Samantha Morito – II (i)

Molecular & Cellular Biochemistry (MBiochem)James Bennett – IPeter Cullimore – II (i)Joseph Hamley – INoah Harrison – ILeonard Lee – IJordan McCabe – II (i)

MusicKatie Bunney – IAlejandro Caballero – I

Philosophy & Modern LanguagesToger Christiansen – II (i)

Philosophy, Politics & EconomicsKaede Aoki – IChung Kiu Kwok – IKasper Myhre – II (i)Brett Sibert – II (i)Leah Tillmann-Morris – IJames Woodford – II (i)

Physics (BA)Phoebe Savage – II (i)

Physics (MPhys)Esther Hung – IRoss Jenkinson – IEmil Ostergaard – I

SCHOLARSHIPS & EXHIBITIONS

College ScholarsKarl Baddeley (Philosophy,

Politics & Economics)Finlay Beresford

(Philosophy, Politics & Economics)

Lachlan Bradley (Chemistry)

Emma Buelte (Modern Languages)

Andrew Bulla (Materials Science)

Sean Carpenter (Economics & Management)

Lydia Ciaccio (History & Politics)

Gaia Clark Nevola (English Language & Literature)

Melissa Driver (Modern Languages)

Adahna Ekoku (Geography)

Louis Finegan (Philosophy, Politics & Economics)

Cara Fuller (Biomedical Sciences)

James Gordon (Geography)Mia Gray (Human Sciences)James Gurd (Experimental

Psychology)Nandini Guzman

(Chemistry)Flynn Hallman (English

Language & Literature)Freya Holden (Geography)James Hughes (Computer

Science)Esther Hung (Physics)Angus Hunter (Human

Sciences)Matthew Kunov

(Engineering Science)Thomas Laskowski

(History)Freya Leyland (Materials

Science)Xuechen Lin (Engineering

Science)Albert Lopez Bruch

(Mathematics)Weronika Lurka


Lucas Lyko (Geography)Eira Murphy (English

Language & Literature)Grace Olusola (History &

English)Alexander Pollard (Music)


2 4 / F I N A L S R E S U L T S & P R I Z E S


David-Andrei Purcar (Mathematics & Statistics)

Evan Quiney (Mathematics)

Charlotte Rowland (Chemistry)

Joshua Self (History)Marisa Sharma

(Chemistry)Benjamin Slater

(Computer Science)Joe Spencer (Modern

Languages & Linguistics)Nadine Staes-Polet

(History & Politics)Mykolas Sveistrys

(Physics)Anirvinya Tirumala

(Engineering Science)Jonas Topp-Mugglestone

(History)Alexander Townsend-

Teague (Mathematics & Computer Science)

Billy Twigge-Molecey (Mathematics)

Thomas Wagstaff (Materials Science)

Harvey Walsh (History)Emma Weitzman


Joanna Williams (Geography)

Litong Wu (Chemistry)Airuo Zhang (History &

English)Xin Zhang (Computer

Science)Zeyang Zhao (Computer

Science)Yuantao Zhou

(Mathematics)

David Blank ScholarsAngus Ann (Law)Harry Chan (Law)

Matthew Fader (Law)Jacqueline Hovell (Law)Ariel Kaminsky (Law)Sahil Thapa (Law)Leena Van Surell (Law with

Law Studies in Europe)

Sembal ScholarsDali Dunn (Molecular &

Cellular Biochemistry)Colm Lambert (Molecular

& Cellular Biochemistry)Ishani Shah (Molecular &

Cellular Biochemistry)

College ExhibitionersAlice Ardis (Physics) Anjuli Bali (Materials

Science) Eliza Bellerby (Biomedical

Sciences) Katie Brookes (Modern

Languages) Kaylin Chong (Biology) Edward Davies (Law with

Law Studies in Europe) Sadiyah Diallo-Geny

(Modern Languages & Linguistics)

James Egan (Geography) Antony Farag (Geography) Molly Foster (Human

Sciences) Elliot Frame (Human

Sciences) Alexander Hajialexandrou

(Chemistry) Jake Hirsch (Modern

Languages & Linguistics) Yang Hu (Physics) Tinashe Kanyowa (Medical

Sciences) Ryosuke Kondo

(Mathematics & Computer Science)

Paramveer Kumar (Chemistry)

Niamh Louwman (Medical Sciences)

Jian Rong Ng (Physics) James O’Brien (Molecular

& Cellular Biochemistry) Lorenzo Piersante

(Physics) Shriya Pilli (Medical

Sciences) Jake Reeve (Experimental

Psychology) Jack Rolf-Gokes

(Engineering Science) Oliver Spacey (Biology) Charlotte Thomas (Law) Leah Tillmann-Morris


Samuel Whiteley (Engineering Science)

Benjamin Wilde (Mathematics)

Isabel Williams (Biology)

PRIZES AND AWARDS

UNIVERSITY PRIZESUndergraduates

Armourers and Brasiers’ Company / TATA Steel Prize for Best Team Design ProjectKehinde Lawal (Materials Science)

Armourers and Brasiers’ Company / Rolls Royce Prize for Outstanding Overall Performance in Materials Science PrelimsYihong Hu (Materials Science)

Armourers and Brasiers’ Company / TATA Steel Prize for Best Team Design ProjectReggie Leung (Materials Science)

Armourers and Brasiers’ Company / TATA Steel Prize for Best Team Design ProjectShane McCarthy (Materials Science)

BCS Prize in Computer Science for the Best Performance in Computer Science PrelimsHsin-Lei Lin (Computer Science)

Congratulatory FirstKatie Hurman (Experimental Psychology)

Department of Materials Annual Prize for the Most Significant Improvement between Parts I & IIAnthony Akinwale (Materials Science)

Dolores Oria Merino Prize for the Best Performance in Spanish Prose Paper IJonathan West (Modern Languages)

Gibbs Prize for Distinguished Performance in English Language & Literature FHSJacqueline Brown (English Language & Literature)

Gibbs Prize for Distinguished Performance in English Language & Literature FHSMolly Johnson (English Language & Literature)

Gibbs Prize for Meritorious Work in Economics in Economics & Management FHSAaron Aujla (Economics & Management)

Gibbs Prize for Meritorious Work in Engineering Science PrelimsYinghuai Sun (Engineering Science)

Gibbs Prize for Practical Work in Physics FHS Part ALorenzo Piersante (Physics)

Gibbs Prize for the Best Overall Performance in Computer Science FHS Parts A & BEmil Indzhev (Computer Science)

Gibbs Prize for the Best Performance in Engineering Science PrelimsAloysius Wang (Engineering Science)

Gibbs Prize for the Best Performance in Modern Languages PrelimsFaun Williams (Modern Languages & Linguistics)

Gibbs Project Prize for Mathematics & Computer Science FHS Part CAlexander Townsend-Teague (Mathematics & Computer Science)

G-Research Prize for the Best Computer Science ProjectEmil Indzhev (Computer Science)

John Farthing Prize for Outstanding Work in the Prelims Anatomy PaperHarmanpreet Randhawa (Fine Art)

Law Faculty Prize in Media LawEve Thomson (Law with Law Studies in Europe)

Norton Rose Fulbright Prize for Overall Best Performance in Law ModsSahil Thapa (Law)

Paget Toynbee Prize for the Best Performance in Italian Paper IXKatie Brookes (Modern Languages)

Pinsent Masons Prize in Taxation LawSee Hyun Park (Law)

Prize for the Best Performance in Criminal LawSahil Thapa (Law)

Proxime Accessit Gibbs Prize for the Best Performance in Human Sciences PrelimsNina Guy (Human Sciences)

UK Geographies of Health & Wellbeing Dissertation PrizeLaura Mitchell (Geography)


Graduates

Examiners’ Prize for the Best Overall Result in the MSc in Migration StudiesTiger Hills (Anthropology & Museum Ethnography)

Ledingham Prize for the Best Overall Performance in MedicineNisha Hare (Medical Sciences)

Meakins McClaran Medal for the Best Overall Performance in the BM BChNisha Hare (Medical Sciences)

Mortensen Prize for the Best Overall Performance in SurgeryNisha Hare (Medical Sciences)

OMMS Mathematical PrizePeter Koepernik (Mathematics)

COLLEGE PRIZES

The Burton Prize for the best academic performance during the year in an area covering Psychology, Sociology, Geography and Human Sciences was awarded to Laura Mitchell (Geography).

The Cochrane Evidence-Based Medicine Prize for the best critical appraisal of evidence answering a practical clinical question was awarded to Conor Hennessy (Medical Sciences).

The Francis and Caron Fernandes Music Prize for contributing towards the musical life of the College was awarded to Anna Jackman-Straw (Music).

The Gardner Prize for outstanding contribution to the life of the College was awarded to Lydia Ciaccio (History & Politics).

The Harold Bailey Prize for Asian Studies was awarded to Katherine Wong (Oriental Studies).

The Henfrey Prize for Composition was awarded to Jonty Lefroy Watt (St Hugh’s College).

The John Martin Prize for the best performance in Materials Science Part I was awarded to Reggie Leung (Materials Science).

The Katritzky Prize for the best performance in Chemistry Part I was awarded to Max Benkert (Chemistry).

The Katritzky Prize for the best performance during the year in History of Art by a second-year was awarded to Daniya Jawwad (History of Art).

The Leask Music Scholarship was awarded to Daniel Zolinsky (Music).

The Michael and Lily Atiyah Prize for the best performance in Mathematics by a second-year was awarded to Evan Quiney (Mathematics).

The Neville Robinson Prize for the best performance in Physics Part B was awarded to Benjamin Middleton (Physics).

The Neville Robinson Prize for the best performance in Physics Part C was awarded to Emil Ostergaard (Physics).

The Peter Raina Prize for the best essay by a second-year reading English was awarded to Eira Murphy (English Language & Literature).

The Rose Prize for the best academic performance during the year in Biological Sciences was awarded to Oliver Spacey (Biology), Hamza Ahmad (Biology) and Kaylin Chong (Biology).

The Rupert Katritzky Prize for the best performance in the Final Honour School in History was awarded to Matthew Emmett (History).

The Smith Award for services to Music within the College was awarded to Nicholas Heymann (Mathematics & Philosophy).

The Stuart Craig Award given to an outstanding student who has gained distinction in a university or national sport, or cultural or musical activities, was awarded to Katie Bunney (Music) and Manon Johnes (Geography).

The Thomas Jefferson Prize for the North American student who has contributed most to the College academically, socially or culturally ‘in the spirit of Thomas Jefferson’ was awarded to Avery Mitchell (Visiting Student) and Marguerite Schueler (Visiting Student).

The Wilfrid Knapp Prize for the best essay by a second-year reading PPE was awarded to Weronika Lurka (Philosophy, Politics & Economics).

The Wright Prize for the best performance in Mathematics Part B was awarded to Bogdan Blaga (Mathematics & Computer Science) and Matthew Colpus (Mathematics & Computer Science).

COLLEGE TRAVEL AWARDS

Wallace Watson AwardAmelia Brunton (Modern Languages & Linguistics)Ross Jenkinson (Physics)

Wilfrid Knapp Travel AwardRhys Appleyard (Modern Languages)Lily Kershaw (Modern Languages)Elizabeth Proctor (Modern Languages)

Emilie Harris AwardEdward O’Neill (Engineering Science)

Environmental Travel AwardEleanor Capstick (Fine Art)Martin Parker (Mathematics)

Mark Davys BursaryEdward Davies (Law with Law Studies in Europe)Leena Van Surell (Law with Law Studies in Europe)

William Matthews Travel AwardMia Rigby (Modern Languages)Joey Weinbren (Modern Languages)

Teach First BursaryHelena Johnson (English Language & Literature)

College Travel AwardsAditi Agrawal (MPLS Doctoral Training Centre)Lydia Ciaccio (History & Politics)Gaia Clark Nevola (English Language & Literature)Daisy Day Fawcett (History)Dali Dunn (Molecular & Cellular Biochemistry)Lili Herbert (English Language & Literature)Leonie Hoffman (International Development)Aitan Li (Management Studies)Eira Murphy (English Language & Literature)Christopher Perera (Medical Sciences)Heather Tong (Geography)

The Charles Wenden Fund has continued to support the sporting life of the College.


2 6 / F I N A L S R E S U L T S & P R I Z E S


Jesus Antonio Acapulco (Materials)Synthesis of Low Dimension Boron Nitride Nanomaterials for Thermal Management Applications

Deena Alasfoor (Medical Sciences)Exploring Access To Primary Health Care Among Diabetic Patients In Oman

Jacob Bird (Music)Becoming Queen: Voices, Bodies, and Technologies in Drag Lip-Sync Performance

Samuel Campbell (Zoology)Computational Analysis of Host/Pathogen Coevolution

Naomi Cannell (MPLS Doctoral Training Centre)Investigation of Early-Diverging Land Plant Metabolism

Isaac Capone (Materials)Phosphorus-Based Anode Materials for Alkali-Ion Batteries

Yichen Dai (Zoology)Weird Gene in a Weird Mammal: Comparative and Functional Analysis of the Highly Divergent Sand Rat Pdx1 Gene

Christina Economy (Government)Innovation in Public Service Delivery: Essays on the Social Impact Bond

Daniel Fahy (Engineering Science)On Natural Convection in a Large Civil Gas Turbine

Nicholas Fordham (Medical Sciences)The Role of EZH2 Mutation in Paediatric Myelodysplasia

Pablo Gabriel (Chemistry)Catalytic Reductive Cyclisation of Amides Using Vaska’s Complex

André Guerra (Mathematics)Quasiconvexity and Weak Convergence in Nonlinear Analysis

Thomas Hird (Physics)Engineering a Noise-free Quantum Memory for Temporal Mode Manipulation

Frederik Lange (MPLS Doctoral Training Centre)A GPU Parallelised Multimodal Registration Framework for Improved Anatomical Consistency

Namhoon Lee (Engineering Science)Toward Efficient Deep Learning with Sparse Neural Networks

Emily Lindsay-Smith (Linguistics, Philology & Phonetics)A Phonological Typology of Modern Arabic Varieties

Po Yee Lo (Sociology)The Conception and Formation of Families Among Non-Heterosexual Women (Lalas) in Urban China

Robin Lorenz (Computer Science)Quantum Causal Structure

Reevu Maity (Physics)Learning Models in Quantum Computation and Quantum Control

Myrna Martin (History)Walls and Gates: Jewish Ghettos and the Built Environment in Ferrara, Florence, and Modena (c. 1750-1840)

Romulo Mendonca Machado Carleial (Zoology)Temporal Dynamics of Sexual Selection in Red Junglefowl

Marcin Moczulski (Computer Science)Improving Neural Networks by Reduction of Parameters and Noise Injection

Laura Molloy (Social Science of the Internet)Creative Connections: the Value of Digital Information Objects and their Effective Management for Sustainable Contemporary Visual Art Practice

Kalina Naidoo (Medical Sciences)Investigating the Role of D-alanine and D-serine in the Gut and the Brain, an in Vitro and in Vivo Study

Supratik Paul (Computer Science)Towards Robust Reinforcement Learning

Frida Printzlau (MPLS Doctoral Training Centre)How is information in working memory selected and prioritised for action?

Silvia Raineri (Biochemistry)Investigating the Nexus Between Chromatin and Metabolism

Liam Saddington (Geography & the Environment) *Rising Seas and Sinking Islands: The Geopolitics of Climate Change in Tuvalu and Kiribati

Nattapong Sanguankiattichai (MPLS Doctoral Training Centre)Investigating the Production of an Inhibitor of Plant ß-galactosidase by the Plant Pathogen Pseudomonas Syringae

Thomas Scott (Materials) *The Effect of High Temperature on Polycrystalline Diamond

David Smith (Medical Sciences)Characterisation of Hepatitis C Virus Antiviral Resistance in the Era of Direct Acting Antivirals

Arturo Soto Gutierrez (Fine Art)Vicarious Times, Memorious Places: Inscription and Narrative in the Urban Landscape

Oliver Vince (Engineering Science)Development of Ultrasound-Mediated Therapies for Brain Metastases

Yunke Wang (Zoology)Mechanisms of Ejaculate Expenditure in a Polyandrous Bird

Filip Zivanovic (Mathematics)Symplectic Geometry of Conical Symplectic Resolutions

* indicates previous graduate of the College


Graduate Degrees & DiplomasDuring the academic year 2020-21 leave to supplicate for the DPhil was granted to the following:

M E S S A G E S

2 8 / S T C A T H E R I N E ’ S C O L L E G E2 8 / G R A D U A T E D E G R E E S , D I P L O M A S & S C H O L A R S


Himani Aggarwal, MPhil Evidence-Based Social Intervention & Policy Evaluation ††

Saher Ali, MSc (C) Migration Studies ††Abdikarin Ali-Hassan, Master of Public Policy ††Sultan Alqaisi, MSt Diplomatic Studies ††Alaba Angole, MSc (C) Social Anthropology ††Tomiris Atazhanova, MSc (C) Clinical EmbryologyPuja Balachander, MBANathan Bandara, MSc (C) Financial Economics †Igor Baranov, MSc (C) Financial Economics ††Callen Baxter, MSc (C) Law & Finance ††Paige Bernecker, MSc (C) SociologyDavid Berry, MSc (C) Mathematics & Foundations of

Computer ScienceArun Bisla, MBASimon Bone, MSc (C) Social Science of the Internet (part-

time)Yebeen Boo, MSc (C) Global Health Science & EpidemiologyIrene Burger, MSc (C) Computer Science ††Jose Eduardo Canales Calderon, MSc (C) Law & Finance ††Andres Castanos-Mollor, MBAShuting Chen, MSt Linguistics, Philology & Phonetics

(Advanced Study) ††Chun Fang Cheng, MSc (C) Statistical Science †Chido Chigwedere, MBAMairi Clarkson, MSc (C) Comparative Social Policy ††Emily Craven, MSt English (650-1550) †Emily Daly, MSt Ancient Philosophy †Mariana Da Silva Gabriel, MSt Music (Musicology)Niamh Davis, BCL ††Abelardo De Anda Casas, MPhil Economics ††Sydelle De Souza, MSc (C) Applied Linguistics & Second

Language Acquisition †Alasdair Dow, MSt History - British & European History

1700-1850 ††Jonathan Drake, 2nd BM *Felicity Edwards, Executive MBA (part-time) †Adam Elebert, BCL ††Elliot Epstein, MSc (C) Mathematical & Computational

Finance ††Oliver Evans, MSt English (1900-present day) †Sjöfn Evertsdottir, MSc (C) Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

(part-time) ††Chun Yin Fan, MBAAugusto Fernandez, MBA

Eliot Foster, MBANoah Fournier, MSc (C) Mathematical & Theoretical Physics †Kirsten Gansert, MBALeylya Gaysina, MSc (C) Experimental & Translational

Therapeutics (part-time)Grace Gillis, MSc (C) Clinical & Therapeutic Neuroscience †Khiam Li Goh, MSt English (1900-present day)Joanna Goodall, MBA †Jeevun Grewal, MSc (C) Psychological Research †Boyang Han, MSc (C) Mathematical & Computational

Finance ††Nisha Hare, 2nd BM * †Courtney Harshbarger, MSt English (650-1550) ††Ruoying He, MSc (C) Education (Child Development &

Education) †Yue He, MPhil EconomicsTiger Hills, MSc (C) Migration Studies * †Josefine Hinkelmann, MSc (C) Software Engineering

(part-time)Solveig Hoppe, 2nd BM (Graduate Entry)Elizabeth Hotz, MSc (C) Archaeology ††Madeleine Hunt, MSc (C) Global Governance & DiplomacyKudzanai Hwami, MFA (part-time) †Takeshi Igarashi, MBAFuga Iwama, MPhil Economics ††Ran Jiang, MSc (C) Social Science of the Internet ††Ekemini John, MSc (C) Energy Systems ††Adam Johnston, 2nd BM (Graduate Entry)Elvinas Jonaitis, MSc (C) Law & Finance †Caroline Jones, MSc (C) Environmental Change &

Management ††Christopher Jones, MSt English (1900-present day) †Olivia Jordan, MSt English (1830-1914) ††Jatin Joshi, MSc (C) Evidence-Based Health Care (part-time) †Krzysztof Kacprzyk, MSc (C) Mathematical Sciences †Saad Khan, MBAThomas Klein, Master of Public Policy ††Peter Koepernik, MSc (C) Mathematical Sciences †Frida Koslowski, MSc (C) Evidence-Based Social

Intervention & Policy Evaluation ††Pauline Lamaiziere, Diploma in Legal StudiesNatasha Lanzon-Miller, MFA ††Chi Le, MSc (C) Global Health Science & Epidemiology ††Brianne Lee, MBA

Frederick Leo, MSt History – Modern European History 1850-present ††

Matthew Lepahe, MBA †Lok Hang Leung, BCL †Dan Li, MSc (C) Law & FinanceNatalie Lim, MSc (C) Migration Studies †Quentin Louis, MSc (C) Social Anthropology †Dragos Manea, MSc (C) Mathematical Sciences †Moni Manyange, MSt Diplomatic StudiesBeth Marsden, MFA (part-time) †Sarah Marshall, MSt Greek &/or Latin Languages &

Literature †Vicky Mills, MSc (C) Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (part-

time)Kaito Mori, MSc (C) Law & Finance †Priscila Moscoso Meiller, MBACharalampos Moustafelos, MSc (C) Mathematical Finance

(part-time) †Yamuna Mundade, MSc (C) Experimental Therapeutics

(part-time)Raghuveer Nath, BCL ††Oladipo Okusaga, MSc (C) Sustainable Urban Development

(part-time)Gabriel O’Regan, MSt Modern Languages †Georgios Papavangelis, MSt History - Intellectual History ††James Perring, 2nd BM *Lav Radosavljevic, MSc (C) Statistical Science ††Nagraj Rao, MBA †Oshmita Ray, MPhil Politics (Political Theory) †Natalie Record, MSc (C) Sustainable Urban Development

(part-time) †Renata Reis, Executive MBA (part-time)Matthew Reiter, MSc (C) Mathematical & Computational

Finance †Charlie Richards, MPhil Politics (Political Theory) †Virginia Rieger, MSt English (1700-1830)Arnaud Rippol, MSc (C) Statistical Science †Rosa Maria Romero, MSc (C) Surgical Science & Practice

(part-time)Alexandra Rottenkolber, MSc (C) Social Data Science †Branavan Rudran, MSc (C) Musculoskeletal Sciences

(part-time)Affan Saibudeen, 2nd BM *Shehnarz Salindera, MSc (C) Surgical Science & Practice

(part-time)

The following were successful in other examinations:

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S T C A T H E R I N E ’ S C O L L E G E / 2 9S T C A T H E R I N E ’ S C O L L E G E 2 0 1 2 / 2 9


Katie Sanchez, MSc (C) Archaeology †Mollie Schofield, MSt Modern Languages †Ananya Sharma, MPhil Modern South Asian Studies ††Lan Shi, MSc (C) ArchaeologyJessica Shu, MBAWilliam Silver, MSc (C) Social Science of the Internet

(part-time) †Helen Singh, 2nd BM (Graduate Entry)Barbora Snaraite, MSc (C) Mathematical Sciences ††Zhan Yi Soh, MBA †Oluwadamilola Soyoye, MBAJoy Stewart, MSc (C) Refugee & Forced Migration StudiesThomas Surridge, MSt History - Medieval HistoryIan-Christopher Tanoh, MSc (C) Statistical Science †Cheng Tao, MSc (C) Mathematical & Theoretical PhysicsMateo Tate-Contreras, MSt English (1550-1700) ††Agne Taujanskiene, Executive MBA (part-time) †Jasper Verplancke, MSc (C) Clinical & Therapeutic

NeuroscienceMax Von Gierke, MSc (C) Mathematical Sciences ††Lennart Walter, MSc (C) Financial Economics †Ben Waterman, MBAKarl Welzel, MSc (C) Mathematical Sciences †Noah Wescombe, MPhil Socio-Legal ResearchRavi Wesley, Executive MBA (part-time)Henry Wetherall, MBAEric Wiebe, MSc (C) Law & FinanceLaura Williams, PGCE MathematicsKatherine Wong, MSc (C) Contemporary Chinese Studies †Xiangyu Wu, MSc (C) Statistical Science †You Wu, MSc (C) Mathematical & Computational Finance †Phillip Xiao, MBAZehan Xie, MSc (C) SociologySteve Yap, MSc (C) Evidence-Based Health Care (Systematic

Reviews) (part-time)Edward Yee, MBA * †Daoyue Zhai, MSc (C) SociologyZhengyi Zhu, MSt Music (Musicology) †

* indicates previous graduate of the College† indicates candidates adjudged worthy of distinction by the

Examiners†† indicates candidates adjudged worthy of merit by the

Examiners

Roxanna Abhari (Medical Sciences) Glaxo ScholarMasaki Adachi (Engineering Science) Kobe ScholarClaire Barnes (Classics) College Scholar (Arts)John Cattermull (Materials) Lord Bullock Memorial ScholarPak Ka Chan (Oriental Studies) Light Senior ScholarMatthew Chapman (Social Science of the Internet) Fletcher

Graduate ScholarJenai Chinoy (Medical Sciences) Foundation College ScholarAndrei Draghici (Computer Science) Foundation College

ScholarEleanor Ferris (Medical Sciences) Foundation College

ScholarCatherine Foster (Medical Sciences) Foundation College

ScholarAna Luiza Gibertoni Cruz (Medical Sciences) Light Senior

ScholarAlissa Hummer (Statistics) Wilfrid Knapp Scholar (Sciences)Rafael Hunt-Stokes (Physics) College Scholar (Sciences)Molly Johnson (English Language & Literature) Ghosh

Graduate Scholar and Foundation College ScholarAna Kisovar (Medical Sciences) Light Senior Scholar

Peter Koepernik (Statistics) College Scholar (Sciences)Talia Kollek (Global & Area Studies) Overseas ScholarshipKaiyo Konishi-Dukes (Music) Kobe ScholarPatrick Kratschmer (Medical Sciences) Light Senior ScholarBroderick McDonald (Politics & International Relations)

College Scholar (Arts)Aneurin Michael (History) Foundation College ScholarTomajin Morikawa (Oriental Studies) Kobe ScholarPeter Olive (Classics) Light Senior ScholarMisha Patel (Engineering Science) Leathersellers’ Company

ScholarVeronika Samborska (Medical Sciences) Overseas ScholarZara Small (Medical Sciences) Foundation College ScholarAnnika Theodoulou (Continuing Education) Light Senior

ScholarIsavella Vouza (English Language & Literature) Light Senior

ScholarEmma Walker-Silverman (International Development)

Wilfrid Knapp Scholar (Arts)Shizhuo Wang (Economics) Light Senior Scholar

Graduate Scholars

M E S S A G E S


M E S S A G E S

3 0 / M I L L I E B R U N T O N & R O S S J E N K I N S O N

S T U D E N T P E R S P E C T I V E S

Millie Brunton and Ross JenkinsonBiserica, Bucegi and bear prints: a 700km pilgrimage through the Carpathians

The 2021 Wallace Watson Award was won by Millie Brunton (2017, Modern Languages and Linguistics) and Ross Jenkinson (2017, Physics). The pair used the prize to undertake a month-long

trek through Romania, summiting mountain peaks, learning from locals and avoiding bears.

The trip allowed us to experience total isolation from our normal lives, a constant fixation on the

struggle to fulfil our basic survival needs, and the sense of accomplishment that comes from

defeating that many kilometres, mountain tops, and seemingly disastrous mishaps.

M E S S A G E S


M E S S A G E S



This summer Ross and I were lucky enough to spend

a month trekking through the Transylvanian Alps

and Carpathian mountains of Romania, thanks to the

generosity, guidance and support of the Watson family

and St Catherine’s College.

Romania has the largest population of brown bears

in Europe, an arc of unspoilt mountainous wilderness

cutting through its midst, and a complicated but

extremely important religious landscape. Despite a

sad history of intolerance and repression, Romania is

thought to be the most religious country in Europe,

and is littered with Orthodox painted monasteries and

pilgrimage sites, with many attracting annual crowds in

the tens of thousands on holy days.

The journey that I had planned would start at the

Manastirea Ortodoxa Tismana, an Eastern Orthodox site

in Oltenia, sanctified in 1377. We would travel 700km

east and north, following the spine of the country’s

biggest mountain ranges; ending at the Catholic

monastery of S, umuleu Ciuc in Miercurea-Ciuc (or

Csíkszereda in Hungarian, the language spoken by the

majority of the town’s inhabitants).

Although more than 80% of Romania is Orthodox, there

is a small Hungarian-speaking, Catholic population in

Szeklerland (we gradually learnt, during our journey, that

the enormous Pentecostal pilgrimage here has an ever-

increasing political significance as well as a religious one).

I wanted to try and construct a pilgrimage myself, to

experience first-hand a little of what it is that has driven

millions of people throughout history to make these

journeys of faith. I just needed an ally who would be

up for the challenge and willing to tolerate my company

for a month in the wildest region of Europe: and that’s

when Ross decided to sign up.

After a plane journey, a lost passport (re-found) and

bank card (gone forever), and various buses across

the southern Romanian plains in 35ºC heat, we finally

arrived in Tismana on 29 July. From here we began our

2,000m ascent to the peaks of the Retezat National

Park. We continued east through the Parâng Mountains

and into the Fagaras, Mountains group. On this stretch,

we encountered the highest peaks of the journey:

Moldoveanu, which stands at 2,544m.Millie and Ross setting up camp in the mountains.

Our scariest animal encounter came in the third week when wolves tried to get into our tent several times during the night!

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3 2 / S T C A T H E R I N E ’ S C O L L E G E3 2 / M I L L I E B R U N T O N & R O S S J E N K I N S O N


Our most gruelling day here had us waking up and

going to sleep in frost, as it took us 13 hours to

painstakingly summit both Negoiu and Vânatarea lui

Buteanu. The craggy mountaintops, glacial lakes and

desolate views were certainly worth it! The next stage

took us through the Bucegi Natural Park (my favourite

part of the trip), where our climbing was rewarded with

limestone grasslands and waterfalls.

After a stop in Bus,teni to repair a phone and reset,

we started on the slightly less severe (and entirely

deserted) terrain of the Ciucas, and Buzau mountains.

We then eventually turned north into the forested

Eastern Carpathians: bear country. On one of the days

here we didn’t see a single sign of human activity, but

did see three separate sets of bear footprints.

Although bears aren’t strictly carnivorous, they are

dangerous (as the unnerving and very unhelpful

‘Avertizare! Urs!’ texts that we would receive from the

Romanian authorities sporadically over the month kept

reminding us).

When we camped each night, we made sure to place all

food far from the tent and high in a tree. Although this

tactic did stop us from meeting any grizzlies, it did once

result in all of our provisions for the next five days of

hiking being eaten by an unidentified mountain creature

(or creatures?). Our scariest animal encounter, however,

came in the third week when wolves tried to get into

our tent several times during the night!

Whilst the landscape and character of each region was

dramatically different, the patience and generosity of the

people that we met was unfailing and humbling. We spent

hours talking to the shepherds who spend their summers

alone, grazing sheep high up in the mountain pastures.

Many invited us into their homes and gave us bread and

cheese that they had made from the sheep’s milk.

In the final week we were averaging 40km a day, and

the last settlements that we passed through sold little

more than ramen and Coco Pops, so we could not

have been more grateful for food! We visited the few

monasteries and chapels that we passed and met one

nun, far up in the hills, who told us that she had been

living there alone for 40 years.

The Basilica in Sumuleu Ciuc, the end point of the pair’s journey.

Many shepherds were encountered along the route.

M E S S A G E S



The Wallace Watson Award provides financial

assistance to students, encouraging them to

undertake expeditions or travel of a challenging

nature, thus fostering an inner strength of character,

an appreciation of other cultures and a broadening

of the mind.

The trip eventually took us 25 days to complete and

we travelled a total of 687km, falling just short of our

700km claim. Although, if you are generous enough

to add on the retraced steps of countless navigational

errors, and the vital but often hazardous detours to

find distant mountain springs to refill our water, we are

certain to have clocked the distance.

I will not claim to have undergone a dramatic

transformation, nor do I have any revolutionary religious

insights, but I do know that we have both learnt a lot

from the experience (and not just how many Romanian

beers are named after mountain ranges!).

The trip allowed us to experience total isolation from

our normal lives, a constant fixation on the struggle

to fulfil our basic survival needs, and the sense of

accomplishment that comes from defeating that many

kilometres, mountain tops, and seemingly disastrous

mishaps. I am certain that, despite the blisters, I came

back healed in more ways than one.

We would finally like to mention, and thank, Miss Lauren

Bain who joined us in Romania for the first three,

and final four, days of our trek. She provided us with

laughter, wisdom, and some of the greatest meals that

have ever been produced on a camping stove. n

The journey’s highest peak, Moldoveanu, stands at 2,544m.

M E S S A G E S

3 4 / S T C A T H E R I N E ’ S C O L L E G E3 4 / M A N O N J O H N E S


Manon Johnes enters the room sporting a black eye, the

result of a game played two days earlier. ‘We won, so it

kind of made it worth it!’ she says with a smile.

Such injuries were probably commonplace at her

secondary school, where playing competitive sport –

often for one’s country – was the norm. ‘We’d have a

photo day with everyone that represented internationally

and there were 30 or 40 of us,’ Manon casually explains,

in her calming Welsh lilt. ‘It just wasn’t that big a deal.’

Rugby, the national game in Wales, was especially

important. ‘In my year there were probably five of us that

played rugby for Wales under-20s.’ The school in question,

a large Welsh-language state school in central Cardiff, put

a high value on sport alongside academic achievement,

and supported Manon during international call-ups.

‘Sometimes I’d have to fly to, say, France during the day,

play a game of rugby, and then go to school the next day.

It was quite surreal, a bit like leading a double life.’

This admission is the only time that this humble

20-year-old seems to concede that her impressive

lifestyle is anything other than normal. Even her memory

of her first call-up, aged just 17, seems an everyday

occurrence: ‘I was just walking back from the bus stop

on the way home from school when I read the email

saying I was in the squad.’

‘Though to get capped,’ she admits, ‘and to actually

play, was another thing. Someone got injured four

minutes into the game and I just had to go on, I didn’t

have time to hype myself up or worry about it. It was

a home game so all my family and teachers and friends

were there, it was really nice.’

Three years and sixteen international caps later, Manon

is entering her second year studying geography at

Catz, and is now able to be in College after a year of

online learning. Her subject has always interested her,

its breadth being a big draw. ‘I feel like I could study

Manon Johnes(2020, Geography)

Like many students, Manon Johnes juggles her studies with playing sport. Unlike

for most of her peers, her sport takes her round the world representing her

country. She’s a regular on the rugby pitch for her native Wales, alongside weekly

games in the English top flight. Her schedule is full-on, but she found the time to

sit down and talk to us.

Sometimes I’d have to fly to, say, France during the day, play a game of rugby, and then go to school the next day.

M E S S A G E S



anything and geography would cover it.’ But with her

mother tongue being Welsh, and all her schooling before

Oxford being in this medium, it was ‘daearyddiaeth’,

rather than ‘geography’, that fascinated her growing up.

‘At school you would actually be told off if you spoke

English,’ she smiles. Although as Manon didn’t learn the

language until she was seven, that wasn’t a problem. ‘I

remember my Oxford interview quite vividly, everyone was

talking in English about these technical geographical terms

and I had no idea what they were! I had to explain that I

knew them in Welsh, but not in English.

‘After that I went upstairs to look through a dictionary

for half an hour,’ she admits, laughing. ‘I think gradually

you get to grips with it, and now I’ve been here a year

I’m beginning to pick up some nice academic words that

perhaps weren’t in my locker before.’

The challenges of language and online learning,

though, haven’t dampened her enjoyment of her

studies: ‘I just love my degree!’ she proclaims, before

maturely recognising the role her studies play as a

balance to her sporting pursuits. ‘If rugby’s not going

so well, say if I pick up an injury, then I have something

else to focus on.’

When Manon explains her weekly schedule, it’s easy

to see why she might need to fill any such void. ‘I train

three days a week,’ with Bristol Bears, her club, ‘and

I’m there from four in the afternoon until around ten at

night – and then have to travel back to Oxford. I then

play on Saturdays too.’

And what’s her biggest challenge, when managing these

competing priorities? ‘It’s probably the commute, that’s

really tough at times – but also the Oxford workload.

All my friends of my age that I train with go to other

universities and you can’t compare the workload.

‘They actually make fun of me sometimes for going to

Oxford – in a nice way! It keeps me grounded. I think

when you’re in Oxford, and you don’t go home for the

whole of term, you can definitely get in a bubble, so

it makes me realise that Oxford isn’t the be-all and

end-all.’

Manon (L) playing against South Africa.

M E S S A G E S

3 6 / S T C A T H E R I N E ’ S C O L L E G E3 6 / M A N O N J O H N E S


Her experiences before university also helped shape

this viewpoint. Manon grew up in what she describes

as, ‘a sort of middle-class, fairly affluent background,’

with learning and sport encouraged in her Welsh-

speaking home. Her mum, a French lecturer, also

taught her French at a young age, meaning she could

speak this before English. While she hasn’t experienced

poverty first-hand, she has seen it.

She deferred her entry to Catz so that she could

spend a year teaching in a local primary school,

supporting pupils with autism and other additional

learning needs. ‘I saw poverty in ways that I’ve never

seen before, I couldn’t believe how little food some

families had. And so many lacked the confidence to

ask for help.

‘The teachers would tell me about these kids – really

good, nice children – who had started smoking aged

eleven or twelve. They just needed a hobby or an

activity to get into, but they didn’t have the support

or the opportunities that I was lucky enough to have.

‘There are so many people out there who could get

into Oxford but just don’t think they can or aren’t

encouraged to, or have to go to work because their

families are in such poverty. There are just so many

issues that need to be addressed related to social and

economic inequality.’

When she can find the time – ‘perhaps on my one

free evening’ – she’d like to do outreach work, and

has a few organisations in mind. Unsurprisingly, sport

features on this list, which she views as ‘a massive tool

for social mobility’.

She continues: ‘I just feel that you should give back to

others. Playing at a high level means you automatically

become a role model, whether you want to or not,

and I think you have to use that power in a positive

way.’

With almost two full years of her undergraduate

studies remaining, Manon hasn’t given too much

thought to what comes next. However, she thinks it

likely that she’ll continue to do something focusing on

reducing economic inequalities, a topic clearly close to

her heart.

Rugby, of course, will remain a part of her life too, but

she describes that as, ‘a hobby that I try really hard

at,’ rather than a future career. ‘I do it for the love of

the game, for the winning and to be with my friends.

‘I also think I’m the type of person that needs to be

mentally stimulated outside of rugby.’ Manon then

laughs as she accepts what seems an almost inevitable

fate: ‘I’ll probably do a master’s, like every other

student these days!’

After that, she’s in no rush to join the rat race: ‘It was

really nice to go into the world of work for one year

at the school, to see what it was actually like having a

Monday to Friday, nine-to-five job.’ She pauses, before

confidently concluding, ‘though I can’t say I want that

again any time soon.’ n

I’m the type

of person

that needs to

be mentally

stimulated

outside of

rugby.

M E S S A G E S



Three years ago, several doctors, nurses, peers and

members of my family weren’t sure I’d ever finish

my degree as I kept being admitted to hospital for a

life-threatening eating disorder. Thankfully, I proved

them wrong (to everyone’s delight!). However, each

distressing and traumatic hospital admission I had

followed a prolonged period without appropriate

medical and/or psychological input. This led to a

dangerous deterioration in my health – because the

health services were under tremendous strain.

Now, the situation is much, much worse – eating

disorders are more prevalent than they’ve ever been

Esthy Hung(2016, Physics)

Motivated by her own experiences, and

alongside her studies, Esthy Hung has

co-founded a campaign group fighting for

better treatment for those suffering with

eating disorders. Her dedication won her

a coveted Vice-Chancellor’s Social Impact

Award, which recognises exceptional

achievement and commitment to positive

social change by Oxford students. She

tells us about the campaign.

M E S S A G E S

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and are in 16% of adults according to the 2019 UK

Health Survey, massively up from 6.4% in 2007. They

disproportionately affect those from lower socio-

economic backgrounds.

Yet the essential healthcare available for eating disorders

is increasingly sparse. In Oxfordshire, standard waiting

times for treatment increased from 12 to 25 months even

before the pandemic. In this time, preventable deaths

have occurred, including of individuals I’ve known.

I would likely not have survived, let alone recovered, had

this been the extent of the lack of care I was subjected

to. Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of

any mental illness yet there is a devastating lack of

healthcare available for these very serious, life-affecting

psychiatric illnesses.

This is why I was led to help find and launch End the

Eating Disorder Crisis Now: a local and national campaign

lobbying to end the inequality in access to healthcare for

those affected by eating disorders.

To have won the Vice-Chancellor’s Social Impact Award

is very important to me because it recognises what

eating disorders are: silent, deadly illnesses which

have a devastating impact on sufferers, loved ones

and society in lost hours of work. There is a need for

healthcare, and the healthcare available is currently

near-non-existent.

Our campaign has met and/or liaised with UK politicians

including then UK health minister Nadine Dorries MP,

Tim Farron MP and the shadow cabinet – and now have

a working relationship with the Department of Health

and Social Care’s mental health policy team. We have

also met and worked with senior NHS professionals all

over the UK, including the Chair for Eating Disorders at

the Royal College of Psychiatry.

Our campaign has created a UK-wide platform of

supporters and government health policy change is

closer to becoming reality.

Developing the skills to run this campaign has come

from engaging with social issues during my time at

Oxford, which in turn have been motivated by my

personal faith as a Christian.

Since being a fresher, I’ve participated, led and then

managed homeless outreach as a committee member of

Just Love, a student society dedicated to pursuing social

action. Through this I’ve also engaged with issues such

as human trafficking, disabilities justice and the youth

social care system.

All of these have helped teach me the importance,

particularly, of listening to individuals affected by

these issues and doing what I can to make their voices

heard, as well as working alongside professionals and

organisations in order to achieve effective and high-

quality social action. n

You can find out more about End the Eating Disorder

Crisis Now at www.endedcrisis.com

Since being a

fresher, I’ve

participated,

led and then

managed

homeless

outreach as

a committee

member of

Just Love, a

student society

dedicated to

pursuing social

action.

M E S S A G E S

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Somewhat unusually, I am studying for a full-time

doctorate in contemporary opera-ballet composition, whilst

simultaneously working professionally as a composer and

conductor. Aside from my colour-coded diary and essential

cups of coffee, this is made by possible because my

research and professional work run in tandem.

I began my career at the Royal Opera House as a cover

conductor for the Royal Ballet. I must be careful here,

that whilst I did learn a great deal and enjoy my work

immensely, I wanted to be more adventurous with the

way that music and dance was brought together.

So, having founded an orchestra during my undergraduate,

I reformed the organisation with the ambition to bring

music and dance together to create cutting-edge,

interdisciplinary performances for today’s audience.

Leo Geyer(2019, Music)

Alongside his DPhil studies, Leo Geyer conducts, writes and performs across

the UK, and has recently joined a

prestigious BBC training programme.

He tells us what this involves, how he

balances his time, and why being part

of the Catz community is so important.

M E S S A G E S

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Now approaching our tenth anniversary, Constella

OperaBallet brings together pioneering musicians,

dancers, visual artists, historians, garden designers,

architects, poets, and costume makers. We have

performed across the UK and our productions have

received critical acclaim including my Mermaid of Zennor,

described by The Times as, ‘imaginative and beautifully

shaped’. Somewhat by accident, we have found ourselves

as the world’s only company dedicated to opera-ballet.

With this in mind, I felt it was important that I thoroughly

studied my subject, and I am very grateful to St

Catherine’s College for the opportunity to pursue a

doctorate.

Needless to say, the pandemic has been devastating for

the performing arts industry. However, with my usual

raging enthusiasm, I was determined to find a solution

for Constella. Inspired by the performances I gave for my

grandma, we launched Connecting Stars, a live, virtual

and interactive performance programme for care homes.

With the support of Sir Willard White and generous

public donations, we were able to deliver over 200

performances to care homes throughout the UK,

providing much-needed well-being support, combating

loneliness and giving access to culture. This has led us

to further develop the project and, thanks to a sizeable

grant from the Arts Council, we will now be delivering

800 performances over the next six months. So, whilst

the pandemic restricted our normal activity, it forced

us to innovate, embracing the possibilities of virtual

technology to cost-effectively reach new audiences.

An essential responsibility in my role as Artistic Director

of Constella is to scout out talent and form new

partnerships. So, I also work freelance, and I have been

very fortunate to conduct and write for organisations

including the National Theatre, the English Chamber

Orchestra and the BBC Singers. I am currently working

at English National Opera, conducting from memory for

the off-stage chorus with a glow-stick baton in otherwise

complete darkness...

I am firmly of the belief that as a performing arts company,

our mission should be to reflect and serve our present-day

society. So, whilst we are a ‘classical’ company, we create

new productions, reimagine existing work and find new

and innovative ways to captivate our audiences.

We were able to

deliver over 200

performances

to care homes

throughout the

UK, providing

much-needed

well-being support

and giving access

to culture.

M E S S A G E S




This includes collaborating with people to create new

work, such as our current work-in-progress, Orchestras

of Auschwitz. We have been working with Holocaust

survivors and the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum to

perform, for the first time, music that was written in the

camp during the war.

With my desire to meaningfully reach out to the public

and showcase the expressive power of music, I am very

excited to have joined the BBC Open Music programme

on the pathway to become a presenter for BBC Radio 3

and the BBC Proms.

In classical music, the act of teaching is often an essential

pursuit for every musician, no matter how prestigious

the individual may be. Not only greatly rewarding, it also

helps to clarify and develop one’s own technique and

artistic ambitions. Since starting my doctorate at St Catz,

I have thoroughly enjoyed tutoring the next generation

of young musicians in the dreamy Music House, nestled

between the waterways on the College grounds.

Beautifully well-equipped, the Music House has also

hosted the Henfrey Composition Prize which inspires and

celebrates some of the freshest new sounds from across

the University. Alongside all the activity by both music

students and others, it is certainly a great pleasure to

be part of the rich tapestry of musical activity at Catz,

and I always feel invigorated and inspired every time I

enter College. n

It is certainly a

great pleasure

to be part

of the rich

tapestry of

musical activity

at Catz.

M E S S A G E S

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A L U M N I N E W S

Clementine Brown(2011, Oriental Studies)

Clementine Brown runs CodeBrave, a charity providing coding

education to over 400 young people in Lebanon, where she learnt

to code while working as a data analyst at the United Nations.

Before coding languages, she studied Middle Eastern languages –

Arabic and Persian – at St Catherine’s. She spoke to us about the

work of CodeBrave and life in Lebanon.

CodeBrave teaches people to code – what is coding?Coding means writing instructions for a

computer in a language it understands. Almost

every electronic device you use relies on

code. Learning to code is also about ‘learning

how to think’, as the Apple founder Steve

Jobs put it: planning, inventing, trying/failing

and eventually solving problems through

technology.

Tell us about the history of CodeBrave. What motivated you to set it up?In 2017, two years after I graduated from

St Catherine’s and moved to Lebanon for a

job researching the Syrian civil war, I started

volunteering at a shelter for homeless children

just off the highway that runs from Beirut

to Syria. The 30 children living there were

amongst the most endearing I have ever met.

But when they left the shelter at 18, they

were often recruited into militias, forced into

sex work or ended up begging on the street.

I bumped into one 18-year-old boy who had

recently left; he had been fired from a kebab

shop and was wandering the streets asking

people for spare change.

So when one day a bright-eyed 14-year-old

called Khalil asked about learning Python (a

computer programming language), I thought:

this makes sense for many reasons. Tech is

a growth sector where there is a skills gap

in the Middle East, and digital skills open up

international online jobs.

What I didn’t foresee was how gripped the

children would be by the subject. Another

volunteer, Steven, and I set up weekend

coding and robotics workshops. The children

were captivated by the robotics components

and concentrated for several hours straight

(previously unheard of), doggedly finishing

the code for a Ghostbusters game they had

created.

In June 2018, we set up CodeBrave as an

NGO. Steven’s background was in trauma-

adjusted educational psychology, so this

also became a big part of how we trained

the teachers and designed lessons. I was

so compelled by the students’ energy

and progress that, after six months, I left

my job at the UN to work on CodeBrave

full-time. We now have 415 students in

the programme at eight centres across

Lebanon.

M E S S A G E S


A L U M N I N E W S

Why did you choose to work in Lebanon?I spent my second undergraduate year in

Lebanon. I loved how the country was so

diverse – the stone souks of Tripoli and Saida

stuffed with food stalls and secret hammam

entrances, the ornate high-windowed

buildings of East Beirut, gaping valleys in the

north with monasteries built into their rocky

sides, the endless flat agricultural fields of the

Bekaa Valley. I found the Lebanese people to

be energetic and spontaneous, generous and

ready to help, fun and quick-witted.

Over the last two years, I’ve observed Lebanon

fall into a downward spiral due to years of

corruption and mismanagement, compounded

by the explosion at the port in 2020 and

Covid-19. The World Bank said it may rank in

the top three most severe crises globally since

the mid-nineteenth century. This summer,

people have been queuing for five hours to

get petrol. Pharmacies are empty and I’ve

been coming back from the UK with suitcases

of medicine and baby supplies. There is no

electricity or internet for hours on end. And

with the pandemic’s toll, the education system

is on the brink of collapse.

How is the crisis in Lebanon affecting your work?It has been challenging, but we are working to

keep students learning. With fuel prices rising,

parents are struggling to get their children

to school. Many families have only a few

hours of power per day, so remote learning

is difficult. We’ve sourced over 120 donated

laptops, tablets and smartphones from

companies and friends for our students to

use, we distribute 3G mobile internet packages

so students can join classes remotely, and we

fund buses to bring children into schools.

Why is learning to code so important?Programming gives young people agency. One

student in our advanced programme, Youssef,

is 17 years old and lives in a remote area in the

far south with few job opportunities. For him,

tech skills are opening doors to the world.

Before we met Youssef, he had been teaching

himself Python on YouTube. Now he is in

Khalil learning to code.

CodeBrave’s scholarship programme and

combines his six hours of coding education

each week with regular schooling and

working in his father’s nut shop. He just

started an apprenticeship building a new

website for an American-Lebanese company,

under the supervision of his tutor, which

was arranged by CodeBrave. Through this

experience, he is seeing the potential to earn

dollars (which now have huge purchasing

power in Lebanon), while learning how

to respond to a client’s requirements and

feedback, and develop a portfolio of work.

We start teaching children from 12 years

old and our largest programme is providing

foundational tech education to 400 students

under the age of 16 at deprived schools and

shelters across Lebanon. With unemployment

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A L U M N I N E W S

estimated at above 40%, Lebanon’s future

workforce desperately needs up-to-date

digital skills to access the international

opportunities offered by technology and the

internet.

What are your future plans for CodeBrave?Initially CodeBrave was solely reliant on grants

and donations. In 2020, we set up CodeBrave

Tutors, a private coding and robotics tutoring

service for children internationally, with all

profits funding our work in Lebanon. So far,

we have delivered more than 1,000 sessions

to children across four continents, and funded

over 1,000 hours of classes in Lebanon too.

Lebanon’s recovery needs to involve tech

education on a large scale. Providing

digital literacy and devices to children from

disadvantaged backgrounds, teaching them

key cognitive development skills, including

the ability to self-educate, and training them

to get remote work from outside Lebanon is

surely one of the most effective ways to break

the cycle of poverty. n

You can find out more about CodeBrave and

its work at www.codebrave.org

A group of young women celebrate their graduation from one of CodeBrave’s programmes.

M E S S A G E S


A L U M N I N E W S

My memory clearly recalls that day, in the

spring of 1958, when Philip Spencer called

me from the exam hall, in the Schools, to an

adjacent small room, overlooking a very noisy

High Street, to interview me for admission to

St Catherine’s Society.

I can also just as clearly recall that occasion

when Alan Bullock, interviewed me about

my intentions as an imminent graduate. With

some excitement I recounted that I had in my

final year (1961-62) discovered the sheer

joys of independent research, and told him

that I intended to study for a doctorate. He

expressed interest, and invited me to keep the

College informed of any future successes.

John Renwick(1958, Modern Languages)

Since leaving Catz, John Renwick has spent a lifetime advancing

understanding of Enlightenment French philosophy, language and

culture. Now Emeritus Professor at the University of Edinburgh,

which follows a career spanning nearly six decades, he has recently

– in recognition of his being ‘one of the world’s leading experts’ in

the field – been awarded two prestigious prizes by his peers. We

invited John to reflect on his Oxford days and his career after

St Catherine’s.

Apart from one snippet of information

regarding the Festschrift that the Voltaire

Foundation in Oxford published, in 2008, to

celebrate my retirement, I have not, however

– given my sense of self-restraint (no

Facebook or Twitter accounts, no Wikipedia

page for me) – taken advantage of his

invitation.

I herewith rectify the intervening years of

silence which have, however, been animated

by the same continuous feeling of excitement

that Alan Bullock had heard all about.

Instinctively suspicious of received ‘wisdom’,

in my final year I came to the conclusion

that the former luminary of the French

Enlightenment Jean-François Marmontel had

been, and was still being, judged by hearsay –

and condemned by people who had obviously

never read him. Thus I spent my years in

Paris (1962-64), then in Glasgow (1964-66),

followed by my fellowship in Churchill College,

Cambridge (1966-72), sifting fiction from fact

and thoughtless denigration from informed

opinion.

During this period, I laid the foundations for

a long-overdue, impartial scholarly enquiry by

providing the academic community with all the

basic tools that would help to justify a goodly

measure of rehabilitation.

A L U M N I N E W S

4 6 / J O H N R E N W I C K

My appointment as an Associate ‘Maître de

conférences’ in the French Department of

the University of Clermont-Ferrand (1970-71,

1972-74) – where colleagues had understood

and generously supported my intentions –

allowed this work to proceed apace. It was in

Clermont that a momentous turning point in

my career came about.

Given the discoveries that I had made

regarding the ‘philosophical’ activities

(1766-68) that had pitted Marmontel and his

ally Voltaire against the forces of intolerance

and reaction, one of the founding fathers of

the Oxford edition of the Œuvres complètes

de Voltaire (1969-2021), Jean Ehrard, the

great Montesquieu specialist, brought me to

the attention of the equally great Theodore

Besterman who, in 1970, recruited me to his

team of editors.

My translation to the Chair of French in the

New University of Ulster (1974-80), and

from there to Edinburgh (1980-2006) did

not dampen my ardour, despite my onerous

teaching and administrative responsibilities

in an ever-worsening climate when we were

constantly required to make bricks without

straw.

As time went by, and as the Voltaire

Foundation’s confidence in me grew (eg

appointment as member of the Editorial

Board for the Complete Works in 1997), my

contributions multiplied. My expertise was also

more and more often solicited in a variety of

other ways, particularly when crises occurred:

the non-delivery of editions, or the arrival of

sub-standard, or unpublishable work made me

into a sort of roving Barkiss.

The sheer bulk of my own editorial work, plus

my varied, allied ‘reparative’ responsibilities

over the years, had already led to my election

as a Research Fellow of the Foundation

(2008) and – now that the end is in sight –

to the honour of being invited to write

the preface to the very last volume

(volume 147 out of a total of 204)

to appear.

I sometimes wryly think that Philip

Spencer, who left us prematurely

in the autumn of 1961, and who

(I suspect) was not impressed by

my lack of assiduity in the period

1958-60, would have been quite

surprised to see me now. n

John Renwick served as John Orr Professor

of French at the University of Edinburgh

from 1980 to 2006. In March 2021, he

was awarded the Prix littéraire Auvergne-

Rhône-Alpes de la Francophonie for his

pioneering rehabilitation of Jean-François

Marmontel. The Royal Society of Edinburgh

then awarded him its Sir Walter Scott Medal

for his ‘monumental and ground-breaking’

contribution to the critical edition of the

‘Œuvres complètes de Voltaire’, and for his

‘scholarly resurrection’ of Marmontel.

Voltaire (François-Marie Arouet), 1694-1778.


A L U M N I N E W S

Describe In the Time of Foxes.In The Time of Foxes is a book of

contemporary short stories, a bit like modern

fables for millennials, really. The characters fall

out, squabble and unearth secrets about the

past and each other. The settings range from

London to Moscow, Spain to Hong Kong, and

elsewhere.

Each story is tied together by the common theme of the fox. What is it about this animal that interests you?The fox is a coloniser, much like humans.

A friend told me about the battle she was

having with foxes in her London garden,

and that became the inspiration for the title

story. Then I realised that foxes are a useful

proxy for the sort of people I was writing

about. On the move and changeable, they’re

shapeshifters, like us. Adaptation and survival

are at the heart of the book.

I meant the book to be a reflection of the

times – the ‘Time of Foxes’ of the title is the

time we are living in now.

What were your main inspirations when writing this collection of stories?Anything and everything. Things I hear and

save away. Or more precisely, they’re things I

can’t forget or seem to shake, usually because

they present some sort of puzzle or intrigue.

The characters in the book are quite

international, living abroad or away from home

– the kind of people you meet in Oxford, the

people Theresa May criticised as ‘citizens of

Jo Lennan (2008, Law)

In 2020, Jo Lennan published her first book, In the Time of Foxes.

A collection of short stories – including one set in Oxford – it has

been nominated for a national book prize in her native Australia.

Alongside her writing, Jo continues with her day job: as a lawyer for

a charity seeking to address social disadvantage. In between work,

writing and her home life, Jo sat down to tell us about it all.

Writing books is a long,

slow game. It helps to do

other things that are more

immediate, that take you

into the world.

A L U M N I N E W S

4 8 / J O L E N N A N

herself as an outsider – which I think a lot

of people in Oxford carry with them. In her

case, that sense is heightened by her terrible

secret.

Which is your favourite story, and why?Maybe The Understudy, which I wrote in a

freer way towards the end. It’s about an

actor, Holly, who in rehearsing a Chekhov play

with her arch-nemesis, Genevieve, finds out

something really shocking that upends her

view of things.

nowhere’. It’s an outwardly glamorous way

to live, but there is often another story; some

conflict or dilemma or things going awry.

One story is set in Oxford, and features references to St Catz. Why did you choose this as a location?Growing up, I used to watch Morse with my

dad, so how could I pass up the chance to

include a good Oxford mystery? I couldn’t,

could I? And the Catz reference was just for

fun – but also it made sense for the character,

Rose, in the context of the story.

The story, which is called Animal Behaviour,

takes inspiration from a real incident when

animal rights activists set fire to an Oxford

University boathouse. Everything else is fiction

– the characters, the disastrous consequences

at the time and in the present. It’s based on a

‘what if?’: what if someone had been inside?

A lot of the story is set in East Oxford, around

the river and the part of town off Iffley Road,

where I spent a lot of time as a student and

afterwards, staying with friends. Because I

know it well it felt quite natural to write it as

a setting, and it was easy to map the places

where Rose feels threatened or at ease, given

the secret she carries and her sense of guilt.

Rose is from Manchester, and although she

now lives in Oxford she still carries a sense of

There is a bit of a me-too edge, but the story

also asks: what’s next? What comes after ‘me

too’? What do I do if I benefited? These are the

questions that Holly finds herself up against.

There is also a funeral for a rabbit, if that

happens to be of interest.

Catz alumnus and renowned critic Michael Billington has praised your book. Were you pleased that a fellow Catz alum liked your work?Michael was an early reader of the book

and he was so incredibly generous with his

comments. He read it in the first lockdown and

he told me it was a great source of distraction

and consolation. He asked me how I knew so

much about theatre politics!

Other people told me the book was a good

pandemic read, even a way back to reading

after reader’s block. Perhaps they’re just

being nice! But I’d like to think the book holds

its own in distracting times. Literature has to

entertain before it does anything else.

‘Lennan crafts each story as a

complete world … an assured

debut.’ Sydney Morning Herald

‘Stunning.’ Australian Book Review


A L U M N I N E W S

This is your first published work and you’ve been nominated for a Prime Minister’s Literary Award in Australia. How do you feel about this?It was very unexpected. Publishing in the

pandemic wasn’t great, to be honest, so I am

hugely grateful. It’s a big stroke of luck to be

one of five on the list.

You’re a practising lawyer, currently working for a charity that seeks to address social disadvantage. What drives you in your work?I am not one of these people who only want

to write. When I tried that, it made me really

boring, and trying to make it a paying job

stripped all the enjoyment out. I went into law

as a sort of trade, thinking it was something I

could do, and I’m lucky now to work for a very

worthwhile organisation.

Writing books is a long, slow game. It helps to

do other things that are more immediate, that

take you into the world.

Do you have plans for another book?It’s under wraps. I’m always working on

something. It’s a state of concentration – a

way of paying attention.

To borrow Susan Sontag: ‘a writer is someone

who pays attention to the world.’ n

I realised that foxes are

a useful proxy for the

sort of people I was

writing about. On the

move and changeable,

they’re shapeshifters,

like us. Adaptation

and survival are at the

heart of the book.

5 0 / E V E M O R R I S O N

F E L L O W S

I am an historian of Ireland’s revolutionary era

(1913-23) and its social and cultural memory.

My three years as Canon Murray Fellow in

Irish History has been has been a wonderful

opportunity for me to expand the boundaries

of my research to examine Irish events in a

‘two-island’ (Britain and Ireland) context.

My area of particular expertise is legacy

interviews and personal testimony from Irish

and British veterans of the revolutionary

era. My research also engages with various

theoretical concerns and scholarship relating

to Irish and British history, memory studies and

oral history.

The release of new, large-scale collections

of material relating to the period over the

last two decades has greatly facilitated

new approaches and asking different

questions. Thousands of individual accounts

of the period are now available. These

multi-layered, dynamic sources contain

information about the past events under

discussion as well as the intervening years,

and the present in which the stories were

told.

While at Catz I have completed a

monograph and two invited book chapters.

My forthcoming book, Kilmichael: the Life

and Afterlife of an Ambush (which will

be published in the spring of 2022), is a

famous and still controversial IRA ambush

during the War of Independence (1919-21).

I analysed its immediate impact in Britain

and Ireland as well as its historiography,

memory and ongoing political resonance.

In ‘Tea, Sandbags and Cathal Brugha: Kathy

Barry’s Civil Wars’, a book chapter in Women

and the Decade of Commemorations

(edited by Oona Frawley), I examined how

the activism of female radical nationalists

was shaped by dominant notions of gender.

To do this I focused on one woman’s

Eve MorrisonJunior Research Fellow and Canon Murray Fellow in Irish History

Dr Eve Morrison held the positions of Junior Research Fellow and

Canon Murray Fellow in Irish History at Catz from 2018 to 2021.

The end of her final year coincides with the centenary of the

signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, which saw the formal ending of

the Irish War of Independence. We asked Eve to reflect on her

three years at Catz, and the 100 years since this significant

historical milestone.


F E L L O W S

experiences in the first weeks of the Civil

War (1922-23), and how she understood

and remembered her actions over several

decades.

I also spent a number of months writing

and researching a chapter on Irish time

and temporality for Time on a Human

Scale: Experiencing the Present in Europe,

1860-1930 (edited by Julian Wright and

Allegra Fryxell), a volume of Proceedings of

the British Academy. The modernisation of

temporal systems to facilitate technological

advances in travel and communications was

a near-global phenomenon in the fin de

siècle and early 20th century.

My chapter explored how the lived temporal

experience of the Irish present was informed

by several factors:

l the gradually evolving construct of ‘Irish

time’ over the 19th century

l public debates and time reform initiatives

of British and Irish elites

l the timekeeping habits observed by Irish

citizens (and across the two islands)

l the radical nationalist political and

military campaign to establish an Irish

republic

l the temporal coercion employed by

government forces to stop them.

Finally, one of the most rewarding aspects

of my time in Catz was meeting and

interacting with the students in both

Disciplines tutorials and the Further Subject

course ‘Nationalism, Politics and Culture in

Ireland, c. 1870-1921’.

Though my time at Catz has come to an

end, I will retain my University links as an

associate member of Oxford’s Faculty of

History. My time now will be spent finishing

another monograph on the Bureau of

Military History for Liverpool University

Press, and developing a research project on

British and Irish deserters and desertion from

the British military (1913-24). n

Eve’s upcoming book will be published in spring 2022

by Irish Academic Press.

The Kilmichael Ambush of 28 November 1920 was

and remains one of the most famous, successful and

uniquely controversial IRA attacks of the Irish War of

Independence. This book is the first comprehensive

account of both the ambush and the intense debates

that followed.

My area of particular expertise is legacy interviews and personal testimony from Irish and

British veterans of the revolutionary era. My research also engages with various theoretical

concerns and scholarship relating to Irish and British history, memory studies and oral history.

5 2 / G A I A S C E R I F

F E L L O W S

Gaia ScerifFellow and Professor of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience

The work of Professor Gaia Scerif tries to improve the

understanding of how our brains develop when we’re young –

and particularly how we grow to pay attention. Collaborating with

colleagues and children from across the world, it is beginning to

reveal how much the environments around us shape who we are.

Imagine visiting your child, young sibling or

relative in their classroom during a fun music

lesson on African drums. Even during such an

engaging activity, learning environments are

hugely demanding on attention. Visual displays

on the wall, friends whispering plans about

games to play during break time, even those

who are really interested in the ongoing lesson,

but wave frantically for the teacher’s attention:

all these inputs draw on learners’ attentional

resources.

At the same time, learners differ in how they

pay attention and what they process from that

same lesson. These differences will depend

on their current interests (‘I’d much rather

learn about endangered moths, mummy!’)

and goals (‘I want to learn how to play that

instrument, now!’), as well as their prior history

and experience (‘Oooh, I went to a drumming

session once!’).

As a whole, multiple factors influence attention,

and in turn attention shapes what we learn,

what we remember and what we attend to

over development. My research focuses on how

these dynamic interactions between attention,

learning and memory operate, especially over

childhood, into adolescence and adulthood.

This work therefore sits at the interface

of developmental psychology, cognitive

neuroscience and the experimental social

sciences. With many colleagues, I study what

influences attention, and how malleable

attentional processes are to changes in the

environment, to understand their impact on

cognitive and brain development.

This focus requires a multidisciplinary approach

and tools. I began by studying infants and

young children with syndromes of identified

genetic origin and with high risk of attention

difficulties and differences (eg Down syndrome,

fragile X syndrome, Williams syndrome).

Because of their very early diagnoses, there

is of course a clinical imperative to provide

children and families information on and

support for attention difficulties. We do

this via a combination of game-like detailed

assessments of attention strengths and

weaknesses, sometimes using child-friendly

brain or eye-movement measures of attention.


F E L L O W S

Lower early attention skills predict later

outcomes for these children. Some, but

not all, later receive a formal diagnosis of

attention deficits or autism, so we study the

consequences of poor attention on developing

cognition and learning for these children. For

example, we discovered that better selective

attention (ie the ability to ignore distraction) is

a predictor of good outcomes in early numeracy

and literacy for children with Down syndrome.

We are also very interested in understanding

differences between people with similar

early diagnoses, and very different later

outcomes as children and young people:

what trajectories, experiences and support

distinguish a child with fragile X syndrome

who does manage attention well, from one

who does so less well? Working with children,

young people, parents and teachers is a

great bonus to the scientific challenge of

understanding the developing attentive brain

in action.

Over the last ten years, my interests in attention

development have also extended to how

attention develops and its impact on learning

for children growing up in very low-income

settings or countries. This work has involved

collaborating with colleagues who study

attention in low-income communities across

multiple countries: in North America, Peru,

Guatemala, the Philippines and South Africa.

My interests here started in part from early

personal experiences in diverse environments.

I am originally from Milan, but a scholarship

supported me to study the International

Baccalaureate at the United World College of

Southern Africa, in Eswatini. Time in southern

Africa shaped my interests in how early

attention influences what and how we learn,

and this continued into my doctoral studies

and beyond in the UK.

Recent data suggest that individual differences

in attention predict early learning, and that

there may be really interesting and poorly

understood buffering factors associated

with better-than-expected outcomes for

children, even under conditions of very high

environmental risk. For example, we found

that, on average, preschoolers in low-income

communities in South Africa had stronger

attentional skills than their counterparts in

higher income countries.

This is a finding that does not fit neatly into

the association of poverty with poor attention

reported in higher income settings, and

instead suggests that there are factors that

support strong attentional skills for children

who live in low-income communities in South

Africa. We are currently investigating whether

increased independence, responsibility,

extended family structure or other factors

provide this buffering support.

As a whole, our research points to the

suggestion that attention is best understood

not as developing in isolation, but rather as

both influencing and influenced by development

in other cognitive and social domains.

Having studied in a number of very different

environments throughout my life, this is

something I can relate to and I feel really

privileged, now, to be combining the work on

high risk for attention difficulties, with that on

diverse attention and learning across settings

and countries. n

Electroencephalograms are one of the tests used to understand brain activity.

5 4 / R E G E N T L E E

F E L L O W S

Regent LeeJunior Research Fellow and Associate Professor of Vascular Surgery

Dr Regent Lee came to Oxford from humble beginnings in Taiwan.

Now, thanks to a research fellowship awarded this year, he is

seeking to transform the way the world treats health conditions, by

offering patients a more personalised approach.

I grew up in Taiwan, in the capital city

Taipei, and as a kid I learnt English words

using the Oxford Dictionary of English.

From far away, and from a very young age,

I was inspired by the University’s academic

excellence. During the late 1990s, there was

a lot of unrest regarding the fate of Taiwan,

as at this time Hong Kong was about to be

reclaimed by China after years of British

occupation. Our family migrated to Australia

to afford me security and a different

education, and it was here that I completed

my medical degree at the University of

Western Australia.

During this period, I was inspired by the

first surgeon I worked with – Mr Roger Bell.

He is the quintessential vascular surgeon

and inspired my subsequent devotion to

a career in this field. As a vascular surgery

trainee with the Royal Australasian College

of Surgeons (RACS), I had the opportunity to

take part in an exchange fellowship to Oxford

in 2009.

Now an Associate Professor of Vascular

Surgery, I am proud, this year, to have been

awarded a UK Research and Innovation

(UKRI) Future Leaders Fellowship. The UKRI

is the overarching funding agency for

research in the UK; its Future Leaders

Fellowship (FLF) programme funds early

career researchers in all disciplines, from

humanities to sciences, languages to

medicine.

It was serendipitous that I came across this

fellowship scheme, which was not broadly

publicised at the time. My research portfolio

is almost unique when compared to other

clinical academics in that much of my work

is interdisciplinary in nature, working with

computer scientists, chemical or mechanical

engineers, biological scientists and mass

I was soon inspired by the

rich academic and research

excellence in Oxford.

Here in Oxford, I was soon inspired by the rich

academic and research excellence and decided

to pursue a DPhil at the University. I was

fortunate enough to be awarded scholarships

with RACS, which enabled my academic

journey. This set a strong foundation for my

career as a clinical academic.


F E L L O W S

spectrometry clinical proteomics experts –

who study proteins in the human body.

While this means my work is interesting

and very rich, its diversity also puts me in a

position where I fall in the ‘gaps’ between

the sometimes narrow remits of the various

research councils.

Thus the UKRI’s overarching FLF scheme was

the perfect opportunity for me, as it explicitly

aims to fund interdisciplinary research.

Indeed, I felt a genuine sense of belonging

when I read the fellowship prospectus.

My specialism is abdominal aortic aneurysms

(AAA), the abnormal ‘ballooning’ of the

abdominal aorta, the body’s largest blood

vessel. Left untreated, it gradually expands

and eventually ruptures. This fate is met by

around 6,000 people in the UK and 200,000

people globally each year.

In addition to the risk of AAA rupture, these

patients also are at increased risk of dying

from cardiovascular complications (such as

heart attacks or strokes). Once diagnosed

with an AAA, treatment consists of regular

monitoring with ultrasound scans and timely

surgery. However, it is well known that the

aneurysms do not ‘grow’ at the same rate

in different patients, with huge variations in

speed of development.

In current clinical practice, though, we adopt

the same approach to manage every patient.

This is clinically sound and based on years of

understanding and treatment, but doesn’t

treat the individual patients as the individuals

that they are. I want to develop a method to

more precisely tailor treatment programmes

to individual patients, by using a tool which

can more accurately predict the growth of

that individual patient’s aneurysm.

This is something that we are now, unlike in

the past, becoming more able to do and is

considered a top research priority by vascular

surgeons internationally – and, of course, by

their patients. The FLF I have been awarded

will enable me to do this.

Such a tool will improve clinical management

of the condition and benefit patients, giving

them more certainty about their condition,

eliminating unnecessary trips to the hospital

and reducing anxiety. This will also give more

time for clinicians to focus on the patients

most in need, and reduce overall treatment

costs, while improving outcomes. Truly a real

win-win!

Before now, I have developed novel

algorithms for the prediction of AAA growth

using different analytical methods and my

next step is to validate these models. The

bonus is that a lot of the techniques I am

developing, including new methods of blood

analysis, will help improve the treatment of

other diseases and illnesses too.

Of the 97 fellows appointed by the UKRI in

this funding round, I am the only surgeon,

a fact I am especially proud of. That I will

be able to use my research to support the

treatment of many other types of conditions

– and with it improve the experiences and

outcomes of millions of patients – makes this

work all the more important. n

That I will be able to use

my research to support

the treatment of many

other types of conditions

– and with it improve the

experiences and outcomes

of millions of patients –

makes this work all the

more important.

5 6 / P H I L I P T O R R

F E L L O W S

Philip TorrFellow and Professor of Engineering Science

Professor Philip Torr is a researcher who specialises in computer

vision – how computers think and how they see. In recognition of

his ground-breaking research, he has just been awarded a £3 million

grant from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to make Artificial

Intelligence (AI) processes more reliable and robust. Here, Philip

explains how his work touches the lives of us all, where AI is going

next – and why we should be positive about it.

Your research involves ‘computer vision’ – how would you describe what this is?A simplistic explanation is: teaching computers

how to see. This involves designing algorithms

for image understanding, which help a

computer to understand objects and shapes,

or tell them about the actions of people in an

image.

The opening scene in the film The Terminator

sums this up: Arnold Schwarzenegger’s

character comes back from the future and

goes into a bar. We see through his eyes as he

scans everyone inside. It shows you what he

sees as he identifies gender, size and shape.

When the film was made none of this was

possible, but now computers can do all of

these things.

You’ve been awarded a Turing AI World-Leading Researcher fellowship from the UKRI – what will this involve?The fellowship will allow me and a team

to work on ‘deep neural networks’ – this

is now the de facto method for computer

learning, and something that, when I was an

undergraduate, I was told would never work.

It’s quite nice to be given the chance to prove

that wrong!

Our team will be working with four industry

partners over five years to focus on making

these networks more robust. This will enable

us to use AI more reliably in future – including

in everyday applications like autonomous

vehicles.

A big challenge we have currently is knowing

how certain a computer is about what it

thinks it can see. For example, a computer

might correctly detect a dog or cat – but if

some extra layers of complexity are added

to the image, for example some rain drops,

its predictions become unstable. The image

to a human would look the same, but

the computer’s understanding becomes

wildly unpredictable. For practical uses,

like autonomous vehicles, it’s clearly really

important that we get this right.


F E L L O W S

One of the things we want to be able to

achieve is for a computer to give accurate

estimates of certainty – so perhaps a

percentage score of how sure it is that what

it sees in the image is a dog or a cat. This

will really help ensure that we can trust this

technology going forwards.

You’ve mentioned autonomous vehicles, but what other practical applications will your work touch on?It permeates so many aspects of our lives

today – an obvious example is the mobile

phone that each of us carries around in

our pockets. It does and will also improve

medical diagnoses and other technology we

all need during our lives.

One thing I’m really passionate about is

helping partially sighted people, which

is something we can easily achieve. A

company I set up, OxSight, is working to

produce some augmented reality glasses –

which are like a normal pair of spectacles,

but might have a heads-up display with

extra information. These would complement

any sight that a person does have, but

enhance it, perhaps helping them read the

number on the approaching bus or view

obstacles or road signs. It sounds simple,

but it really could transform an individual’s

ability to live a more independent life.

It could also transform our online lives in

multiple ways.

I’ve recently worked with Facebook to create

algorithms to detect fake images – and help

to bring down dangerous, so-called ‘fake

news’. We’ve also recently been involved with

a project which helps work out the size of a

person, for use when ordering clothes online.

We’re often unsure which size of clothes to

buy online, so we order the wrong one, or

buy two sizes and return one of them. This

is inefficient and produces a huge amount

of waste – it isn’t environmentally or

economically friendly.

The software we’ve developed will scan your

image, determine the correct size for you

and even visualise what the item would look

like on you. You’re far more likely to get

the correct size and to know if you’ll even

like it.

One of the industry partners Philip is working with, Five AI, tests an autonomous vehicle in London.

5 8 / P H I L I P T O R R

F E L L O W S

The things you work on will all be used by industry in time – why is it that you want to stay in academia and not just work directly for a tech giant?There are three main reasons for this. The

first is the students: I love working with them

because they always have fresh ideas and

see the world from a different perspective

to me. They’re rejuvenating and each

new generation that comes in updates my

knowledge. Supervising a DPhil student is

a big responsibility but I love it: I learn a

lot from them and they definitely keep me

young!

The second is the academic freedom you get,

especially at Oxford. If I want to do some

research on Byzantine history tomorrow then

there’s nothing stopping me, which isn’t the

case at a corporate venture. The collegiate

system, having access to world-class experts

on any given topic, is such a rare experience,

and it makes collaboration across different

disciplines much more likely.

In other universities and in companies, you

end up being very siloed, which I think results

in less diversity and richness of ideas. I’ve

had some amazing conversations, which

have sparked some really valuable research

collaborations, and this simply wouldn’t

happen elsewhere.

Finally, I am also able to set up my own spinout

companies if I’m here – such as OxSight. They

may or may not end up making money, but it’s

the excitement of it that I really enjoy.

Where do you think the world of computer vision will be by the end of your career?I think, in the next few years, we’ll see AI

entering more and more industries, even

some of the more traditional sectors which

have remained almost wholly untouched until

now. For example there are projects ongoing

currently which are looking at understanding

and organising complex legal texts. This

will present us with a lot of interesting

opportunities as AI gets deployed around us –

and in ways that can really be used for good.

For instance, there is an Oxford student group

for effective altruism. They use algorithms and

computer learning to examine our charitable

giving to ultimately make it more effective and

efficient. This means that the good we can do

with a simple monthly or one-off donation has

better outcomes, which can only be a good

thing.

There may be positives, but do you see any risks of having more AI in our lives?With advancements in technology, people

often talk about the loss of jobs, and an

Oxford colleague, Michael Osborne, recently

wrote a paper looking at the types of jobs

that might be automated in the next decade. I

think that just like in the industrial revolution,

there will be a shift in the way people are

employed – and it’s for governments and

societies to adjust to that change and support

people through it.

I embrace the change that AI can bring,

and one big reason is the benefits to those

whose lives can be significantly transformed

by better use of technology, like the partially

sighted. But I think it will bring benefits to

us all.

I would be an advocate for greater use of

AI and tech to allow us to have more leisure

time. What’s the point of all this automation

if it doesn’t let us adjust society so that

people don’t have to work so much? These

kind of arguments have been made before,

but I think it’s important that we try to

address this as a society, and work smarter so

that we need to work less. n

Supervising a DPhil student

is a big responsibility but I

love it...


C O L L E G E N E W S

Catalyst is Catz’s flagship outreach

programme, a sustained contact partnership

between the College and 25 schools across

England and Wales. It started in 2019, when

the first eight schools joined to form the

programme’s first ‘hub’ in the London Borough

of Lewisham. Since then we have expanded

and refined the programme, launching three

further hubs, including a second hub in

London, a third in south-east Wales and, most

recently, a fourth in Teesside.

The programme delivers four points of contact

throughout a student’s academic career

between Year 8 and Year 12. This interaction

over a number of years gives students a

chance to build confidence and self-reflect as

they mature and reach the later years. The

four points of contact are:

l Year 8 pupils: Outreach staff and student

ambassadors visit a hub school to run

interactive workshops, introducing topics

such as university, the College and student

life.

l Year 10 pupils: Outreach staff and student

ambassadors visit a hub school and provide

more specific workshops on picking A-levels

and exploring careers.

l Year 10 pupils: School students visit Catz

for a programme of academic activities.

They get to experience college life, meet

current students, eat in Hall and participate

in tutorial sessions.

l Year 12 pupils: Tailored support is given

for applications to university, including

workshops on personal statements and

interviews. This is usually held in-school.

Our ‘hub’ model means Catalyst is able to

reach more pupils in a targeted manner;

schools take turns to host each event, sharing

the logistical burden between all partner

schools in each hub. It also ensures cost-

effectiveness for the College and maximises

impact.

The onset of the pandemic meant adapting

what we could offer, with all events moving

online for the 2020-21 academic year. A

series of online presentations, virtual College

tours, student Q&As and academic taster

sessions were held online with several hundred

students attending from across the UK. A

Teachers’ Conference for new and returning

Catalyst teachers was also held virtually with

representatives joining us from each hub.

Catalyst

Our flagship schools outreach programme

Steffan Williams (2017, Human Sciences), Outreach Officer,

writes about the expanding outreach activity offered by the College.

This interaction gives

students a chance to build

confidence as they mature...


6 0 / C A T A L Y S T

We hugely value feedback from the teachers

on how to refine the programme and learn

where the gaps are in our provision.

As the world slowly opens up again, we’re

looking forward to returning to in-person

sessions, delivered in a Covid-secure manner.

This will start with visits to Year 8 and Year

10 pupils, followed by a cohort of Year 10s

coming to Catz in early 2022. Events with

Year 12s will take place over the summer,

leading up to their university applications

in Year 13.

Catz has been successful in obtaining

£20,000 from the Department for

Education to establish further hubs and

expand Catalyst. This funding will enable

us to enhance what we can offer schools

and help the scheme reach more pupils.

In addition to assisting with the costs

of resources to run Catalyst events, this

funding will help subsidise coach travel to

Oxford for Year 10 students visiting the

College – a valuable experience for aspiring

pupils who may have been led to think Oxford

isn’t the place for them.

Catalyst has been designed to be an open-

ended and sustainable programme. The

College is incredibly grateful to the donors

who have helped us establish Catalyst and

who continue to support our outreach work. n

Catalyst: LewishamAddey & Stanhope School

Bonus Pastor Catholic College

Colfe’s School

Conisborough College

Deptford Green School

Prendergast School

Prendergast Ladywell School

Prendergast Vale School

Catalyst: Haringey Duke’s Academy

Gladesmore Community School

Kelmscott School

LAE Tottenham

Park View School

Woodside High School

Catalyst: CymruYsgol Cwm Rhymni

Ysgol Gwent Is Coed

Ysgol Gwynllyw

Ysgol Llangynwyd

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College Events 2022We can’t wait to see all our alumni again, so why not join us for one of our events in 2022? All

listed events will be held in College (unless stated in brackets).

Saturday 2 April Varsity Rugby (Twickenham Stadium)

Wednesday 6 – Friday 8 April Meeting Minds Global (virtual)

Tuesday 26 April Katritzky Lecture

Sunday 8 May Oxford Town & Gown 10km run (around Oxford)

Saturday 14 May Dean Kitchin Circle Lunch

Saturday 18 June Parents and Second Years’ Garden Party

Saturday 25 June Gaudy for 1973-82 Matriculands

Saturday 2 July Family Day

Friday 16 - Sunday 18 April Meeting Minds Oxford (Oxford and virtual)

Saturday 24 September Gaudy for 1983-92 Matriculands

Please be aware that events may be postponed, amended or added. For the latest information

and to book, visit www.stcatz.ox.ac.uk/events or contact the Development Office using the

details on the back cover.

The College Time Capsule

The College Enigmatist, Chris Maslanka

(1973, Physics), offers the next clue, in a

series of 50, to the contents of the time

capsule buried underneath St Catherine’s

College . . .

THEY WATCH THE FELLOWS AS THEY LUNCH AND DINE.

The clues so far:

1. Two thirds of my number is one and a

half times what I am.

2. Pooh in 1927, true of us today?

3. Do they belong to longevity?

4. The first 6 000 flowers.

5. A good hiding...

6. Six of one and half a dozen of the other.

7. Initially he sounds like an insect...

8. Bovine comes to river

9. To each his own

10. Do men gather grapes of thorns…

11. List: Order half a dozen pears. Ordered.

12. Entry will cost you 32.5p – in old money

13. Twelve characters alternate around a

wheel

14. Boys – and their toys

15. First things first, and all in order

16. A leisured jumbling?

17. With sorrowing heart we close the

book.

18. In each ordered pair, head first.

Prize Crossword


6 2 / P R I Z E C R O S S W O R D

As ever, our prize crossword is

compiled by College Enigmatist

Chris Maslanka (1973, Physics).

Complete it for your chance to

win a signed copy of In the Time

of Foxes, written by Catz alum Jo

Lennan and featured in this edition

of The Year.

^12_3_4_5=6_7_8_9_0_= a=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=b c____=d________=e____ _=_===_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_ f___g=h__________=i__ _===_===_===_===_===_ j_k__=l___m=n_o=p_q__ _=_=_=_===_=_=_=_=_=_ r_______s=t__=u______ _=_=_===_=_===_=_=_== v____=w___=xy__=z___A ==_=_=_===B=_===_=_=_ C______=D__=E_F______ _=_=_=_=_=_===_=_=_=_ G____=H__=I_J__=K____ _===_===_===_===_===_ L_M=N_O___P___Q=R_S__ _=_=_=_=_=_=_=_===_=_ T____=U________=V____ _=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_ =W_________=X_______=

To enter the draw, send in your completed crossword grid along with your name, matriculation

year and contact details for the attention of the editor of The Year. Entries may be submitted by

post or by email (contact details can be found on the back cover) and must be received no later

than Tuesday 31 May 2022. Good luck!



CLUES ACROSS

1. One drug and celestial body smashes into

radio set (8)

6. Bookish folk; 40 across has subject ones

(10)

13. Gender declaration? One foot is shorter

than the other (5)

14. Reject drupe I eat awkwardly (9)

15. Comedy writer? Promoter of the Tuscan

dialect (5)

16. Rough ocean throws up craft (5)

18. Mixture of two equal parts? (The answer’s

one!) (4, 3, 4)

19. Ridge shaped like a heel as in Sutton —

(3)

20. Antelope of Eastern territory (5)

22. & 33. Catz alumna bringing us Love and

Fame (5, 4)

24. One party causing trouble (3)

26. Tortilla chip with topping – or Ignacio,

familiarly (5)

28. Polygons in gnarliest form (9)

30. See 45. Across

31. Film that went down well? (7)

32. Flower of French wine region (5)

33. See 22. Across

34. Simopoulos’s philosophy tutor at

Magdalen (4)

36. A loofah is not its comparative (5)

39. A cherry for toxophily (7)

40. Fellow in the main library (3)

41. Drawn in 39 Across (9)

43. Range crossing seven countries (5)

44. River — unknown, we hear (3)

45. & 30. Actor and Catz alumna (5, 3)

47. Craig disturbed by smoke (5)

48. What Canute’s tide didn’t do (3)

50. eg C, E, H, O & P; having an important

and lasting effect (5, 6)

54. Our Goldilocks planet (5)

56. Nilotic pastorals of Tanzania and Kenya (5)

57. Protects specimen on slide – what a

moustache does? (9)

58. 45 Across’s alter ego? (5)

59. – in Mathematics, by Henry Ernest

Dudeney (10)

60. Long John Silver’s tavern (8)

CLUES DOWN

2. & 11.Catz best-selling author who studied

geology (5, 10)

3. His sin was not to discipline his sons (3)

4. Talk-show host brought up by Harpo (5)

5. Tiny compass needles, badly spoiled (7)

6. — Ciaccio, JCR President 2020-21 (5)

7. The Royal Game of Ur is our earliest

extant example (9)

8. Sand in the suprarenal area? (5)

9. A? (10, 7)

10. The — Gate, neo-noir horror by Polanski

(5)

11. See 2. Down.

12. Age of Dinosaurs (8)

17. Creatures at risk of ending rep’s decease

(10, 7)

21. Precursor of proteins, such as lycine and

threonine (5, 4)

22. — ammoniac, the natural form of

ammonium chloride (3)

23. XX from past lovers (4)

25. Off route and out of the way. (Quelle

horreur!) (5)

27. ‘But the explanation of evils is never —

except to the explainer’ (George Eliot).

Comforting! (9)

29. Type of bean in story, oddly (3)

33. Robert’s the Irish chemist, Alan’s the QC,

and Susan’s the singer! (5)

35. Backward boy (3)

37. Leader in title only — seen on the prow of

a galleon? (10)

38. A concept from Euclidean geometry (4)

39. Locus of sun’s position for a given place

and time of day (8)

40. —: A Life in Nine Pieces by Professor

Laura Tunbridge (9)

42. Another river that sounds unknown,

dependent on 44. Across? (3)

46. Wintry hangers-on; eavesdroppers (7)

49. Witch’s accessory (5)

51. —’s razor, principle of parsimony,

popularly (5)

52. Through this Polonius met his end (5)

53. Staple of the hobbyist’s aquarium (5)

55. ‘And there were gardens bright with

sinuous —’ (Coleridge, Kubla Khan) (5)

58. Officer gets a pass (3)


6 4 / N E W S I N B R I E F

Fellow appointmentsl Byron Byrne, Professor of Engineering

Science was elected a Fellow of the Royal

Academy of Engineering.

l Andrew Dickinson, Professor of Law

was elected an Honorary Senior Fellow of

the British Institute of International and

Comparative Law.

l Louise Fawcett, Professor of International

Relations was elected a Fellow of the Royal

Belgian Academy.

l Eleanor Stride, Statutory Professor of

Biomaterials was elected an Honorary

Fellow of the Institute of Engineering and

Technology.

l Philip Torr, Professor of Engineering

Science was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society.

l Laura Tunbridge, Professor of Music

was elected a Fellow of the British

Academy.

Alums achieve in the artsCaroline Bird (2007, English Language and

Literature) won the 2020 Forward Prize for

Poetry for her collection The Air Year.

The Upper World,

the critically

acclaimed debut

novel by Femi

Fadugba (2006,

Materials

Science), is to

be made into

a Netflix film

starring Academy

Award winner

Daniel Kaluuya.

Birdchant, a composition by alumnus Bernard

Hughes (1992, Music), was premiered in

the Royal Albert Hall as part of the 2021 BBC

Proms.

Chloe Rooke (2015, Music) won the

audience prize in the Donatella Flick

Conducting Competition, was a grand finalist

in the International Conducting Competition

Rotterdam and reached the second of three

rounds in the Malko Competition for Young

Conductors. One critic commented: ‘Chloe lit

the competition up with her sense of music’s

joy and communicative potential.’

Student successesUndergraduate Tony Farag (2018,

Geography) was featured in Future Leaders

magazine, which profiles 150 of the UK’s most

outstanding African and African Caribbean

students and new graduates.

Luigi Marchese (2015, Physics) won the

ATLAS Thesis Award. Based at CERN, the

European organisation for nuclear research,

the award recognised his doctoral work

measuring the width of the Higgs boson, one

of the fundamental particles of the universe.

Laura Molloy (2015, Social Science of the

Internet) was awarded the ProQuest Doctoral

Dissertation Award from the Association for

Information Science and Technology for her

thesis, which examined the use of digital

technology by artists.

News in Brief

Luig

i Mar

ches

e



Edward Yee (2020, MBA) featured in the

Forbes 30 Under 30 list for the co-creation

of Givfunds, an organisation designed to help

support small social enterprises.

Three Catz undergraduates were elected to

the Oxford University Student Union for the

2021-22 year:

l Aleena Waseem (2018, History), as

Vice-President: Charities and Community.

l Bethan Adams (2019, Geography), as

Student Trustee.

l Dhitee Goel (2020, Molecular

& Cellular Biochemistry),

as Student Trustee.

By Royal appointmentCongratulations to Saima Hanif (1998, Law)

and David Temkin (1991, Modern History),

who were made Queen’s Counsel (QC), one

of the highest appointments in the legal

profession.

Three members of the Catz community were

recognised in the 2021 New Year Honours

list:

l Alumnus Michael Fell (2001, Geography),

Deputy Director of Cyber Operations at

HMRC, was awarded an OBE for public and

voluntary service to security.

l Alumnus David Mahoney (1995,

History), Chief Operating Officer at the

England and Wales Cricket Board, was

awarded an MBE

for services

to sport.

l Eleanor

Stride, Catz

Fellow and Statutory

Professor of Biomaterials,

was awarded an OBE for services

to engineering.

And finally…Catz Research Associate Shalini Amerasinghe

Ganendra is curating an exhibition of colonial

images to be displayed at the Oxford Museum

in September 2022, with a satellite exhibition

hosted at Catz. If you have any photographs

dated 1845-1950 that you would like to

share in the exhibition, please contact the

Development Office (details on the back

cover).

Student Will Allen (2018, Molecular &

Cellular Biochemistry) kept himself busy

while self-isolating in College by making a

model of the College buildings (below).

His medium? A pizza box.

Left: Chloe Rooke

News to share? We’d love

to hear it! Get in touch using

the contact details on the back cover.

6 6 / O B I T U A R I E S

G A Z E T T E

JOHN BEARDON

(1953, Modern

Languages)

John Andrew Beardon

was born at home

on 28 July 1932 in

Cheam, Surrey, to

parents Walter and

Doris. In 1939 the family moved to

Streatham in south-west London to enable

John and his younger brother Alan, to go

to Michael Hall School. Within months,

the school was evacuated to Minehead in

Somerset, to avoid the anticipated wartime

bombing of London.

By 1945, both John and Alan had become

boarders, and the family had moved to

Devon. After the war the school did not

return to London, but moved to an estate

at Kidbrooke Park in Sussex, where John

spent his last five years in school. During

these years, John played squash, tennis and

especially hockey, which he enjoyed until

the age of 61.

After school, John did two years’ national

service in RAF air traffic control, before

going up to Oxford to read French and

Latin. It was whilst at Oxford that he also

discovered his love of dinghy sailing.

ObituariesFollowing university, John spent a period of

time teaching French at the boys’ Lycée in

Versailles, before taking to loss adjusting,

initially in Devon, and then in London. He

became a partner in Pyecraft & Arnold where

he remained until retirement in 1998.

In 1963 a school friend of Patricia Cooke

married a school friend of John’s. Patricia was

a bridesmaid and John was the best man.

One thing led to another, and John and Pat

were married in Winnipeg, Canada in 1964.

Sadly, life was not without its sorrows. In

1966, their first son Peter was stillborn, and

in 1974 Suzannah passed away at the age

of nearly five. Happily, however, John and Pat

have been able to rejoice in the birth and

lives of Gillian and Andrew, and their five

grandchildren: James, Zara, Toby, Isla and Ted.

It was the impending birth of Gillian in 1967

that prompted John and Pat’s move out of

London to Farnham Royal. Five years later,

to the day, they moved to Gerrards Cross,

where they attended St James Church, and

have been members of the congregation ever

since. John became a church warden, and was

serving communion into his 80s, and was also

a member of the bell-ringing and gardening

teams for many years.

During their time in Gerrards Cross, John’s love

of hockey continued, and was joined by a love

of golf, which his father-in-law had introduced

him to during one of the many happy summer

holidays at Falcon Lake in Canada. The game

brought him great joy over many years. As

the hockey years waned, he joined Rotary,

raising money to support local, national and

international causes.

John and Pat were long-time members of

the Franco-British Society, and many times

John was mistaken by the French as one of

their own. His love of the language and the

country never waned. They were also Friends

of St Paul’s Cathedral and enjoyed attending

concerts, celebrations and occasions in

London over the years.

John returned to Devon regularly while his

mother was alive, and also to Oxford and

Michael Hall on occasion, for as long as he

was able.

As a man, John had beautiful qualities: he was

honest and compassionate, a loyal friend, a

loving and committed husband, a wonderful

father and grandfather, and a great presence

in the room – interested and interesting in

equal measure. He was relentlessly kind.

He was the type of person you hold in your


G A Z E T T E

heart and try to emulate. All those who knew

him will miss the warm, welcoming smile,

the knowing look, the wit, the knowledge,

the insights and observations, the wisdom,

the love. He was a man of integrity. A true

gentleman.

The more-than-56 years that John and Pat

shared a home together is testament to the

love they shared; and towards the end, it was

a reflection of their, and in particular Pat’s,

total dedication.

John died peacefully in a hospice on 15

March 2021 after many years suffering the

debilitating effects of Parkinson’s disease.

He faced these years quietly and with

determination. As his body failed, his mind

remained active and interested to the end. We

miss him. The world is a lesser place without

him.

Kindly provided by Gillian Layton, John’s

daughter

SARAH BESTON

(1991, Geography)

Sarah Beston (née

Duke) passed away in

July after a courageous

battle with cancer.

I first met Sarah in

October 1991 at a freshers’ tea in the College

Hall. There started a special friendship that

would last our whole lives. The next day

all the first-year geographers were invited

on a tour of Oxford with the late Professor

Ceri Peach to explore the sub-text of the

architecture. Sarah and I realised that the

next three years would be an interesting

ride and one like we had never experienced

before. It was wonderful to share the

adventure with her.

After completing her first degree, Sarah

stayed for an extra year at College to

complete her PGCE and then secured a role

teaching geography at St Olave’s Grammar

School in Orpington. For 26 years, she

inspired generations of geographers and

touched many young lives positively through

her teaching and pastoral work. She was

universally respected by her colleagues and

students.

Sarah always kept in touch with Catz life as

College was a special place to her. When we

both had families, we returned for Family

Days. I have very happy memories of our

families joining forces to crack the fiendish

treasure hunt with pit stops for afternoon tea

on the JCR lawn.

At her memorial service, Sarah was described

as ‘always trusting, hoping and preserving,’

which sums her up perfectly. She excelled in

making friends and keeping them. The size

and logistics of her Christmas and birthday

card list was a testament to this. Sarah kept

in touch with many Catz friends after College.

Her thoughtfulness was extraordinary in how

she shared and celebrated others’ lives.

Sarah was steadfastly compassionate. Whilst at

Oxford, Sarah volunteered as a youth worker

for the Oxford Kilburn Youth Trust in London

on Saturday evenings. After College, she

volunteered as a counsellor for a local children’s

mental health charity. Her selflessness and

gentleness disguised an inner strength. Sarah

would always be true to her values and her

faith. She always believed in people.

In the face of gruelling cancer treatment and

then shielding during the pandemic, Sarah

was unrelentingly positive and never lost her

irrepressible sense of fun. At the start of her

treatment, Sarah adeptly rostered friends and

family into a range of supporting roles. People

were delighted to help and return some

of her kindness and generosity. Sarah will

continue to inspire everyone who was blessed

to know her.

Our thoughts and prayers go to Sarah’s

husband Nick, parents and two amazing

children.

Kindly provided by Heidi Winser (née Abbott)

(1991, Geography), a friend of Sarah’s


G A Z E T T E

CHRISSIE BLIGH

(1974, Human

Sciences)

Chrissie Bettina

Bligh passed away

in December 2020.

She was in the first

year of co-eds at

St Catherine’s, and never forgot about the

resulting lack of mirrors in the bathrooms,

when she first began living in halls!

After graduation, she worked first as a

milkman before progressing on to a career

in IT project management. She moved to

Cambridge in 1986 and single-handedly raised

two children, Catherine and Edward.

Despite enduring lifelong ill health, which

worsened over the last ten years of her

life, Chrissie lived emphatically, loudly and

lovingly. She is greatly missed by her children,

who hope they can live up to the example

she set.

Kindly provided by Catherine and Edward,

Chrissie’s children

THE REV DR FREDERICK HENRY BOARDMAN

(HENRY)

(1948, Theology)

The Rev Dr Frederick Henry Boardman was

born and brought up in St Helens in the

Liverpool Diocese. He read physics at Liverpool

University, studying under Professor James

Chadwick who discovered the neutron in 1932.

From there, he served in the Admiralty in the

Second World War. He trained for the ministry

at Wycliffe Hall, simultaneously achieving a

degree in Theology through St Catherine’s,

which later become a Master’s degree.

Henry was always fascinated by science and

saw that all the laws of science were made

by God; therefore everything that followed on

from these laws was also made by God. To him

science and faith went hand in hand.

His first curacy was in Bootle in the Liverpool

Diocese, after which he was appointed curate-

in-charge at St Oswald’s, Netherton. He was

offered the incumbency of the Parish of

Stechford in Birmingham, caring for All Saints’

and St Andrew’s, and was chaplain to Little

Bromwich Hospital.

In 1963 he was called to work full-time in

education. Bishop Leonard Wilson was keen

for Henry to continue his ministry and offered

him the post of

public preacher in the

Diocese. Henry was

very aware of the

difficulty clergy had

in obtaining cover for

sickness and holidays,

and he willingly took

this post.

Henry started his career in education at Bierton

Road Boys’ Secondary Modern School, teaching

religious studies and science. After gaining his

Certificate in Education he was appointed to

the Physics Department at Camp Hill Grammar

School. He was seconded from that post to

study for his Master’s degree in Education at

Birmingham University, and as a result of his

success in that, was offered the opportunity

to work for his PhD in Education. He was

appointed lecturer in educational psychology at

Padgate College of Education, Warrington.

This move meant he was back in the Diocese

of Liverpool, where Bishop Stuart Blanch,

who had trained with Henry at Wycliffe Hall,

was keen to offer him the role of licensed

preacher. Again, Henry assisted at many

churches, including a time as honorary curate

in Sutton, St Helens, and later in Burtonwood.

In his 80s Henry was instrumental at St

Nicholas’ during periods of extended clergy

illness in ensuring the continuation of lively

worship there. The last service he took was

Holy Communion on Easter Day 2015, when

he was 90. Soon after that he felt that he

was no longer able to serve God adequately

as a priest with permission to officiate. At 93,

he moved into a residential home.

Henry was married to Betty for over 50 years.

They are remembered as a wonderful team

together in parish life and in every aspect of


G A Z E T T E

life that they shared. He is remembered by

his family as a wonderful father, grandfather

and great grandfather, setting the example of

loving Christian family life.

Henry died peacefully on 9 October 2020,

fully prepared to meet his Lord and Saviour

whom he had served faithfully all his life.

He is remembered by all who knew him as a

gentleman, whose faith shone out in every

aspect of his life.

Kindly prepared by The Revs Simon Moore

and Louise Moore, and provided by the

family

PETER J DAVIES

(1957, Modern

Languages)

Peter Jeremy Davies,

a retired lecturer in

further education and

academic author, died

peacefully at home on

Sunday 13 June 2021. He was 82.

He was born in Birmingham on 7 September

1938, to Welsh parents Tom and Megan

Davies. His childhood was divided between

Birmingham and Pembrokeshire. It was in the

beautiful Welsh countryside that he

first grew to love birds. A long-time member

of the RPSB, his favourite bird was the

kingfisher or ‘flying jewel’. Although born

in England, he remained proud of his Celtic

heritage and considered himself a Welshman

all his life.

A gifted pupil, Peter won a scholarship to

King Edward’s School in Edgbaston. There, he

excelled in history and languages, and fell in

love with rugby. He was offered scholarships

to both Christ’s College, Cambridge, and St

Catherine’s Society. He chose Oxford.

He went up to St Catherine’s in 1957 to study

modern languages. It was there he met fellow

student David Morris, who became a lifelong

friend. Even after they’d graduated and David

emigrated to the USA, they stayed in regular

contact throughout Peter’s life. Having

rowed together for Catz, they attended many

gaudies and other College events whenever

David was back in England. They also made a

number of financial donations to the College.

In 1961, after completing a Diploma in

Education at Catz, Peter moved to London. At

a party in Putney he met Susan Saunders (neé

Heike Groth). They married on 12 February

1965, at St Giles’, Oxford. Their first child,

Sarah, was born in the city the following year.

Although he’d specialised in French and

German, Peter held a deep fascination for the

Greek language and Greek culture. In 1967,

he took up a post with the British Council to

teach at The English School in Cyprus. His

second daughter, Sophie, was born in Nicosia

in 1970.

The family returned to England later that

year, where Peter taught in Birmingham.

His third child, Daniel, was born in Sutton

Coldfield in 1973. A year later, the family

moved again – this time to Hampshire,

where Peter took up the post of Head of

Modern Languages at Fareham College, a

post he held until his semi-retirement in

1993. He then became a part-time lecturer

in English as a second language (ESOL) at

Portsmouth University, before finally retiring

fully in 2003.

Despite having been a full-time lecturer with

three children, Peter also managed to write

in his spare time. In 1979, he published a

children’s book, The Sign of the Smiling

Lion, with illustrations by Val Biro. He also

published several textbooks for teachers and

students of ESOL, including Framework for

First Certificate.

Those who had the privilege of knowing

Peter, or being taught by him, recall him as

a warm, welcoming and generous man, and

a lover of books, travel and Indian food. He

is survived by his wife of more than 50 years

and his three children. They remember and

miss him every day.

Kindly provided by Daniel Davies, Peter’s son


G A Z E T T E

JOHN BRIAN EATON

(1953, Geography)

Treasured by his friends and colleagues,

passed away on 23 January 2019.

John was a wonderful man: kind, generous

with a great, dry sense of humour, and

blessed with a wise and guiding way about

him. He dedicated his whole working life to

teaching geography at Northgate Grammar

School, later Northgate High School.

John loved and appreciated his time at Oxford

and, as the Career Master at Northgate, one

of his aims in life was to get as many students

as possible into further education, especially

those from underprivileged backgrounds. He

went to extraordinary lengths to achieve this

and was very successful, and many of these

students kept in touch with him, which he

loved.

Apart from teaching, he had many interests,

including travelling, gardening and sport:

rowing, golf and later bowling. Although

he was very ill in his last two years, he was

always very stoic and uncomplaining, and

never lost his joy of living and learning.

Kindly provided by Phyl Bathgate

DR IAN ECOTT

EFFORD

(1957, Biological

Sciences)

After graduating with

a BSc in London,

Ian was accepted by

Charles Elton to study

ecology at the Bureau of Animal Population

in Oxford, where he completed his studies to

receive the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

While he was there, Ian was offered a place at

the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, San

Diego, to widen the scope of his knowledge

of ecology in the laboratory of Dr Bill Fager.

There, Ian extended his field of interest to

include the life and ecology of the sand crab.

While in California, he travelled extensively up

and down its coast, and down into the coastal

area of Mexico.

On his return to Oxford, he was approached

by Dr Peter Larkin who offered him a

professorship at the University of British

Columbia (UBC), Canada. Ian accepted, and

at the end of summer flew with his family to

Vancouver to take up the position.

Ian had an insatiable thirst for knowledge and

an eagerness to share it, and this was the

beginning of a wonderful life of learning and

teaching. He inspired many graduate students

who have spoken of his encouragement of

them to tread their own paths, all the while

making himself available to advise them and

help with suggestions as to how to overcome

any problems they encountered in their projects.

While at UBC, he was invited to join the

Canadian Medical Expedition to Rapa Nui

(Easter Island). He was accompanied by a

graduate student, Jack Mathias, and between

them they surveyed much of the flora and

fauna of the island. (The expedition was

written up under the title Stanley’s Dream,

by Dr Jacalyn Duffin of Queen’s University,

Canada.)

A few years after returning to Vancouver, Ian

was seconded to the Science Council of Canada

in Ottawa where he became one of the first

to advocate for renewable energy. This led to

his being offered a position at the Canadian

government’s Department of Energy, Mines

and Resources. There, he spoke up about the

need to convert to renewable energy and

advised his minister to advocate for it.

A few years after that he retired and took

up an old interest of his youth – gardening.

Ian was not content simply to grow a lovely

garden, but studied to become a specialist in

all the different kinds of irises and their care.

His thirst for knowledge and his enjoyment of

sharing it with others was now evident in the

way he became an expert in irises and shared

that knowledge with others.


G A Z E T T E

As he and his wife advanced in years, they

decided to move to Vancouver Island in search

of milder weather. There, he developed a

detailed knowledge of rhododendrons and

their propagation and was awarded both the

bronze and silver medals of the American

Rhododendron Society. It goes without saying

that learning and sharing continued to enrich

his life and that of others.

Throughout his busy career he always found

time to take an interest in his four children

and nine grandchildren. He encouraged them

in their pursuits, both athletic and academic,

and rejoiced in their successes.

Ian died suddenly in the early hours of 7 June

2020 – a great shock to his family and friends.

Kindly provided by Shirley Efford, Ian’s wife

ANTONY ELDER

(1953, Modern

History)

Tony ‘the Ace’ Elder

was born in London

on 7 July 1934 and

was brought up by his

parents in Isleworth.

During the Blitz, Tony was evacuated,

spending the next five years as a boarder

at Seaford House School in Malvern. After

victory was declared in 1945, Tony returned to

London and eventually settled with his parents

in Finchley, enrolling at Dame Alice Owen’s

School.

He achieved good grades, staying on after

A-levels for a further term to sit Oxbridge

examinations. He was also appointed Head

Boy in his final year, a fitting reflection of

the esteem in which he was held by staff

and fellow students. In the summer of 1953,

Tony was offered a place to read history at St

Catherine’s Society.

I first met Tony in October 1953 when we

both arrived at St Catz as freshers. We quickly

formed a close friendship through our keen

interest in distance running, spending many

happy hours at the Iffley Road track under

the watchful eye of OUAC coach Franz Stampfl

(‘It is only pain, my boy.’). Along with many

others, we were present on that memorable

evening in May 1954 when Roger Bannister

ran the first sub-four-minute mile.

Tony was also a stalwart member of the St

Catz second XI football team which completed

the 1953-54 season unbeaten. He also

enjoyed socialising in the JCR where he honed

his skills on the shove-halfpenny board.

In the summer of 1956, Tony took finals and

obtained a creditable second class honours

degree. He subsequently undertook a PGCE

before embarking on a long and distinguished

career in education.

This started in 1958 as Assistant History

Teacher in Chelmsford; four years later he

became Head of History at Southend High

School. In 1968 he was appointed Head of

Upper School at Appleton School, before

promotion took him, as Deputy Head and

subsequently Head, to Houghton Regis Upper

School. Tony’s final career move was in 1986,

when he was appointed Head of Thomas

Bennett Community School in Crawley, where

he remained until retirement in 1994.

When Tony moved to Houghton Regis, he

was married to Penny, with whom he had

two daughters, Sally and Joanne, but sadly

the marriage ended in 1974. He then rented

a four-bedroom property in Dunstable; when

one of his fellow occupants left, he advertised

for ‘a fourth person to share’. A couple of

evenings later a young lady arrived at the

door: ‘Hello, I’m Donna and I’ve come about

the fourth person to share,’ she said. This was

the first step on what was to become a long

and loving relationship. Tony and Donna were

married in 1977 and were blessed with two

children, Julie and Robert.

Throughout his demanding career, Tony gave

unstintingly of his time to his other great

passion, athletics coaching. At evenings

and weekends he could be found advising,

instructing and encouraging young athletes

to improve their performances and raise

their aspirations and he was responsible for


G A Z E T T E

enabling several of them to win national

awards. Whether it was in the classroom or

on the athletics track, Tony was motivated by

a desire to help young people achieve their

goals and in that he truly succeeded.

The friendships he had made in Oxford

would remain strong until the present day.

Tony would, alongside Alan Wortley, Norman

Goddard, Scott Davidson, Jim Pare and the

late lamented Barri Bishop and Dick Beardsley,

enjoy annual reunions from Cumbria to the

Cotswolds, plus the occasional gaudy, with

much carousing and reminiscing.

In the last few years, Tony suffered from

poor health which he bore with his

customary stoicism. He passed away on 18

January 2021 and will be remembered with

deep affection by all his family and his many

friends.

Kindly provided by Alan Wortley (1953,

Classics), a friend of Tony’s

ROGER FINNEY

(1961, Mathematics)

Roger was one of the

earliest students at St

Catherine’s College,

arriving in 1961,

and his experiences

there were formative

in many ways. Whilst there he made lifelong

friendships, enjoyed the rigorous Christian

discussion and fellowship of the Oxford

Inter-Collegiate Christian Union, and started

to discover his love of applied mathematics,

which he was later to pass on to so many.

After graduating and then spending a year

teaching mathematics in Birkenhead (his wife

still has the sturdy bookcase the boys made

for him), he studied for his PhD at Nottingham

and then had a brief spell trying his hand in

industry with ICI in Teesside, before returning

to academia and lecturing.

Always an advocate for the role of polytechnics,

he worked first at Lanchester (now Coventry

University) and then in 1978 moved to

Thames (which later became the University

of Greenwich) where he eventually became

Dean and spearheaded the move into the Old

Royal Naval College in time for the millennium

celebrations there.

In his spare time he continued to play bridge

and squash and also served as warden, youth

leader, treasurer and occasional preacher for

his local church. He married Kate in 1974,

was blessed with two sons and encouraged

his wife whilst she worked towards her

own doctorate. They lectured together at

Greenwich for many years.

His appreciation of all musical genres (from

madrigal to heavy metal – the latter was

introduced to him by his children!) as well

as playing the piano led him to singing in

the church choir with his characteristically

enthusiastic booming bass voice.

On retirement, Roger was always willing to

give extra help in mathematics to anyone who

asked and also pass on his knowledge in other

areas by teaching bridge and leading Bible

study groups. His love of travel, sparked while

still at St Catz by trips in the vacation overland

to Greece and Israel (unusual in those days),

continued right through his life.

Sadly his health declined in recent years and

Roger died in hospital following complications

after a fall in April 2020. With the restrictions

of the time no appropriate commemorations

were possible, but thankfully a celebration of

his life was arranged for September 2021 for

family, friends and colleagues to pay tributes

and share memories.

He leaves a wife, two sons, six grandchildren

and many grateful former students.

Kindly provided by Kate Finney, Roger’s wife

DAVID GEBBETT

(1954, Physics)

David came up to St Catherine’s Society

in 1954 to read physics. He joined in the

Society’s life with enthusiasm and was

captain of the Boat Club in 1956-7; he also


G A Z E T T E

enjoyed a wide social life in Oxford. After

going down, he began national service in the

RAF, but eventually became a regular officer

in the army, reaching the rank of lieutenant

colonel in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical

Engineers. Leaving the army in 1979, he

explored the business world with energy and

imagination, always ably assisted by his wife

Diana; their mail order fulfilment company

becoming the largest customer of the

Southampton Post Office.

David was also a very keen yachtsman, living in

Ocean Village and owning a sequence of boats,

which he shared generously with his family and

friends. He was very adventurous, taking part

in innumerable races both in UK waters and

also in New Zealand. Sailing successfully in the

Fastnet Race was a particular achievement. In

all things, an ‘interesting’ project and concern

for his family and friends were always high

priorities.

Kindly provided by Peter Ainsley (1954,

Physics), a friend of David’s

JOHN ELWOOD

GIRTON

(1949, Chemistry)

John Elwood Girton

of San Anselmo,

California, died on 25

May 2021, aged 93.

His wife and children were by his side.

John was born on 29 June 1927 in

Cambridge, England. He grew up in West

Lafayette, Indiana, where he spent much of

his time riding motorcycles, raising homing

pigeons, and becoming an Eagle Scout.

After getting his degree in chemistry from

Purdue University, John lived in England for

a year and studied at St Catherine’s Society.

Before attending Purdue, he was drafted into

the US Navy and served for nine months as

the Second World War was ending. He later

served in the US Army during the Korean

War.

John worked as a chemist in both

Philadelphia and New York City before

moving west to work at the Stanford

Research Institute. He then got his master’s

degree in teaching from Stanford University,

where he met his wife, Sheila. They settled

in the North Bay, and John taught chemistry

for 30 years at Redwood High School in

Larkspur, California.

Travel, and experiencing other cultures, was

a very important part of John’s life. In 1967-

68, he and Sheila travelled and camped

throughout Europe and North Africa in their

Volkswagen van. In 1979-80, John lived

in Oxford with his family and again took

classes at St Catz, where he had so enjoyed

studying 30 years earlier. Additionally, he

spent time visiting high schools in England to

observe their methods of teaching chemistry.

In 1981, John and his family returned to

England, and he taught chemistry as a

Fulbright exchange teacher in Blandford

Forum, Dorset.

After retiring from teaching, John spent

his time travelling, hiking, sailing, planting

a rose garden, and marching in protests.

He was a proud progressive and an avid

environmentalist who supported numerous

organisations, including the Sierra Club,

Greenpeace, and the Natural Resources

Defense Council.

As an amateur classical guitarist and recorder

player, John loved playing music and attending

concerts of all kinds. He also had a strong

interest in choral music and sang in several

community choruses. Through his involvement

with the Oxford alumni group of northern

California, John’s connection to Oxford

remained strong throughout his life.

John is survived by his wife of 57 years,

Sheila; his sister Judy Phillips of Ross; his son

James of Seattle (along with daughter-in-law

Sabine Mecking and grandchildren Leana,

Lucas, and Jonah); and his daughter Annie of

San Francisco.

Kindly provided by Annie Girton, John’s

daughter


G A Z E T T E

ROGER JEAL

(1967, PPE)

Roger Jeal died of

cancer on 1 Sep 2021,

aged 72, after only a

few days in a hospice.

He was a Reuters

business journalist for

40 years, specialising in commodities, with

postings to France, Germany, Hong Kong and

the Netherlands. Later in his career he taught

his trade to young journalists.

Roger was born in Bournemouth, by far the

youngest of four siblings, after his parents left

London. In 1967 he won a scholarship to Catz

from Bournemouth School, to study chemistry.

In his first year he agonised over his subject

choice, and as the Vietnam War progressed

and the 1968 événements unfolded in Paris,

he successfully took the brave decision to

switch to PPE.

Graduating in 1971, he joined the civil service

but was dissatisfied with the work, which

he described as, ‘reporting negotiations in

Brussels on the price of pigs,’ so he joined

Reuters as a trainee economics journalist, and

found his métier.

After induction in London in 1973, Roger

was asked: ‘How’s your French?’ (he had

French and German O-levels). After his reply,

he was told: ‘You start in Paris on Monday’.

He enjoyed his work there and hosted a

succession of friends in his small apartment in

the city centre. The amusing highlight of his

improved French was getting the microphone

to ask the French president about the

economy, at which point Pompidou terminated

the press conference.

On return to the UK, ‘How’s your German?’

led to a posting in Frankfurt, and then

eventually Hong Kong, where his claim to

fame was transmitting the telex to inform the

world, ‘Mao Tse-tung is dead, Peking radio

said’. He remained a lifelong member of the

Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents’ Club, and

returned often with his wife Janet for holidays

and to meet friends.

Other postings followed, including Amsterdam

in 1978, where he became bureau chief and

insisted that everyone in the office spoke in

Dutch, to help him learn the language. He

left there in 1982 to run reporting desks in

London, gaining a reputation for coaching and

mentoring staff, and in 2000 that led him to

join the Reuters Foundation, from where he

used the lessons of his own career to inspire a

generation of younger journalists from across

the world.

He also took on a visiting lectureship in

journalism at City, University of London in

2011, retiring from Reuters in 2013. He

became a Freeman of the City of London

through election to the Worshipful Company

of Stationers and Newspaper Makers in 2016.

Roger was always interested in people of

different cultures and backgrounds. His

colleagues said he was an excellent Reuters

journalist, always cool, collected and smiling,

kind and generous with his time, and he will

be missed in many newsrooms around the

world.

In 1983 he married Janet Ellingham. They were

active godparents and substitute grandparents

to many children of relatives and friends

around the world. Janet survives him.

Kindly provided by Chris Little (1967,

Mathematics), a friend of Roger’s

FRANK JOYCE

(1961, Geography)

The family of Frank

Joyce are very sad to

share the news that

Frank passed away

suddenly due to a

heart attack, while in

hospital for treatment of myeloma.

Frank read Geography at Catz and was one of

the cohort of students to see St Catherine’s

Society change into St Catherine’s College,

and the first in his family to attend university.

It became a family tradition, with his


G A Z E T T E

daughter Alexa following him to Catz in 1996

to read biological sciences.

Frank looked back fondly on his time at

Oxford, making friends, being intellectually

challenged as well as becoming an expert in

shove-halfpenny at the local Oxford pubs.

After graduation, he moved to London where

he attended the London School of Economics.

Frank began work in local government,

in the London Borough of Ealing, and

then Hammersmith, where he led a study

examining strategic new traffic routes for the

whole of west London. During his time at

Hammersmith, he met Susan Cheeseman, and

they married in 1972.

In 1971, Frank was appointed as reader

at Aston University, Birmingham to set up

the Joint Unit for Research on the Urban

Environment. Hugh Williams OBE was

appointed shortly after and he and Frank

worked hard to progress the work of the

department, through research and supervising

PhD students.

In 1982, Frank and Hugh founded Ecotec

Research and Consulting Ltd, to provide

rigorous, evidence-based and independent

research and advice. They were ahead of their

time, aiming for positive social impact while

also making a profit.

As Managing Director of Ecotec, the company

expanded with new offices across Europe,

with over 200 staff. Ecotec became a leading

consultancy to the European Commission,

UK Government and others on topics such as

renewable energy, social policy, transport and

regional development. Notable work included a

study for the Department of the Environment,

Transport and Regions, recommending the

‘polluter pays’ principle for a tax on pesticide

use, which was debated in Parliament.

In 2000, Ecotec merged with Dutch

consultancy firm NEI Kolpron to form Ecorys,

with offices in Europe, Asia and Africa with

more than 500 staff. Frank was Vice Chair of

the board, before retiring in 2011, due to ill

health.

Frank contributed to the community of

Amington, Staffordshire where the family

lived, based on his Christian faith. He served

as church warden at St Editha’s Church in

Amington, and chaired Tamworth Cornerstone

Housing Association (TCHA) from 1989

to 2010. TCHA now offers 49 units of

accommodation for young homeless people,

giving them a safe, welcoming home thanks

to Frank’s chairmanship. Susan shared in this

work.

Despite his demanding professional life, Frank

always found time for family and friends.

He enjoyed badminton and golf, and travel

around the globe with his wife and children,

Alexa and Phillip. He particularly enjoyed

spending time in Canada with Susan at her

parents’ cottage in the Ottawa Valley. He

leaves behind his wife, children and four

grandchildren in the UK and Belgium, and will

be very sadly missed.

Kindly provided by Alexa Joyce (1996,

Biological Sciences), Frank’s daughter

IVOR KENNA

(1949, Mathematics)

Ivor Kenna was born

in Rugby and grew up

in Bath. His father,

whose work as an

iron moulder and core

maker was physically

demanding, told Ivor, ‘I have worked hard all

my life and I don’t want you to have to do the

same.’ This inspired Ivor, who studied hard

and gained a place at St Catherine’s to study

mathematics.

After graduation he got a job as an actuary

at the Prudential, where he met Florence.

They married in 1961 at Finsbury Town Hall.

Together with some others, they established

the first trade union at the Prudential, the

Guild of Insurance Officials. Later subsumed

by Unite, it signalled the start of a passionate

and lifelong fight for emancipation for the

working class.


G A Z E T T E

Like Hsiang Yu the Conqueror, Ivor did not seek

idle fame; but those who knew him recognised

his leadership qualities. He was Secretary of

the local branch of the Communist Party and six

years ago successfully led the fight against the

sell-off of the local Pine Street Medical Centre.

This landmark, designed by architect Berthold

Lubetkin, was a firm fixture in Ivor’s life, being

located close to the home he shared with

Florence for six decades.

Ivor was well-read, intelligent and had a variety

of interests. He and Florence were members

of the Celtic League and the Society for

Anglo-Chinese Understanding, organisations

they attended for many decades. In their

spare time, they also enjoyed hill walking and

climbing in Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Ivor Kenna died on 3 June 2021, aged 89,

after a short illness. He is survived by Florence,

his wife of almost 60 years.

Kindly provided by Florence Kenna, Ivor’s wife

ANDREW McNEIL

(1961, Modern

History)

Andrew McNeil was

born in Oxted, Surrey

on 9 March 1942, with

his twin sister Alison,

the youngest children

of Eleanor and Kenneth McNeil. He had an

older sister and brother, Fiona and Ian.

Andrew caught whooping cough as a

young child, triggering bronchiectasis which

damaged his lungs. Because of his health

he was sent to coastal Eastbourne College,

which he enjoyed, making good friends, and

igniting three passions: history, running and

acting. Into his sixties Andrew continued to

run, which helped maintain his strength and

lung capacity.

His history master suggested that he learn

about the American civil war and, after

Andrew gained his place at St Catherine’s,

paid for him to go to the US to visit the

key battlefields. A formative experience, he

remembered strange encounters travelling by

train and bus: from the hotel in Charleston

which, once settled in his room, he realised

was also a brothel, to waving from a

Greyhound bus at labourers at a roadside

and them waving back, their convict chains

clanging. The segregation he observed in the

south disturbed him.

He joined St Catherine’s as it was becoming

an Oxford college and maintained a lifelong

interest in it, getting on well with its first

Master, Alan Bullock, history tutors George

Holmes and Peter Dickson, law tutor Derek

Davies and politics tutor Wilfred Knapp.

At Oxford Andrew made cine films and threw

himself into directing and acting in plays. At

auditions for these, he met and fell in love

with Cordelia Collins, a history student at

Somerville College. Cordy survives him and

they were together when he died.

After Oxford he began a career in television,

working at the BBC and many of the regional

ITV networks over the years. He joined the

Association of Cinematic and Television

Technicians (ACTT), becoming a shop steward

and joining its national executive. Through the

ACTT he became involved in the Labour Party.

While working in television, and following a

passion, he designed an award-winning board

game: Kingmaker. A military and political

board game about the Wars of the Roses, it

was play-tested with TV and Labour friends

including Melvyn Bragg and Phillip Whitehead.

He was delighted that a new edition was to be

reissued. Andrew also authored a series of five

children’s books on a similar theme.

Andrew and Cordy began their family in 1967

when Rupert was born, followed by Charlotte

in 1970 and Emma in 1976. Sadly, Charlotte, a

lawyer and civil servant, died in 2002. Rupert,

a civil servant, and Emma, a writer, who

both studied at St Catherine’s, produced two

grandchildren each: Sam and Courtney, and

Aodan and Owen. Andrew was devoted to his

grandchildren, who returned the feeling.


G A Z E T T E

After a period living in Aberdeen, the family

returned to London, where Andrew became

the Director of Public Affairs at the British

Chamber of Shipping, a role he enjoyed. After

retiring aged 60, he began a new phase of

his life: becoming active in the local Labour

Party, taking the roles of chairman and being

elected a councillor. He also volunteered

at an advice centre and served as a school

governor.

In 2012, Andrew and Cordy relocated to

Bangor in Northern Ireland, allowing them to

be close to Emma and her family. As it was

when he was younger, the sea air was a tonic

for his health issues, and he loved the rich

bird life and family of hedgehogs that he fed

every night.

Even in the last days before Andrew passed

away from cancer in June 2020, he enjoyed

discussing history and politics with Cordy

and watching wildlife from his window. He

was delighted that his adopted family of

hedgehogs – whom he feared had been

driven away by a passing troupe of badgers –

had returned and were once again tucking in

heartily to the food he had put out for them.

Kindly provided by Rupert McNeil (1985,

PPE), Andrew’s son

KEITH NEWSON

(1952, English)

Keith Noyes Newson

(known to his family

as Kip) grew up in

Chingford, north-

east London. As a

child, the woods and

plains of Epping Forest were his playground.

He went to Bancroft’s School as a day boy

and then spent two years in the Friends

Ambulance Unit International Service as a

pacifist alternative to national service. He

came up to St Catherine’s Society in 1952

to read English, and was one of the first

generation of his family to go to university.

He chose a career in teaching, and spent

13 years at Wandsworth School in south

London, where he became head of English.

Wandsworth was a large boys’ grammar

school which was in the process of

changing to a comprehensive, and Keith

was determined to make the comprehensive

system work for all the pupils. A former

colleague commented that, ‘the new

approach to English teaching which he [was]

initiating was remarkable’. Also at this time,

Keith wrote a well-received series of English

textbooks, The Art of English.

In 1970 he was appointed as head of another

comprehensive, this time a former secondary

modern – Hillside School in Borehamwood,

Hertfordshire. When he took early retirement

in 1987, he left a successful and thriving

school. Looking back on the achievements of

his career, his view was that ‘testing is not

teaching,’ and professional teachers should

be allowed, as he was, to teach and organise

their schools without a prescriptive national

curriculum.

In 1987, Keith and his wife Gill moved to

Lechlade, in the Cotswolds, where they

converted an old barn and established a

shop selling doll’s house miniatures, rocking

horses and other toys, as well as studio

pottery. They returned to London in 2010 to

be closer to their children and grandchildren.

Keith became unwell early in 2020 and was

diagnosed with cancer of the liver. He died

peacefully at home in Dulwich on 2 April

2020, aged 88.

He had a lifelong passion for English literature

and the theatre, and while in Lechlade he

was secretary of the Lechlade History Society.

But as well as his professional work and other

interests, his life revolved around his close

family.

He is survived by his wife Gill, their three

children and five grandchildren.

Kindly provided by Robert Newson, Keith’s

son


G A Z E T T E

DAVID (DAVE)

RAINBIRD

(1964, Modern

History)

Dave Rainbird won

a scholarship to

Newcastle’s Royal

Grammar School

before coming to St Catherine’s in 1964

to read history. He was born in 1945 in

Gateshead where his grandmother had been

Labour mayor and his parents met in the

Labour League of Youth. Dave arrived in

Oxford a committed supporter of the Labour

Party, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and

Newcastle United.

Tragically, a few days later, his father died.

This loss, and its impact on his close-knit

family, affected Dave greatly. However, he

coped and the College’s inhabitants soon

found themselves being wittily lampooned in

the student newspaper. Luckily for Dave, his

victims couldn’t identify the mysterious

satirist, Goliath Sunbee. His political beliefs

remained undiminished, once erupting in

a thunderous rendition of The Red Flag at

dinner in Hall.

After graduating, Dave stayed on to qualify to

be a teacher, like his father. Then, true to his

principles, he found a post in a challenging

school, Croxteth Comprehensive in Liverpool.

Dave was instantly at home in a city which,

like Dave, was sociable, funny, opinionated

and loud. He revelled in the craic and

the political debates in bars such as the

Everyman. There he met Willy Russell, Alan

Bleasdale and, explosively, a junior minister

in the Thatcher government.

He was politically active too, helping to

organise a trip to Greenham Common to

support the protesters. He quickly acquired

an unusually large and varied circle of

friends; one said that she never walked

round Liverpool with Dave without meeting

someone that he knew.

Dave remained interested in football, cricket

and the cinema. His thinning hair and beard

landed him the role of Shakespeare in an

independent film which unfortunately was

never completed. But his greatest fascination

was with Liverpool’s sea-faring history. He

collected maritime memorabilia and posters

of the golden age of British shipping.

He stayed at Croxteth for many years,

enjoying the teaching and its social life,

including the staff cricket tours to Cumbria.

He also used the holidays to travel the world

and to visit old friends. He liked exploring

new cities and taking sea journeys,

especially on working ships such as a

transatlantic banana boat. These adventures

added to his store of good anecdotes.

As a keen and uncompromisingly brisk walker,

and a voracious reader of history and political

biography, Dave was fond of the Welsh border

country and its second-hand bookshops. He

could be frustratingly difficult to dislodge

from bookshops, antique fairs or exhibitions.

Later in life, Dave suffered from hearing

difficulties but he continued teaching until

retiring from the Blue Coat School. He

lived overlooking Liverpool Bay and joined

Liverpool’s Athenaeum Club, helping in

its renowned library. He was a long-time

reader of, and trenchant letter writer to, the

Guardian and the Liverpool Echo, his mates

dubbing him ‘Mr Angry’.

At the 2019 College gaudy, Dave was

instantly recognised by people who had

not seen him for years, such were the vivid

memories that he created. He died suddenly

in May 2021 and is survived by his sister Ann.

We won’t forget him and, as Dave used to say

emphatically, ‘rightly so!’

Kindly provided by Ann Cunningham, Dave’s

sister, his friends Trevor Smedley (1964,

Mathematics) and Maxine Leyland, with

contributions from other friends from St

Catherine’s


G A Z E T T E

SIMON RITSEMA

VAN ECK

(1958, Engineering)

The life of Simon

Ritsema van Eck was,

like countless others,

swept along in the

tumult of the Second

World War. He was born in The Hague in

1938. His father, a lieutenant in the Dutch

navy, was killed in 1942, in the battle of the

Java Sea, when his ship was sunk. Without a

father, and in wartime conditions, Simon and

his mother led a frugal life, with constant

food shortages.

In 1945 Simon’s mother married a

meteorologist in the British liberation forces.

In 1946 they moved to Britain, and Simon

began his education as an English schoolboy,

at Forest School in Essex. At the age of 18

Simon came into a legacy from his father,

which enabled him to purchase a 500cc

Norton motorcycle, kindling an interest in

fast motor cars that he retained for the rest

of his life.

In 1958 he went up to Oxford to read

engineering, as a member of St Catherine’s

Society. His chosen sport was swimming,

and the College archives record that he was

a member of the University team. After

leaving Oxford, Simon worked for five years

at Haswell Engineering in Essex. With his love

of fast machines he then started a business

restoring English sports cars, but it was not

successful. A first marriage also did not last,

and led to divorce.

In 1983 Simon was introduced to Anya,

a Russian Jewish lady. They were married

the following year, and together set up a

business, Anglo-Soviet Trade Consultants,

managing exports to Russia. The business

lines included the export of shoes, Ceylon tea,

beer and whisky. The business proved very

successful, and enabled them to purchase a

dacha outside Moscow, a share in a restaurant

in St Petersburg, and even a seat on the

Moscow stock exchange.

In London they bought an expensive flat near

Harrods as well as a charming country cottage

in the Bartons, north of Oxford. Their most

successful years were those leading up to

1998 when, in August, the Russian rouble was

heavily devalued.

The business continued with moderate

success, and in 2014 they decided to move

to a large country house in the Chilterns.

Sadly, Anya had a stroke in 2015, and she

died a year later. Simon was left on his own

in a large, rather isolated country house,

and his own health started to suffer. He had

never learnt to cook, and was lost without

his partner. Unexpectedly, he also suffered a

stroke in 2019, and died shortly after.

Despite spending almost all his adult life in

Britain, Simon was always proud of his Dutch

roots. His grandfather, born van Eck, rose from

humble origin to become a shipowner. He

requested permission to add the name of his

own grandmother, Ritsema, to make Ritsema

van Eck, which was granted by royal decree in

1898.

Memorial plates for both Anya and Simon

have been installed in the Ritsema van Eck family

tomb in de Hooge Heide near Epe, Holland. Their

ashes will also be scattered nearby.

Kindly provided by Tony Whitfield, a friend of

Simon’s

BRUCE TANNER

(1952, Modern

Languages)

Bruce Tanner died on

17 December 2020,

aged 89 years, after a

long and fulfilled life.

He was one of five siblings to be born and

raised in Birmingham, the city he would live in

for most of his life. He attended King Edward’s

School, joining one year ahead of his age

group on a foundation scholarship.

Bruce went on to study at the University

of Birmingham, and later St Catherine’s,

studying Russian, Spanish and economics.


G A Z E T T E

His education was interrupted by national

service, being posted to Vienna as a second

lieutenant in 1950. Here, enjoyed the city’s

world-famous opera scene, and learnt to ski.

Upon returning to the UK, he completed his

studies and in the vacation was fortunate

enough to be able to travel across Europe

while working as a courier – something

which set him up for his future career in

travel.

Bruce founded Horizon Holiday Travel, based

in Birmingham, which was at the forefront

of the growing package holiday sector of

the 1960s and ‘70s. By 1976, Horizon, with

Bruce as Chief Executive and Chairman, was

the UK’s third-largest tour operator. He

worked hard in the industry for 27 years,

before turning his attention to civic duties.

Bruce was a Justice of the Peace, Director

of the Birmingham Hippodrome Theatre

Trust and chaired the Birmingham Civic

Society for 11 years. He was also a non-

executive director of Birmingham Cable.

Bruce worked closely for many years with

a number of local charities, including St

Basils, a homelessness charity, Birmingham

Rathbone Society, which provides support

to those with learning difficulties, and the

Stonehouse Gang, which helps young people

realise their potential.

In 1991 Bruce was appointed High Sheriff

of the West Midlands and in 1996 received

an honorary doctorate from Aston University

in recognition of his work as chair of the

University’s Audit Committee. He enjoyed a

reputation for being firm, fair and generous,

and was well-known as a family man and

community stalwart, sitting on a number of

neighbourhood groups.

He was supported throughout his life by

wife Alma, with whom he grew a happy

family, raising three daughters: Jane, Ruth

and Jude. Family holidays were spent

travelling abroad or at their holiday home in

Wales, where hill walks were a much-enjoyed

pursuit.

Bruce is missed by Alma, his three daughters

and his seven grandchildren, as well as

the many whose lives were touched by his

generosity. The Welsh hills will no longer feel

the same without him.

Kindly provided by Alma Tanner, Bruce’s wife

DR BRUCE TOLLEY

Bruce Tolley was

a Fellow of St

Catherine’s College,

teaching students of

French for nearly 40

years.

He grew up in New Zealand, and received

his first degree at the Victoria University of

Wellington. He then read modern languages

at Trinity College, Oxford, graduating with a

First in French and Spanish.

Although his early research interest had been

in Romance philology, he soon established

himself as an authority on nineteenth-

century prose fiction and history of ideas. He

completed a DPhil thesis on the nineteenth-

century reformer the Comte de Saint-Simon,

with his principal publications thereafter

being on Balzac.

He was elected to a Founding Fellowship and

Tutorship in French at St Catherine’s in 1962,

becoming a committed tutor. He was an

active participant in College affairs, holding

the posts of Tutor for Graduates, President of

the SCR and Vice-Master. He retired in 1999,

becoming an Emeritus Fellow.

Bruce Tolley passed away on 15 January 2021,

aged 88.

Provided by College staff

DAVID WEBB

(1958, Modern Languages)

David was born in 1939 in Worcester Park.

He was educated at Kingston Grammar

School and from there won a County Major

Scholarship to St Catherine’s Society.


G A Z E T T E

Here he studied French and Spanish,

graduating in 1961 with a degree in modern

languages. He was in good company at the

University; preserved among his papers at

the Bishopsgate Institute is the menu for

an Oxford Old Kingstonians dinner that he

attended in November 1960, signed by him

and 19 others who had come from his old

school to study at Oxford.

On graduation he went into librarianship

and was appointed Library Assistant at City

of Westminster Libraries. Five years later he

attained the important position of Reference

Librarian at the Bishopsgate Institute. A

unique London foundation, the Institute was

formed in 1895 from an amalgamation of

parochial charities and occupies a striking Art

Nouveau building on Bishopsgate.

David was the Institute’s first Reference

Librarian; before him there had been a

librarian to the Institute, the most prominent

being Charles Goss (from 1897 to 1941) who

had built up the library’s London collection.

The position was split in 1966 when the

lending library was passed to the City of

London, with the Institute retaining the

reference library and archival collections.

David held this post from 1966 until his

retirement 33 years later in 1999. During

this period he was instrumental in increasing

and consolidating the Institute’s London

collections, notable additions being the

archives of London historian Raphael Samuel

and of the London Cooperative Society. The

acknowledgements he received from authors

of books as diverse as histories of London, of

French Marxism and of trade union legislation

show how his knowledge and commitment

extended to all of the Institute’s collections.

David was especially interested in London

history. Having qualified as an Associate of the

Library Association in 1967, he was elected

a Fellow three years later. He was also an

Honorary Librarian, and later a Vice President,

of the London and Middlesex Archaeological

Society, and he was Vice President of the East

of London Family History Society.

A further interest was the photographers

and photographic studios of Victorian London;

some of his research is available on

www.photolondon.org, while further

unpublished material is contained in his papers

held at the Bishopsgate Institute.

Alongside these achievements sit countless

acts of courtesy, consideration and generosity

extended to thousands of enquirers who

called at the library seeking his assistance on a

gamut of subjects, and it is for this that David

will principally be remembered.

The last words belong to Raphael Samuel:

‘Mr Webb, the Chief Librarian, knows his

collection very well indeed, and is available for

consultation at the counter at all times. You

would be well advised to introduce yourself

when you arrive, and tell him what you are

looking for, because apart from helping you

to find it he will probably have suggestions of

his own.’

Edited from a version kindly provided by

Simon Morris n

Obituaries of any member of the College

will be printed in The Year.

These should be no more than 500 words

in length, and may include an image, and

must be received by Sunday 31 July 2022

for publication in the next edition.

Enquiries and submissions should be

sent for the attention of the editor of

The Year, by email or by post, to the

Development Office (contact details can

be found on the back cover).


G A Z E T T E

NOTIFICATIONS

Ian K Andrews (1958, Law)

Andrew Yuri Barnard (1986, Metallurgy)

Keith George Beckinsale (1951, Physics)

Michael Black (1955, English)

John Derek Bullivant (1947, Modern

History)

David Chesterton (1958, Modern

Languages)

Colin James Dauris (1956, Law)

Brian Daynes (1954, Modern Languages)

Lara Anne Fielden (1986, PPE)

Hugh Herbert-Burns (1961, English)

John S Leahy (1953, Biochemistry)

Bernard Walter Malerbi (1953, Chemistry)

Leonardo Charles Zaffiri Duarte Mathias

(1955, PPE)

Robert C Nelson (1955, Law)

George Newman (1943, Modern History)

Dr Zedi Mesheck Nyirenda (1985,

Engineering)

David J Patterson (1960, Modern History)

Michael Roger Perkin (1956, English)

The Revd Peter Benson Pritchard (1955,

Theology)

Michael D Pullin (1970, PPE)

David William Riddell (1990, PPE)

Richard B Ritchie (1971, English)

Michael E Sara (1960, Geography)

Arthur John Stevenson (1952, English)

Dr Denys J Voaden (1949, Chemistry)

Barrie Peter Walker (1966, Modern History)

Dr Sumner Francis Dudley Walters (1950,

Theology)

George Derek Watson (1946, Geography)


M E S S A G E SG A Z E T T E


UNDERGRADUATES

BiologyViggo Alvsilver Rey – Norra Real Gymnasium, SwedenSamuel Hughes – Loreto College, ManchesterDimitra Psyllou – Foundation College, GreeceNatasha Quinton-Hibberd – Parmiter’s School,

HertfordshireOlivia Woods – Elliott Hudson College, West YorkshireMyles Yates – Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ School,

Hertfordshire

Biomedical SciencesAlex Friend – St Andrew’s Catholic School, SurreyIsabelle Goodall-Summers – Chase School,

WorcestershireAnne Van Ekert – Jan van Brabant College, Netherlands

ChemistryRichard Ademuwagun – London Academy of

Excellence StratfordEsme Bailey – Brighton, Hove & Sussex Sixth Form

CollegeOliver Bundock – Parrs Wood High School, ManchesterKye Qi Chee – Garden International School, MalaysiaEmily Davie – Godolphin & Latymer School, LondonSamuel Lennon – Nottingham High SchoolLuke Mackay – Lutterworth College, LeicestershireIsabelle Mccready – St Leonard’s Catholic School,

DurhamHarry Melling – Queen Elizabeth’s High School,

LincolnshireOliver Williams – Hinchley Wood School, SurreyBenedict Wiltshire – Rugby School, WarwickshireAlexander Woodruff – Tapton School, South Yorkshire

Computer ScienceThomas Aston – Aylesbury Grammar School,

BuckinghamshireAlexander Colby – Perse School, CambridgeJoseph Edwards – King Edward VI College Stourbridge,

West Midlands

Yichen Huang – High School Affiliated to Renmin University, China

Hsin-Lei Lin – Kesgrave High School, SuffolkAleksandar Milchev – National High School of

Mathematics & Natural Sciences, BulgariaLiam Sawyer – Darrick Wood School, Kent

Economics & ManagementDuncan Pinchen – Pate’s Grammar School,

GloucestershireAnnis Porter – Stephen Perse Sixth Form, CambridgeRobert Winter – Eton College, BerkshireCheuk Hang Wong – La Salle College, Hong Kong

Engineering ScienceWilliam Harper – Chislehurst & Sidcup Grammar

School, KentAbdullahi Ja’Afar – Cardiff Sixth Form CollegeMatthew Lenahan – St John Rigby College, Greater

ManchesterParmeet Madan – Greenford High School, LondonEdward O’Neill – Chelsea Academy, LondonAlexandra Sevcenco – City of London Freemen’s

School, SurreyYinghuai Sun – Carey Baptist Grammar School, AustraliaAloysius Wang – Hwa Chong Institution, SingaporeElysse Williams – Woodhouse College, London

English & Modern LanguagesYasmin Irving – Old Palace School, LondonHollie Partis – Wallingford School, OxfordshireHector Worsley – St Paul’s School, London

English Language & LiteratureMatteo Catilo – St Michael’s Catholic Grammar School,

LondonHo Lung Chan – Diocesan Boys’ School, Hong KongDaisy Connolly – Cowbridge Comprehensive School,

South GlamorganDaniel Dean – Newcastle under Lyme College,

StaffordshireFodhla Duggan-Dennehy – London Oratory SchoolAlexandra Linning-Innes – Kendrick School, Berkshire

Leopold Schimmel – Hasmonean High School for Boys, London

Emma Serle – Bay House School & Sixth Form, Hampshire

Gabriel Winsor – Poole Grammar School, Dorset

Experimental PsychologyEvangelina Asiedu-Addo – Bishop Challoner Catholic

School, LondonMary Astor – Godolphin & Latymer School, LondonSean Miles – Reading School, BerkshireChloe Ralph – Newtown High School, PowysJoshua Recido – King Edward VI Camp Hill School for

Boys, Birmingham

Fine ArtSophia Missaghian-Schirazi – King David High School,

LiverpoolHarmanpreet Randhawa – Foxford School &

Community Arts College, West Midlands

GeographyKatie Banks – Brighton College, East SussexMia Campbell – Ashlawn School, WarwickshireNiamh Campbell – Lady Eleanor Holles School, LondonJodi Coffman – Henrietta Barnett School, LondonManon Johnes – Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf, CardiffBarry Lee – Hwa Chong Institution, SingaporeTehya Llewellyn – Archbishop McGrath Catholic High

School, Mid GlamorganHuw Paige – King Edward VI Community College, DevonMia Stukins – Cleeve School, GloucestershireCory Winter – Hartlepool VI Form College, County Durham

HistoryJoseph Foster – Holy Cross Sixth Form College &

University Centre, Greater ManchesterYiyun Huang – Shanghai Yue Kong Pao Senior

Secondary School, ChinaAbby Hughes – Bishop Thomas Grant School, LondonBiba Jones – Camden School for Girls, LondonCleo Murphy-Hogg – King Edward VI Camp Hill School

for Girls, Birmingham

Admissions 2020

8 4 / A D M I S S I O N S 2 0 2 0

G A Z E T T E

Daniel Probert – Brighton College, East SussexSofia Somwaiya – Schule Schloss Salem, GermanyAik Wen Tan – Anglo-Chinese School (Independent),

SingaporeFrederick Whitehurst – Altrincham Grammar School for

Boys, Cheshire

History & EconomicsJack Wilkinson – Backwell School, Bristol

History & EnglishAmy Sullivan – St Philomena’s Catholic High School for

Girls, London

History & PoliticsLevi Hayes – Blackpool Sixth Form College, LancashireDominic Phillips – Cheslyn Hay Academy, Staffordshire

History of ArtPenelope Hilder Jarvis – Wellington College, BerkshireFreya Hutchins – Brighton College, East SussexAdam Mee – Westminster School, London

Human SciencesNina Guy – Sidcot School, SomersetTariro Hombarume – Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form

College, County DurhamShuting Li – Shanghai United International School

Pudong, ChinaRosa Wilson-Goldberg – Fortismere School, LondonPoppy Wood – Ralph Allen School, Bath

LawAngus Ann – Lancing College, West SussexHarry Chan – Diocesan Boys’ School, Hong KongCartell Cheema – Rainham Mark Grammar School, KentKacper Fraczek – 33 Liceum Im. M Kopernika, PolandJacqueline Hovell – Alleyn’s School, LondonKalan Kumar – Dulwich College, LondonThomas Lim – Anglo-Chinese School (Independent),

SingaporeGreta Naslenas – Harris Westminster Sixth Form, LondonElizabeth Patterson – St George’s College, SurreySahil Thapa – King Edward VI Grammar School, Essex

Materials ScienceGeorge Ball – Royal Grammar School, Surrey

Millie Cast – City of London Freemen’s School, SurreyPeter Hindson – Churcher’s College, HampshireYihong Hu – Anderson Serangoon Junior College,

SingaporeAlexander Plant – Haybridge High School & Sixth Form,

WorcestershireRenkai Zhang – Shanghai Experimental Foreign

Language School, China

MathematicsSamuel Curtis – Huntington School, YorkToby Insley – Aylesbury Grammar School, BuckinghamshireJacques Marquis – St David’s Catholic College, CardiffHoria-Paul Nicolcea – Colegiul National Dimitrie

Cantemir Onesti, RomaniaAlexander Scruton – King’s College School, LondonMatthew Stevens – Verulam School, HertfordshireIrina Vultur – Colegiul National Alexandru Papiu-Ilarian,

Romania

Medical SciencesSamia Anjum – Dormers Wells High School, LondonJoel Chesters – Ripley St Thomas Church of England

Academy, LancasterTimothy Kilbey – Wellington School, SomersetSuvika Kumaravelu – Woodford County High School,

EssexAlexander Rawnsley – Cathedral School Llandaff, CardiffFinlay Ryan-Phillips – Caerleon Comprehensive School,

GwentEugenio Vecchi – Eton College, Berkshire

Modern LanguagesTara Baurmann – Perse School, CambridgeZi Rong Hong – Headington School, OxfordMadeleine Kowalenko – SCEGGS Darlinghurst, AustraliaLaura Moore – Wallace High School, County AntrimElizabeth Proctor – Kesteven & Grantham Girls School,

LincolnshireMia Rigby – St John Rigby College, Greater ManchesterJoey Weinbren – Harris Westminster Sixth Form, London

Modern Languages & LinguisticsLola Eveling – South Wiltshire Grammar SchoolAlfie Mcintyre – Parrs Wood High School, ManchesterDeyonce Murdock – Woodhouse College, LondonFaun Williams – Alun School, Flintshire

Molecular & Cellular BiochemistryEdan Garraway – Brighton, Hove & Sussex Sixth Form

CollegeDhitee Goel – International School of Geneva,

SwitzerlandMaria Minnone – Sir Christopher Hatton Academy,

NorthamptonshireIsabel Schmidt – St Andrew’s College, IrelandAlexander Stead – Sevenoaks School, Kent

MusicKrisztina Imeli – Leicester CollegeWilliam Kidner – Eton College, BerkshireHelen Nielsen-Scott – St John Plessington Catholic

College, MerseysideAlmaz Razif – Shrewsbury School

Philosophy, Politics & EconomicsBenjamin Blackburn – Bishop Wordsworth’s Grammar

School, WiltshireRiya Kataria – Irvington High School, USAKonrad Kopp – American International School, AustriaRocco Lofinmakin-Dutta – Harris Westminster Sixth

Form, LondonMihica Prashant – GEMS World Academy, United Arab

EmiratesJack Shute – Watford Grammar School for Boys,

HertfordshireBarnaby Tremlett – Torquay Boys Grammar School,

Devon

PhysicsEnis Gerxhalija – North Liverpool Academy, MerseysideJames Huddart – Whitgift School, LondonOliver Leask – Nottingham University Academy of

Science & TechnologyJude Martin – Sutton Grammar School, LondonHaoyan Ning – Temasek Junior College, SingaporeMagdalena Stenfors – Highgate School, LondonThejes Sundar – Emmanuel College, Tyne and WearChristian Williams – St Peter’s Catholic School, West

Midlands

Psychology & LinguisticsErin Broadhurst – St Thomas More Catholic School &

Sixth Form College, Warwickshire


G A Z E T T E

GRADUATES

Azlan Abd Samat (MB BCh BAO University College Dublin, Ireland; DrEmMed Universiti Kebangsaan, Malaysia), DPhil Medical Sciences

Ben Aldous (BA King’s College London), MPhil Cuneiform Studies

Saher Ali (BBA Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology, Pakistan), MSc (C) Migration Studies

Abdikarin Ali-Hassan (BSc Oxford Brookes University; MSc University of Bristol), Master of Public Policy

Reine Alroumhin (BA Concordia University, Canada), MSc (C) Comparative Social Policy

Alaba Angole (LLB Middlesex University), MPhil Social Anthropology

Anna Apkhazava (BA Webster University, USA; MSc London School of Economics and Political Science), MBA

Ahuja Ashpica (LLB Punjabi University, India), MSc (C) Criminology & Criminal Justice

Nora Atallah (BSc King Saud University, Saudi Arabia; MA King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Saudi Arabia), DPhil Surgical Sciences

Tomiris Atazhanova (BSc, MD Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan), MSc (C) Clinical Embryology

Laura Attwood (BSc University of Bath), MSc (C) Experimental & Translational Therapeutics (part-time)

Samanpreet Atwal (HND Queen Mary University of London; BSc Cardiff University), DPhil Chemical Biology

Kwame Baffour-Awuah (BA St Catherine’s), 2nd BM*

Akal Bains (MA University of Edinburgh), MPhil Economics

Nathan Bandara (BPhil University of Western Australia, Australia), MSc (C) Financial Economics

Igor Baranov (BSc National Research University Higher School of Economics, Russia), MSc (C) Financial Economics

Claire Barnes (BA Regent’s Park College, Oxford; MPhil University of Bristol), DPhil Classical Languages & Literature (part-time)

Lucy Bartel (BA University of Pennsylvania, USA), MSc (C) Comparative Social Policy

Callen Baxter (BComm, JD University of Melbourne, Australia), MSc (C) Law & Finance

Paige Bernecker (BA Syracuse University, USA), MSc (C) Sociology

David Berry (BA Churchill College, Cambridge), MSc (C) Mathematics & Foundations of Computer Science

Arun Bisla (BEng University of Pune, India), MBA

Geertje Bol (BA Universiteit Utrecht, Netherlands; MPhil University of St Andrews; Balliol College, Oxford), DPhil Politics

Yebeen Boo (BSc University College London), MSc (C) Global Health Science & Epidemiology

Johanna Borissova (BSc Ruprecht-Karls Universitat, Germany), MSc (C) Mathematical & Theoretical Physics

Elizabeth Bramon (BA Truman State University, USA; JD Harvard University, USA), BCL

Esther Braun (BA, MA, MBBS Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universitat Frankfurt, Germany), MSt Practical Ethics (part-time)

Rebecca Brown (BA Middlebury College, USA), MPhil Nature, Society & Environmental Governance

Eboni Bucknor (BSc University of Edinburgh), DPhil Physiology, Anatomy & Genetics

Irene Burger (BSc, MSc Ecole Polytechnique, France), MSc (C) Computer Science

Valeriane Buslot (BA McGill University, Canada), MSc (C) Energy Systems

Jose Eduardo Canales Calderon (BSc Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico, Mexico; LLB Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico), MSc (C) Law & Finance

Andres Castanos-Mollor (MSc Universidad Politecnica Madrid, Spain; MSc Cranfield University), MBA

John Cattermull (MChem New College, Oxford), DPhil Materials

Alessandro Cavallo (BSc University of Plymouth; MSc Imperial College of Science, Technology & Medicine, London; University College, Oxford), DPhil Chromosome & Developmental Biology

Florence Cayouette (MD CM McGill University, Canada), MSt Practical Ethics (part-time)

Shuting Chen (BA Sun Yat-sen University, China), MSt Linguistics, Philology & Phonetics (Advanced Study)

Chun Fang Cheng (BSc University of British Columbia, Canada), MSc (C) Statistical Science

Chido Chigwedere (BA Kalamazoo College, USA), MBA

Magdalena Chmura (BA St Catherine’s), 2nd BM*

Harmony Chun (BSc City University), MSc (C) Evidence-Based Health Care (part-time)

Mairi Clarkson (BA University of York), MSc (C) Comparative Social Policy

James Coleman (MPhys Imperial College of Science, Technology & Medicine), DPhil Computer Science

Michael Collins (BA Kean University, USA; MA Rutgers University, USA), DPhil History

Emily Craven (BA University of Warwick), MSt English (650-1550)

Mariana Da Silva Gabriel (BA Cardiff University), MSt Music (Musicology)

Emily Daly (BA Trinity College, University of Dublin), MSt Ancient Philosophy

Niamh Davis (BA Downing College, Cambridge), BCL

Sydelle De Souza (BA Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal), MSc (C) Applied Linguistics & Second Language Acquisition

Adam Elebert (LLB Trinity College Dublin), BCL

Elliot Epstein (BSc Roayl Institute of Technology, Sweden), MSc (C) Mathematical & Computational Finance

Meirian Evans (BA St Catherine’s), 2nd BM*

Oliver Evans (BA St Peter’s College, Oxford), MSt English (1900-present day)

Sophie Evekink (BA University of Maastricht, Netherlands; MSc Lincoln College, Oxford), DPhil Criminology (part-time)

Samuel Exton (MChem Corpus Christi College, Oxford, MSc Hertford College, Oxford), 1st BM (Graduate Entry)

Chun Yin Fan (BA Regent’s University), MBA

8 6 / A D M I S S I O N S 2 0 2 0

G A Z E T T E

Kacey Fang (BSc Yale University, USA), MSc (R) Psychiatry

Augusto Fernandez (BA University of Rochester, USA), MBA

Douglas Ferreira (BSc Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil; MSc Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo, Brazil), DPhil Clinical Medicine

Matilde Fiori (Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford), DPhil Engineering Science

Jacob Fisher (MA Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa, Italy), MSt Oriental Studies

Eliot Foster (BEng McGill University), MBA

Shahd Fouad (BSc American University in Cairo, Egypt; MPhil Downing College, Cambridge; St Edmund Hall, Oxford), DPhil Oncology

Noah Fournier (BSc Texas A&M International University, USA), MSc (C) Mathematical & Theoretical Physics

Karl Frey (MBiochem Pembroke College, Oxford), 1st BM (Graduate Entry)

Hannah Fuchs (BA St Catherine’s), 2nd BM*

Kirsten Gansert (BSc University of San Diego, USA), MBA

Zhengtai Gao (BSc University of Birmingham), MPhil Economics

Tarushi Garg (BA University of Delhi, India), MBA

Grace Gillis (BSc University College London), MSc (C) Clinical & Therapeutic Neuroscience

Marcel-Valentin Glockner (BA Freie Universitat Berlin, Germany; MSc Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales, Canada), MSc (C) Nature, Society & Environmental Governance

Khiam Li Goh (BA National University of Singapore, Singapore), MSt English (1900-present day)

Joanna Goodall (BA University of Exeter), MBA

Oriane Grant (BA St Catherine’s), 2nd BM*

Jeevun Grewal (BSc University of East Anglia), MSc (C) Psychological Research

Muslum Guven (BEng, MSc Erciyes University, Turkey), DPhil Materials

Paul Guy (MBiochem St Catherine’s), DPhil Oncology*

Boyang Han (BSc Beijing Institute of Technology, China; BSc University of Manchester), MSc (C) Mathematical & Computational Finance

Patricia Harkins (MB BCh BAO Trinity College, Ireland), MSc (C) Musculoskeletal Sciences (part-time)

Courtney Harshbarger (BA Loyola Marymount University, USA), MSt English (650-1550)

Elizabeth Hatton (BA St Catherine’s), 2nd BM*

Satoshi Hayakawa (BEng, MSc University of Tokyo, Japan Kobe Scholar 2020-2023), DPhil Mathematics

Ruoying He (BA University of Washington, USA), MSc (C) Education (Child Development & Education)

Alexandra Hertlein (Staatsexamen Albert-Ludwigs-Universität, Germany; MSt St Peter’s College, Oxford), DPhil Medieval & Modern Languages

Tiger Hills (BA St Catherine’s), MSc (C) Migration Studies*

Leonie Hoffmann (BA Somerville College, Oxford; MPhil St Antony’s College, Oxford), DPhil Development Studies

Elizabeth Hotz (BA University of California Santa Barbara, USA), MSc (C) Archaeology

Alissa Hummer (MBiochem St Catherine’s; MPhil Wolfson College, Cambridge), DPhil Statistics*

Madeleine Hunt (BA University of Manchester), MSc (C) Global Governance & Diplomacy

Rafael Hunt-Stokes (MSc University College London), DPhil Particle Physics

Tobias Hurst (BSc, MRes Imperial College London), 1st BM (Graduate Entry)

Takeshi Igarashi (BA Keio University, Japan), MBA

Ran Jiang (BA Suzhou University, China), MSc (C) Social Science of the Internet

Ruhong Jin (BSc Tsinghua University, China; Dipl Ecole Normale Superieure, France; MSc Universite de Paris VI (Pierre et Marie Curie), France), DPhil Mathematics

Ekemini John (BEng University of Uyo, Nigeria), MSc (C) Energy Systems

Tess Johnson (BA, BSc Australian National Univeristy, Australia; MBioethics Monash University, Australia; Hertford College, Oxford), DPhil Philosophy

Elvinas Jonaitis (LLB IE Business School Madrid, Spain), MSc (C) Law & Finance

Caroline Jones (BA Brown University, USA), MSc (C) Environmental Change & Management

Christopher Jones (BA University College London), MSt English (1900-present day)

Olivia Jordan (BA University of Liverpool), MSt English (1830-1914)

Omar Kabir (BASc University College London), MSc (C) Experimental & Translational Therapeutics (part-time)

Krzysztof Kacprzyk (BSc University College London), MSc (C) Mathematical Sciences

Ivana Kakacová (Bc Masaryk University, Czech Republic)

Misha Kaura (BA Xavier University, USA; GDL BPP University; PGDip, LLM University of London), MSc (C) Evidence-Based Health Care (part-time)

Saad Khan (BEng Texas Tech University, USA), MBA

Ana Kisovar (DMed University Ljubljana, Slovenia), MSc (R) Women’s and Reproductive Health

Thomas Klein (BA New York University Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates), Master of Public Policy

Peter Koepernik (BSc Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany), MSc (C) Mathematical Sciences

Oliver Kohl (BSc Johannes Guttenberg Universitat, Germany; MSc Ludwig Maximilians Universitat, Germany), DPhil Psychiatry

Irina Kolegova (BA Moscow Higher School of Economics, Russia), MPhil Sociology & Demography

Frida Koslowski (BSc King’s College London), MSc (C) Evidence-Based Social Intervention & Policy Evaluation

Benedicte Krabbe (BSc, MSc Copenhagen Business School, Denmark), MSt Practical Ethics (part-time)

Pauline Lamaiziere (Université Paris II (Panthéon-Assas), France), Diploma in Legal Studies

Natasha Lanzon-Miller (BA Kingston University), MFA

Chi Le (BSc Emory University, USA), MSc (C) Global Health Science & Epidemiology

Brianne Lee (BSc Florida State University, USA), MBA

Frederick Leo (BA St Edmund Hall, Oxford), MSt History – Modern European History 1850-present


M E S S A G E SG A Z E T T E

Lok Hang Leung (BA Hertford College, Oxford), BCL

Aitian Li (BSc University of International Business and Economics, China), MBA

Bowen Li (BMed Wenzhou Medical University, China; BSc University of Manchester; MSc St Edmund Hall, Oxford), DPhil Computer Science

Dan Li (LLB, LLM Inner Mongolia University, China; DCL Renmin University of China, China), MSc (C) Law & Finance

Xinyuan Li (BA Zhejiang University, China), MSc (C) Sociology

Leeho Lim (BSc University of Chicago, USA), MBA

Natalie Lim (BA New York University, USA), MSc (C) Migration Studies

Konstantinos Liogas (BEng University of East London), DPhil Engineering Science (part-time)

Li Liu (BSc Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, China; MSc Academy of Military Medical Science, China; LLM University of Leeds), DPhil Law

Dominik Loibner (BA Vienna University, Austria; BSc Wirtschaftsuniversitat Wien, Austria), MSc (C) Economic & Social History

Quentin Louis (MSc Ecole Polytechnique, France; MSc Sorbonne Université / Université Paris-Saclay, France), MSc (C) Social Anthropology

Dragos Manea (BSc Universitatea Bucuresti, Romania), MSc (C) Mathematical Sciences

Sarah Marshall (BA Vassar College, USA), MSt Greek &/or Latin Languages & Literature

Romana Meereis (BA University of Leeds), MPhil Buddhist Studies

Archie Morfoot (MSc University of Birmingham), DPhil Condensed Matter Physics

Kaito Mori (LLB University of Tokyo, Japan), MSc (C) Law & Finance

Honor Mort (BA University of Warwick), MSc (C) Evidence-Based Social Intervention & Policy Evaluation

Priscila Moscoso Meiller (BA College of Notre Dame of Maryland, USA; MSc King’s College London), MBA

Maxwell Mutanda (BSc, PGDip University College London), MSc (C) Sustainable Urban Development (part-time)

Raghuveer Nath (LLB Jindal Global University, India), BCL

Nicholas Newson (), MSc (C) Software Engineering (part-time)

Dai Oba (BA International Christian University, Japan; MPP University of Tokyo, Japan; MA Waseda University, Japan), DPhil Politics

Benjamin O’Leary (MPhys, PhD University of Edinburgh), MSc (C) Software Engineering (part-time)

Peter Olive (BA Wadham College, Oxford; MPhil Royal Holloway and Bedford New College), DPhil Classical Languages & Literature (part-time)

Gabriel O’Regan (BA University of Bristol), MSt Modern Languages

Georgios Papavangelis (BA University of Leicester), MSt History – Intellectual History

Viviana Pinto-Knoll (BSc Universitat Mannehim, Germany; MSc Ludwig Maximilians Universitat Munchen, Germany), MBA

Evelyn Pyper (BSc McMaster University, Canada; MPH Queen’s University, Canada), DPhil Evidence-Based Health Care (part-time)

Lav Radosavljevic (BSc Stockholms Universitet, Sweden), MSc (C) Statistical Science

Ankit Ranjan (BA St John’s College, Oxford), DPhil Surgical Sciences

Nagraj Rao (BA Clark University MA, USA; MSc University of Maryland, USA), MBA

Aaron Ray (BM BS University of Nottingham; PGCert University of Dundee), MSc (C) Musculoskeletal Sciences (part-time)

Elizabeth Rees (BA University of Exeter; MA University College London), DPhil History

Matthew Reiter (BASc University of Toronto, Canada), MSc (C) Mathematical & Computational Finance

Virginia Rieger (BA University of Alabama, USA), MSt English (1700-1830)

Arnaud Rippol (BSc, MSc Ecole Polytechnique, France), MSc (C) Statistical Science

Roderic Robertson (BA School of Oriental and African Studies), MSc (C) Japanese Studies

David Roddy (BA Jesus College, Oxford), MPhil Modern Middle Eastern Studies

Sara Rotenberg (BSc Georgetown University, USA), DPhil Primary Health Care

Alexandra Rottenkolber (BSc Ruprecht-Karls Universitat Heidelberg, Germany; MPP Hertie School of Governance, Germany), MSc (C) Social Data Science

Katie Sanchez (BFA Pennsylvania State University, USA), MSc (C) Archaeology

Mollie Schofield (BA University of Durham), MSt Modern Languages

Christoph Schoppe (Staatsexamen Bucerius Law School, Germany)

Lan Shi (BA University College London), MSc (C) Archaeology

Jessica Shu (BA Bryn Mawr College, USA), MBA

Charlotte Simpson (BSc University of Durham), MSc (R) Oncology

Kieran Smith (BSc University of Bath), MSc (C) Sociology

Robert Smyth (MChem St Catherine’s), DPhil Inorganic Chemistry*

Barbora Snaraite (BSc Vilnius University, Lithuania), MSc (C) Mathematical Sciences

Zhan Yi Soh (LLB National University of Singapore, Singapore), MBA

Oluwadamilola Soyoye (BEng Covenant University, Nigeria; MSc Illinois Institute of Technology, USA), MBA

Katherine Steele (MChem St Catherine’s), DPhil Inorganic Chemistry for Future Manufacturing (EPSRC CDT)*

Benjamin Stefano (BA University of Melbourne, Australia), MPhil International Relations

Joy Stewart (BA Vanderbilt University, USA), MSc (C) Refugee & Forced Migration Studies

Thomas Surridge (BA Mansfield College, Oxford), MSt History – Medieval History

8 8 / A D M I S S I O N S 2 0 2 0

G A Z E T T E

Anna Sweetman (BA Mansfield College, Oxford), MSc (C) Global Health Science & Epidemiology

Ian-Christopher Tanoh (BSc, MSc Ecole Polytechnique, France), MSc (C) Statistical Science

Cheng Tao (BSc Vanderbilt University, USA), MSc (C) Mathematical & Theoretical Physics

Mateo Tate-Contreras (BA Columbia University, USA), MSt English (1550-1700)

Owen Thomas (BA University of Lancaster; MSc University College London), DPhil Population Health

Heather Tong (BA St Catherine’s), 2nd BM*

Shuangyi Tong (BMath University of Waterloo, Canada), DPhil Engineering Science

Beverley Townsend (LLB, LLM University of South Africa, South Africa; PGDip, LLM, PhD University of Cape Town, South Africa), MSt Practical Ethics (part-time)

Shreya Uttara Kushal (BA Ashoka University, India), MSc (C) Social Anthropology

Jasper Verplancke (BSc Boston University, USA), MSc (C) Clinical & Therapeutic Neuroscience

Max Von Gierke (BSc Universitat Mannheim, Germany), MSc (C) Mathematical Sciences

Isavella Vouza (BA Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece; MA McGill University, Canada; MSt St Cross College, Oxford), DPhil English

Alena Wabitsch (BSc Erasmus University, Netherlands; MSc Barcelona Graduate School of Economics, Spain), DPhil Economics

Azizia Wahedi (BSc, MSc York University, Canada), 1st BM (Graduate Entry)

Lennart Walter (BSc Otto Beisheim School of Management, Germany), MSc (C) Financial Economics

Shizhuo Wang (BA Shandong University, China; MSc University of Warwick), MPhil Economics

Vincent Wang (BA, MSc St Catherine’s), DPhil Computer Science*

Yu Wang (BEng Harbin University of Science of Technology, China; MSc University of Leeds), DPhil Materials

Ben Waterman (BSc University of Birmingham), MBA

Andrew Watson (BA Oriel College, Oxford), MSc (C) Social Science of the Internet (part-time)

Leiyan Wei (DMed Peking Union Medical College, China), DPhil Medical Sciences

Karl Welzel (BSc Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universitat, Germany), MSc (C) Mathematical Sciences

Eric Wiebe (BA, LLB McGill University, Canada), MSc (C) Law & Finance

Laura Williams (BSc Cardiff University), PGCE Mathematics

Katherine Wong (BA London School of Economics and Political Science), MSc (C) Contemporary Chinese Studies

Xiangyu Wu (BSc Imperial College of Science, Technology & Medicine), MSc (C) Statistical Science

Xiaofan Wu (BA Beijing Foreign Studies University, China; MA Peking University, China), DPhil English (to 1550)

You Wu (BSc Peking University, China), MSc (C) Mathematical & Computational Finance

Phillip Xiao (BComm, PGDip University of Auckland, New Zealand; PGDip University of Melbourne, Australia), MBA

Zehan Xie (LLB Sun Yat-sen University, China), MSc (C) Sociology

Zhongbin Xie (BEng, MEng Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, China), DPhil Computer Science

Fang Xu (BA South China Normal University, China; MA University College London), DPhil Education

Anirudh Yadav (BEng Indian Institute of Technology, India), Master of Public Policy

Edward Yee (BA Nanyang Technological University, Singapore; MSc St Catherine’s), MBA*

Julia Youngs (BA, MA University of New Mexico), DPhil Sustainable Urban Development (part-time)

Daoyue Zhai (LLB Beijing Normal University, China), MSc (C) Sociology

Yuwei Zheng (BSc University of Warwick), MPhil Economics

Yuyang Zheng (BSc London School of Economics and Political Science), MSc (C) Statistical Science

Zhiyang Zhong (MEng University of Exeter), DPhil Materials

Ting Zhou Chen (BSc King’s College London), MPhil Economics

Zhengyi Zhu (BA Sun Yat-sen University, China), MSt Music (Musicology)

* indicates graduate of the College

ADMITTED TO THE FELLOWSHIP

Mr Ian Wright was admitted as an Official Fellow

Dr Ludmilla Steier was admitted as a Tutorial Fellow in Inorganic Chemistry

M E S S A G E S


FELLOWS (continued)

Christoph Haase, Dipl TU Dresden, DPhil OxfTutor in Computer ScienceAssociate Professor in Computer Science

Regent Lee, MB BS Western Australia, MSurg Sydney, DPhil OxfJunior Research Fellow in Medical Sciences

Thomas P Keeley, BSc, PhD KCLJunior Research Fellow in Medical Sciences

Ian N Wright, BSc Aberd, MBA CranOfficial FellowHome Bursar

Ludmilla Steier, BSc, MSc Siegen, PhD EPFLTutor in Inorganic ChemistryGoodenough FellowAssociate Professor in Inorganic Chemistry

HONORARY FELLOWS

Professor Sir Brian E F Fender, Kt, CMG, BSc, PhD Imp, MA Oxf

Ruth Wolfson, Lady Wolfson

Sir Cameron A Mackintosh, Kt

John Birt, The Rt Hon Lord Birt of Liverpool, MA Oxf, FRTS

Tom Phillips, CBE, MA Oxf, RA, RE

Professor Sir Geoffrey Allen, Kt, BSc, PhD Leeds, FREng, FRSC, FInstP, FIMMM, FRS

Professor Sir (Eric) Brian Smith, Kt, BSc, PhD Liv, MA, DSc Oxf, CChem, FRSC

Tan Sri Dato’ Seri A P Arumugam, AP, CEng, FIEE, FRAeS, FIMarEST, FinstD, PSM, SSAP, SIMP, DSAP, DIMP

Peter Mandelson, The Rt Hon Lord Mandelson of Foy & Hartlepool, MA Oxf

Sir John E Walker, Kt, MA, DPhil Oxf, FRS

Professor Noam Chomsky, PhD Pennsylvania, FBA

Nicholas H Stern, The Rt Hon Lord Stern of Brentford, BA Camb, DPhil Oxf, FBA

Raymond Plant, The Rt Hon Lord Plant of Highfield, BA, DLitt KCL, MA Oxf, PhD, DLitt Hull

Masaki Orita, LLB Tokyo

Professor Joseph E Stiglitz, PhD MIT, FBA

Sir Peter M Williams, Kt, CBE, MA Oxf, PhD Camb, FREng, FRS

Sir (Maurice) Victor Blank, Kt, MA Oxf

Professor (Anthony) David Yates, MA Oxf

Michael Billington, OBE, BA Oxf

Professor C N Ramachandra Rao, MSc Banaras, PhD Purdue, DSc Mysore, FRSC, FRS

Professor Richard J Carwardine, CMG, MA, DPhil Oxf, FRHistS, FLSW, FBA

Mark H Getty, BA Oxf

Simon B A Winchester, OBE, MA Oxf, FGS, FRGS

Professor Christopher P H Brown, MA Oxf, PhD Lond

Professor John B Goodenough, MA Oxf, PhD Chicago

Giles B Keating, MA Oxf

Peter W Galbraith, AB Harvard, MA Oxf, JD Georgetown

Professor Nigel J Hitchin, MA, DPhil Oxf, FRS

Professor Graeme B Segal, BSc Sydney, MA, DPhil Oxf, FRS

Vee Meng Shaw, BA Oxf, Hon DLitt Singapore

Anthony W Henfrey, MA, DPhil Oxf

Sir Ian W Dove, Kt, MA Oxf

Simon F A Clark, MA Oxf

EMERITUS FELLOWS

Professor Donald H Perkins, CBE, MA Oxf, PhD Lond, Hon DSc Brist, Hon DSc Sheff, FRS

John W Martin, MA, PhD, ScD Camb, MA, DPhil Oxf

Professor Peter G M Dickson, MA, DPhil, DLitt Oxf, FBA

Barrie E Juniper, MA, DPhil Oxf, Secretary for Alumni

Henry C Bennet-Clark, BA Lond, MA Oxf, PhD Camb

Professor Daniel W Howe, MA Oxf, PhD California

Stephen J Sondheim, BA Williams, FRSL

Sir Ian McKellen, Kt, CH, BA Camb

Sir Alan Ayckbourn, Kt, CBE

Sir Michael V Codron, Kt, CBE, MA Oxf, FRSL

Sir Richard C H Eyre, Kt, CH, CBE, BA Camb, FRSL

Thelma M B Holt, CBE

Sir Nicholas R Hytner, Kt, MA Camb, FRSL

Stephen D Daldry, CBE, BA Sheff

Sir Timothy M B Rice, Kt

Professor Gilliane C Sills, MA Oxf, PhD KCL

Patrick Marber, BA Oxf, FRSL

Phyllida Lloyd, CBE, BA Birm

G Bruce Henning, BA Toronto, MA Oxf, PhD Pennsylvania

Professor Jose F Harris, MA, PhD Camb, MA Oxf, FBA, FRHistS

Sir Patrick H Stewart, Kt, OBE

Michael Frayn, CLit, BA Camb, FRSL

Professor John R Ockendon, MA DPhil Oxf, FRS

Revd Colin P Thompson, MA, DPhil Oxf

Sir Trevor R Nunn, Kt, CBE, BA Camb

Meera Syal, CBE, BA Manc, FRSL

Professor Sudhir Anand, BPhil, MA, DPhil Oxf

Sir J Michael Boyd, Kt, MA Edin

Professor Peter R Franklin, BA, DPhil York, MA Oxf

Gordon Gancz, BM BCh, MA Oxf

Professor Richard J Parish, BA Newc, MA, DPhil Oxf, Dean of Degrees

Professor Susan C Cooper, BA Colby College, MA Oxf, PhD California

Sir Simon Russell Beale, Kt, CBE, BA Camb

John Charles Smith, MA Oxf

Claude-Michel Schönberg

Sir Tom Stoppard, Kt, OM, CBE, FRSL, HonFBA

Fram E Dinshaw, MA, DPhil Oxf

Peter D Battle, MA, DPhil Oxf

James L Bennett, BA R’dg, MA Oxf

DOMUS FELLOWS

Sir Patrick J S Sergeant

Melvyn Bragg, The Rt Hon Bragg of Wigton, CH, MA Oxf, FRS, FBA

Bruce G Smith, CBE, MA, DPhil, FREng, FIET

Keith Clark, BCL, MA Oxf

Roushan Arumugam, MA Oxf

Usha Q Arumugam, MA Oxf

Nadia Q Arumugam, MA Oxf

Marshall P Cloyd, BSc Southern Methodist University, MSc Stanford, MBA Harvard

Søren H S Dyssegaard, MSc Columbia

Surojit Ghosh, BA Antioch Ohio, MA Toronto, DPhil Oxf

Susan M Ghosh, MA Oxf, MBA City, MA, PhD Courtauld

Mary J Henfrey

Y W Wilfred Wong, BSocSci Hong Kong, MPA Harvard

VISITING FELLOWS

Professor Richard Bell, University of Nottingham (M21)

Dr Anna Bergqvist, Manchester Metropolitan University (M21)

Dr Mark Coen, University College Dublin (H22)

* Dr Samuel Fletcher, University of Minnesota (H22)

* Professor Joel Hass, University of Michigan (H22)

Professor Nikolas Kaltsoyannis, University of Manchester (H22)

Professor Brad Kent, Universite Laval (H22)

Dr Brooke Marshall, University of New South Wales (T22)

* Professor Øystein Linnebo, University of Oslo (H22)

* Professor Abigail Thompson, University of Michigan (H22)

* Dr Fabrizio Titone, University of the Basque Country (T22)

Professor Goran Stanivukovic, St Mary’s University, Nova Scotia (T22)

Dr Margarita Vaysman, University of St Andrews (T22)

* Professor Andrew Wee, National University of Singapore (M21)

* Professor Michael Wasielewski, Northwestern, Hinshelwood Lecturer (T22)

* Christensen Fellow

RESEARCH ASSOCIATES

Roger Gundle, BM BCh, MA, DPhil Oxf, MA Camb, FRCS

Frank Haselbach, PhD, Dipl TU Berlin

Kerry M M Walker, BSc Memorial, MSc Dalhousie, DPhil Oxf

Professor Alison H Banham, MA, DPhil Oxf, FRCPath

Gurman Kaur, BTech Indraprastha, MSc Imperial, PhD Camb

Professor John F Morris, BSc, MB ChB, MA, MD Brist, MA Oxf

Thomas A Vale, BA, BM BCh Oxf, MRCP

Simona Valletta, Laurea Naples, Laurea Magistrale Florence, PhD Milan Bicocca

Michele Veldsman, BSc Brist, PhD Camb

Shalini Amerasinghe Ganendra, MA Camb, LLM Columbia

Peter G Barbrook-Johnson, BA East Ang, MSc Imp, PhD Sur

Juan Pablo Orjuela Mendoza, MEng Los Andes, MSc, PhD Imp

Professor Catherine Croizy-Naquet, Maison française d’Oxford & Sub-Faculty of French Visiting Fellow (M21)

Marine Roussillon, Maison française d’Oxford & Sub-Faculty of French Visiting Fellow (M21)

Master and Fellows 2021

M E S S A G E S


St Catherine’s College . Oxford

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St Catherine’s College

Oxford OX1 3UJ, UK

Telephone: +44 (0) 1865 281 596

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2020-21 - St Catherine's College Oxford

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