STUDENT PERSPECTIVES The Year St Catherine’s College . Oxford 2018–192016 ST CATHERINE’S COLLEGE 2019/79 Master and Fellows 2019 MASTER Timothy Cook, MA, DPhil Oxf Cressida E Chappell, BA, MA W I F (Bill) David, MA, DPhil Adrian L Smith, BSc Keele, K W M (Bill) Fulford, MB Professor Kersti E Börjars, Fellow by Special Election Hull, MA Oxf Oxf, FRS MSc Wales, MA Oxf, PhD Nott BChir Camb, MA, DPhil Oxf, FK Stockholm, Drs Leiden, Fellow by Special Election Fellow by Special Election in Tutor in Zoology PhD Lond, FRCP, FRCPsych Richard I Todd, MA Camb, MA, PhD Manchester Academic Registrar Physics Associate Professor in Fellow by Special Election MA, DPhil Oxf from January 2020 Secretary to the Governing Infectious Diseases Tutor in Materials Sciences Richard M Bailey, BSc Leics, Heidi de Wet, BSc North- Body FELLOWS Goldsmiths’ Fellow MA Oxf, MSc, PhD RHUL Andreas Muench, MA Oxf, Dr West, DPhil Cape Town Fram E Dinshaw, MA, Professor of Materials David R H Gillespie, MA, Tutor in Geography phil, Dipl TU Munich Tutor in Pre-clinical Medicine DPhil Oxf Vice-Master DPhil Oxf Professor of Environmental Tutor in Mathematics Associate Professor in Official Fellow Tutor in Engineering Science Systems Associate Professor in Applied Physiology Marc Lackenby, MA Oxf, Finance Bursar Rolls-Royce Fellow Dean Mathematics PhD Camb Associate Professor in Philipp E Koralus, BA Peter D Battle, MA, DPhil Tutor in Pure Mathematics Gaia Scerif, BSc St And, Udo C T Oppermann, BSc, Engineering Science Pomona, MA Oxf, PhD Oxf Leathersellers’ Fellow PhD UCL MSc, PhD Philipps Marburg Princeton Tutor in Inorganic Chemistry Professor of Mathematics Peter P Edwards, BSc, PhD Tutor in Psychology Professor of Musculoskeletal Tutor in Philosophy Professor of Chemistry (Leave M19-H20) Salf, MA Oxf, FRS Professor of Developmental Sciences Fulford Fellow in Philosophy of Pro-Master from March Professor of Inorganic Cognitive Neuroscience Marc E Mulholland, BA, MA, Alain Goriely, Lic, PhD Mind & Cognitive Science to December 2019(Leave Chemistry PhD Belf, MA Oxf Karl Sternberg, MA Oxf Brussels, MA Oxf Fulford Clarendon Associate H20-T20) Tutor in History Patrick S Grant, BEng Nott, Fellow by Special Election Professor of Mathematical Professor in Philosophy of A Gervase Rosser, MA Wolfson Fellow MA, DPhil Oxf, FREng Modelling Mind Christoph Reisinger, MA Oxf, Courtauld, MA Oxf, PhD Lond Professor of Modern History Vesuvius Professor of Materials Dr phil Heidelberg, Dipl Linz Naomi Freud, MA, MSc Oxf Andrew J Dickinson, BCL, Tutor in History of Art Senior Tutor Justine N Pila, BA, LLB, PhD Tutor in Mathematics Fellow by Special Election MA Oxf Professor of the History Gavin Lowe, MA, MSc, Melb, MA Oxf Professor of Applied Director of Studies for Visiting Tutor in Law of Art DPhil Oxf Tutor in Law Mathematics Students Professor of Law Librarian Tutor in Computer Science (Leave M19-H20) Bart B van Es, BA, MPhil, Kirsten E Shepherd-Barr, Duncan A Robertson, BSc Ian P J Shipsey, BSc QMUL, Professor of Computer Science PhD Camb Grunnfag Oslo, BA Yale, MA, Imp, MA, DPhil Oxf MA Oxf, PhD Edin John S Foord, MA, PhD President of the Senior Tutor in English DPhil Oxf Fellow by Special Election in Henry Moseley Centenary Camb, MA Oxf Common Room Sullivan Fellow Tutor in English Management Professor of Experimental Tutor in Physical Chemistry Richard M Berry, MA, DPhil Sullivan Clarendon Professor of Professor of English and Physics Professor of Chemistry Peter T Ireland, MA, DPhil Oxf English Literature Theatre Studies (Leave M19-T20) Oxf, FREng Philip H S Torr, BSc S’ton, Tutor in Physics (Leave M19) (Leave H20) Donald Schultz Professor of DPhil Oxf, FREng Robert A Leese, MA Oxf, Professor of Biological Physics Tommaso Pizzari, BSc Aberd, Angela B Brueggemann, BSc Turbomachinery Fellow by Special Election in PhD Durh Ashok I Handa, MB BS Imp, MA Oxf, PhD Sheff St Olaf, MSc Iowa, DPhil Oxf Engineering Science Fellow by Special Election in Pekka Hämäläinen, MA, PhD MA Oxf, FRCS Tutor in Zoology Fellow by Special Election in Professor of Engineering Mathematics Helsinki, MA Oxf Fellow by Special Election in Professor of Evolutionary Biological Sciences Science Chief Technical Officer of the Rhodes Professor of American Medicine Biology Professor of Infectious Disease Smith Institute History Fiona R McConnell, BA Camb, Associate Professor in Surgery (Leave M19) Epidemiology MA, PhD QMUL Louise L Fawcett, BA UCL, Tutor for Graduates Benjamin A F Bollig, BA Nott, Byron W Byrne, BCom, James E Thomson, MChem, Tutor in Geography MA, MPhil, DPhil Oxf MA, PhD KCL, MA Oxf James L Bennett, BA R’dg, BEng Western Australia, MA, DPhil Oxf Associate Professor in Human Tutor in Politics Tutor in Spanish MA Oxf DPhil Oxf Fellow by Special Election in Geography Wilfrid Knapp Fellow Professor of Spanish American Fellow by Special Election Fellow by Special Election in Chemistry Professor of International Literature Laura Tunbridge, BA Oxf, MA Home Bursar Engineering Science Tutor for Admissions Relations (Leave H20-T20) Nott, PhD Princeton Ørsted/Royal Academy (Leave M19-T20) David J Womersley, MA, Andrew J Bunker, MA, Tutor in Music of Engineering Research Eleanor P J Stride, BEng, PhD PhD Camb, MA, DPhil, DLitt DPhil Oxf Henfrey Fellow Penny A Handford, BSc, PhD Professor in Advanced UCL, MA Oxf, FREng Oxf, FBA Tutor in Physics Professor of Music S’ton, MA Oxf Geotechnical Design Fellow by Special Election in Warton Professor of English Professor of Astrophysics (Leave M19-T20) Tutor in Biochemistry Professor of Engineering Engineering Science Literature (Leave M19-H20) Wolfson Fellow Science Professor of Biomaterials Professor of Biochemistry CONTENTS Contents Pro-Master’s Report 2 College Life The Cameron Mackintosh Visiting Professorship 5 Senior Tutor’s Report 6 Tutor for Admissions’ Report 8 Tutor for Graduates’ Report 10 Visiting Students Report 11 From the Library 12 From the Archive 14 The Development Office 15 Postcards to the Pro-Master 18 JCR Report 20 MCR Report 21 Sports and Societies Review 22 Finals Results & Prizes 2019 24 Student Perspectives CatzExchange 2019 30 Oliver Vince (2018, DPhil Engineering Science) 32 Ben Ransom (2018, MBA) 35 Laurel Constanti Crosby (2017, Biological Sciences) 38 Alumni News Charlotte Baker (2010, Modern Languages) 40 Robert Morrison (1984, English) 44 Catz Fellows Ian Shipsey (Experimental Physics) 46 Byron Byrne 47 Kirsten Shepherd-Barr 48 College News News in Brief 50 College Events 2020 51 The College Time Capsule 51 Prize Crossword 52 Gazette Obituaries 2019 54 ns 2019 Admissio 72 © John Cairns © John ST CATHERINE’S COLLEGE 2019/1 MESSAGESCOLLEGE LIFE Our finalists Pro-Master’s carried us to fourth place in Report the provisional One event has dominated College life this year, Norrington namely the death of the late Master, Professor Roger Table and so, Ainsworth. Roger was the longest-serving Master in the history of the College and he was also, at the time of following last his death, the longest-serving Head of House in Oxford. He was described by Peter Oppenheimer in the Oxford year’s third Magazine as ‘indisputably the outstanding Oxford Head place, we can of House of his generation.’ now describe Pro-Master, Peter Battle During the course of the year we also lost Professor ourselves as Ceri Peach. He was a Fellow and Tutor here for 38 years, There has also been academic success at national during which time he served as Bursar, Senior Tutor and ‘typically in the and international level amongst the Fellowship. John Acting Master. A full account of his career appeared in Goodenough and Ian Shipsey have won, respectively, the last edition of The Year. We have also heard of the top five’. the Nobel Prize and Copley Medal of the Royal Society, death of Ernest French, always known as Nelson, who and the Chadwick Medal of the Institute of Physics, and was the Domestic Bursar from 1976 to 1987. I remember Richard Todd’s research has been recognised by the sitting next to him at the first Feast I attended in 1980. European Ceramic Society. Philip Torr and Peter Ireland have been elected Fellows of the Royal Academy of There have, however, been some bright moments Engineering. In the Humanities, Bart van Es won the during the last 12 months. Our finalists carried us to Costa Book Award for his widely acclaimed biographical fourth place in the provisional Norrington Table and so, work The Cut-Out Girl. Within the University, Byron following last year’s third place, we can now describe Byrne won the MPLS Division Impact Award for his work ourselves as ‘typically in the top five’. This reflects on offshore wind turbines, Ashok Handa, our Tutor the hard work put in by Marc Mulholland, our Senior for Graduates, received a Lifetime Achievement Award Tutor, and by the Tutorial Fellows and College Lecturers. and Richard Bailey, the Dean, was given the title of 2 /PRO-/A MESSAGEMASTER’S FROM REPORT THE MASTER STUDENT PERSPECTIVESCOLLEGE LIFE Professor of Environmental Systems. The Fellowship (1973, Geography) and Professor Geoffrey Maitland The major also bask in the reflected glory of the alumni; Jonathon (1965, Chemistry) and an MBE for Professor Duncan Swinard (2008, Music) and Richard Atkins (1985, Law) Lawson (1978, Mathematics). ongoing have been appointed Head of Music at Garsington infrastructure Opera and Chair of the Bar Council, respectively and Of course the College also prides itself on the the Institute of Physics awarded the David Tabor Medal achievements of the students away from the classroom, project to Adrian Sutton (1973, Metallurgy). Other Fellows and this year 36 of them were invited to the annual and alumni have been summoned to the Palace to Blues’ Lunch in the Master’s Lodgings. They included within the receive their awards: a knighthood for Simon Russell Augustin Wambersie (2018, Engineering Science) who College is the Beale (Emeritus Fellow), a CMG for Professor Richard rowed in the Boat Race, and Conor Hennessy (2018, Carwardine (Honorary Fellow), CBE’s for Dr.