REPORT 2019-20 The annual report of Trinity College, Oxford CONTENTS President’s Welcome 2 The Academic Year Fellows’ & Lecturers’ 4 Fellows’ & Lecturers’ news 9 Senior Tutor’s report 16 New students 18 Degrees & prizes 22 18 The Student View On the cover Social distancing in JCR report 26 Garden Quad—graduate MCR report 27 student Ngoni Mugwisi Sports 28 and undergraduates Music 30 Alice Zhang and Conor Societies 31 Maher were among the few students resident in Around the College College in Trinity term Inside front cover College­staff­ 32 Front Quad, September Estates Bursar 34 2020­—with­a­temporary­ 30 Domestic Bursar 36 gazebo, ready for social distancing, seen behind Director of Development 38 the low tree to the right Outreach & Access 40 The Library 42 Inside back cover The Archive 44 The MCR ceilidh in Hall, The Levine Building 46 Hilary­term­2019 Benefactions 48 Obituaries 58 Notes & Information 88 46 1 WELCOME FROM THE PRESIDENT An extraordinary academic year he academic year 2019-20 will go down in history as one of Tthe most extraordinary, with University and college buildings closed from the beginning of March, and an entire term delivered remotely. I pay warm tribute to our students and staff for the flexibility and resilience they showed over several months, as learning, teaching, research and examination arrangements were adapted in a The President chatting to Martin Wizard, Deputy Head Porter, during the lockdown. matter of weeks to accommodate moving the whole operation online. operation possible. outstanding set of results. We had An overwhelmingly collaborative We are particularly proud of 42 Firsts (the highest number ever), spirit across the collegiate university Trinity colleagues and alumni who 45 2:1s and 2 awarded ‘Deemed to made it possible for radical changes to worked on COVID-19 research. Deserve Honours’. Within individual be implemented at speed. Professor Chris Butler was awarded subjects there were particularly Our staff gave their all, from funding for the first clinical trial of noteworthy results: all five MMath those working in the front line of potential treatments for use in GP finalists were awarded Firsts; supporting our students’ academic practices, enabling researchers rapidly Biochemistry, Chemistry, Materials, and wellbeing needs, to the many who to evaluate different treatments Medicine, Physics, PPE, History worked tirelessly behind the scenes. that might stem the progression of and Classics all had 50 per cent or Others helped to sustain our sense of COVID-19 symptoms in older people. more Firsts. And Trinity had several community: the Chaplain and Chapel Our final-year undergraduates students in the top 5 per cent of their Choir provided a weekly moment sat their Final Honours School cohort. for reflection with online services; examinations remotely, and missed Whilst the pandemic cast a shadow common room quiz nights went out on the opportunity to complete over Trinity term, there was much global; and Head Chef Julian Smith their time at Trinity with the usual to celebrate earlier in the academic provided weekly recipes, complete rituals of celebration. We plan a year. The start of Michaelmas term with step-by-step guidance and special early reunion so we can coincided with celebrations to mark photographs! IT Manager Alastair congratulate them in person on their the canonisation of Trinity alumnus Johnson deserves a special mention achievements. John Henry Newman. A group of for providing an outstanding service Notwithstanding the challenges Trinity members and alumni travelled to all, which made the whole online they faced, our finalists achieved an to Rome to attend the canonisation 2­­­TRINITY COLLEGE OXFORD | REPORT 2019-20 Mass, which was a moving occasion. us as Wellbeing Coordinator and In July we bade farewell to our Amongst the many achievements Kerry Minton as College Nurse, librarian of many years, Sharon of our Fellows, Alexander Korsunsky following a restructure of our welfare Cure. During her final term Sharon (Fellow and Tutor in Engineering) support for students. addressed the challenges of lockdown was elected to a fellowship of the The college made steady progress in with an especial zeal, arranging for Institute of Physics; Junior Research its aim to ensure that Trinity reaches books to be delivered across the Fellow Alexandra Reza was named and welcomes talented applicants world or photocopying texts for a BBC ‘New Generation Thinker’ from all backgrounds. Undergraduate downloading, to make sure that no in a prestigious public engagement admissions to Trinity for 2019 saw a student went without. She leaves with scheme to bring the best of university 23.5 per cent increase in the number our gratitude and warmest wishes for research to a broad audience through of state school applications to the a fulfilling retirement. We welcomed BBC radio and television; Honorary college year on year. In the 2019-20 Emma Sillet as Sharon’s successor. Visiting Fellow, Judge Theodor It was with enormous sadness that Meron, was honoured by the Queen we learnt of the untimely death of for his service to criminal justice ’Work on the Levine our Head Gardener, Paul Lawrence. and international humanitarian Paul gave long service to the college law; and Tutorial Fellow Charlotte Building continues apace… and will be remembered with great Williams, recognised internationally By midsummer the sheer affection by current and former for her work on the development of scale of the development students and colleagues. We offer our sustainable polymers, chaired the was becoming apparent. ’ heartfelt condolences to Paul’s wife annual Chemical Sciences and Society Nikki and their family. Summit (CS3), a highly prestigious recruitment cycle, 68 per cent of It remains for me to thank all event which brings together Trinity’s final acceptances for UK my academic and staff colleagues delegations of five leading scientists offers (for admission in October 2020) at Trinity for their professionalism from each of China, Germany, Japan were for state school applicants. and commitment to the many and the UK to address a global Work on the Levine Building different aspects of life at Trinity; societal challenge—this year’s theme continued apace. In November to Conrad Kunadu and Eilidh was plastics. 2019 we signed the construction Macfarlane (respectively JCR and We welcomed new members to contract with Gilbert-Ash, a company MCR presidents) for their inspired the Fellowship. Dr Fanny Bessard, a whose previous high quality work leadership; to our Old Members historian of early and Classical Islam, commended it to us. By midsummer and Friends for their generosity and joined Trinity as Fellow and Tutor in the new building was beginning to encouragement; and to our student Eurasian History. Professorial Fellow rise above ground and the sheer scale community who in their myriad Geoffrey Batchen, whose work focuses of the development was becoming and diverse ways, make Trinity the on the history of photography, took apparent. Sue Broers and her team wonderful community it is today. up the role of Professor of the History have led our fundraising efforts of Art at Oxford. In early career roles worldwide and at the time of writing we welcomed Junior Research Fellows have exceeded £9.8 million of the Karol Mazur (Economics) and Xavier target of £15m—with just over £5m Bach (Linguistics). to raise, we feel we are on the ‘home Former GP Dr Claire Parker joined straight’. Dame Hilary Boulding, DBE 3 FELLOWS & LECTURERS Professor Alexander Korsunsky, Professor James McDougall, MA The Fellowship BSc MSc Moscow, MA DPhil Oxf, St And, MSt DPhil Oxf: Laithwaite CPhys, MInstP: Fellow and Tutor in Fellow and Tutor in History, Dean, 2019-20 Engineering Science, Vice-President Fellow Archivist The Governing Body comprises the Dr Keith Buckler, BSc Lond, MA Professor Valerie Worth, MA DPhil President, Fellows, and Junior Research Oxf, PhD Newc: Fellow and Tutor in PGCE Oxf: Senior Tutor, Professor of Fellows indicated by an asterisk. Medicine French Mr Nick Barber, BCL MA Oxf: Wyatt Professor Francis Barr, BSc Lond, President Rushton Fellow and Tutor in Law PhD EMBL Heidelberg: E P Abraham Professor of Mechanistic Cell Biology Dame Hilary Boulding, DBE, MA Oxf, Dr Kantik Ghosh, BA Calcutta, MPhil FLSW FRWCMD PhD Camb, MA Oxf: Stirling-Boyd Dr Paul Fairchild, BA Leic, DPhil Oxf: Fellow and Tutor in English Fellow and Tutor in Pathology Fellows Dr Stephen Fisher, MA DPhil Oxf, MSc Dr Anil Gomes, BA BPhil DPhil Oxf: Dr Steve Sheard, BSc PhD Lond, MA S’ton: Fellow and Tutor in Politics Fellow and Tutor in Philosophy Oxf, MIET, CEng: Hunt-Grubbe Fellow and Tutor in Engineering Professor Peter McCulloch, MB ChB Dr Gail Trimble, MA MSt DPhil Oxf: Science Aberd, MA Oxf, MD Edin, FRCS, Brown Fellow and Tutor in Classics FRCS Glas: Professor of Surgical Dr María del Pilar Blanco, BA William Professor Peter Read, BSc Birm, MA Science and Practice Oxf, PhD Camb: Fellow and Tutor in and Mary, MA PhD New York: Fellow Physics The Revd Canon Dr Emma Percy, BA and Tutor in Spanish, Equalities Fellow Durh, MA Camb, MA Oxf, PhD Nott: Dr Michael Moody, BSc Adelaide, PhD Professor Dame Frances Ashcroft, DBE, Chaplain; to April: Welfare Dean MA PhD ScD Camb, MA Oxf, FRS: South Australia: Fellow and Tutor in Royal Society SmithKline Beecham Professor Johannes Zachhuber, MA Materials Science MSt DPhil Oxf: Fellow and Tutor in Professor of Physiology Professor Susan Perkin, BA DPhil Oxf: Theology Professor Justin Wark, MA Oxf, PhD Fellow