Download PDF - St. Catherine's College - University of Oxford
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MESSAGES<br />
feels somewhat unnatural to be considering them in a<br />
historical context.<br />
Nova et Vetera – Knapp recruiting Bullock; Bullock,<br />
Jacobsen, the key players besides Knapp: Horwood,<br />
Davies, Dickson, Tayler, Holmes, Schultz and<br />
Simopoulos; the orchestra somehow miraculously<br />
playing in the same key. Shaping, debating, passion,<br />
vision, politics, arguments. Their legacy for us is both<br />
remarkable and distinctive – a forge for our students, a<br />
stage for our players, and a board for our pieces.<br />
It is clear that our students have indeed made the<br />
most <strong>of</strong> this forge in our anniversary year. They have<br />
teased us in this year <strong>of</strong> all years by producing 49<br />
Firsts in our 50th year, but we are more than pleased<br />
with that. We will take that, because by more than the<br />
simple arithmetic, we have had an astonishing year in<br />
terms <strong>of</strong> the quality <strong>of</strong> performance.<br />
Across thirteen end-<strong>of</strong>-year examinations, our students<br />
secured top Firsts: Geography (Sebastian Koa, Prelims);<br />
Human Sciences (Lizzie Wilkins, Prelims; Benjamin<br />
Rinck, Finals); Chemistry (Jonathan Mannouch, Part I<br />
Finals; David Shepherd, Part II Finals); Materials Science<br />
(Frederica Onslow, Prelims; Samuel Tham, Part I Finals;<br />
Phei Qi Sim, Part II Finals); Materials, Economics and<br />
Management (Brett Nielsen, Part II Finals); Economics<br />
and Management (Michael Hill, Finals, and by a large<br />
margin over the runner up); Physics (Lo Po Tsui, BA<br />
Finals); and Mathematics (Paul Dobson, Mods; Bodan<br />
Arsovski, Part I Finals).<br />
Yet in such a remarkable year, we ask too, ‘why<br />
else are we here’? We can, <strong>of</strong> course, revel in the<br />
achievements <strong>of</strong> our alumni and our Fellows, by drawing<br />
encouragement in the discoveries, writings, honours,<br />
medals and prizes with which so many have been<br />
associated. We are double the size <strong>of</strong> the college which<br />
Bullock and his team founded, and there are few parts<br />
<strong>of</strong> society that we haven’t touched in a significant way<br />
during the course <strong>of</strong> this past year.<br />
Mark Simpson (2008, Music) was commissioned to<br />
produce the opening fanfare for the Last Night <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Proms. Andy Triggs Hodge (2004, Geography) secured<br />
a gold medal in the London Olympics. Honorary Fellow<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor John Goodenough was elected to the US<br />
National Academy <strong>of</strong> Sciences in recognition <strong>of</strong> his<br />
distinguished and continuing contribution to research.<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Peter Edwards was awarded an Einstein<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essorship <strong>of</strong> the Chinese Academy <strong>of</strong> Sciences. Lord<br />
<strong>St</strong>ern (Honorary Fellow) was elected President <strong>of</strong> the<br />
British Academy. Sir Tim Rice (Emeritus Fellow) collected<br />
a special Olivier Award for his outstanding contribution<br />
to musical theatre.<br />
Dr Gaia Scerif (Tutorial Fellow in Psychology) was<br />
nominated by the American Psychological Society for<br />
a Rising <strong>St</strong>ar Award; Michael Sullivan (Emeritus Fellow)<br />
was invited to open an exhibition <strong>of</strong> his and his late<br />
wife Khoan’s collection formed over the years at the<br />
Beijing National Gallery <strong>of</strong> Art, together with archival<br />
material collected by them through their contact with<br />
Chinese artists over the past seventy years. Books<br />
Our students<br />
have teased<br />
us in this year<br />
<strong>of</strong> all years by<br />
producing 49<br />
Firsts in our<br />
50th year<br />
ST CATHERINE’S COLLEGE 2012/3