ALUMNI NEWSBob Peirce (1973, Modern History)The Consulate General includes representatives of severaldifferent agencies, promoting trade and investment,scientific exchanges, British university education, tourismto the UK, movie-making in the UK, and British foreignpolicyobjectives, as well as issuing visas, looking afterBritish citizens in difficulties or doing public relations.Bob and his wife Sharon with Judi Dench, LA MayorAntonio Villaraigosa and Nigel Lythgoe (producer ofPop Idol and American Idol)Three years ago, and nearly thirty years aftergraduating from Catz, I arrived in Los Angeles as BritishConsul General. I had always wanted to live here and Isavour every moment of this job.A Consul General is basically an Ambassador for aregion in a large country. We have several ConsulsGeneral in the United <strong>St</strong>ates. My area encompassesSouthern California, Arizona, Utah, Nevada and Hawaii,three of the ten largest cities in the US (Los Angeles,Phoenix and San Diego) and an economy about thesame size as that of France. Not surprisingly we havemajor British interests here. Britain is the largestforeign investor in this region, with BP the largestcompany. There are hundreds of thousands of Britishnationals living and working here.Photograph © Rex GelertIt is very much like a full-service Embassy.My own work here is busy, varied and fascinating.The Los Angeles area is diverse in every sense of thatword. Demographically and culturally it is more diversethan any other part of the United <strong>St</strong>ates. Economicallyit may be best known internationally for the filmbusiness, but the biggest business of all here is theport (40% of all US container traffic) and other majorindustries include biopharma and medical instruments,financial services, defence and aerospace, energyand renewable energy technology, communicationstechnologies, music, television and videogames.All of these are tremendously important to the UK.You have to be social in this job and Sharon – my wife –and I are. We entertain around 5000 people a year. Mostof these guests come to garden receptions at the eightyyearold house that has been the official Residence ofthe British Consul General since 1958. April 2008 markedthe fiftieth anniversary and this was the trigger for aprogramme of events – BritWeek 2008 – all over town inlate April and early May. (See www.britweek.org fordetails of BritWeek 2009. The site also gives the flavourof the amazing range of British activities in Los Angeles).In October 2008, Bobkindly hosted an eveningreception for Catz alumni(plus alumni from othercolleges living in the LAarea). Pictured above areBob and the Master inthe grounds of theOfficial ResidenceMy own workhere is busy,varied andfascinating.36/BOB PEIRCE
ALUMNI NEWSMichelle Teasel (1988, Modern Languages)Not long after graduating from Catz, I accepted a job offerat a Lloyd’s syndicate offering specialist insurance products.My first and current line of business is high-net-worthinsurance: insuring the homes, art, jewellery and otherpossessions of the affluent around the globe, includingroyalty and the sometimes (in)famous. Although afascinating and fun line of business, I have been involvedin even more exotic insurance.In 1998, on my return from five years in Paris (thanksto my Modern Languages), I joined a team of a satelliteengineer and a rocket scientist to underwrite spaceinsurance. Space insurance! My first reaction was ‘what?’and ‘how?’ plus ‘who are the customers and exactlywhich risks are being transferred?’.Space insurance is the insurance of the physical assetsof satellites and their launch vehicles, the businessinterruptionrisks of the users of satellite bandwidthand the third-party liability of launch-service providersin case a launch or mission failure causes injury ordamage. Customers range from world-wide spaceagencies, governments and satellite manufacturers toindependent launch-vehicle providers, satellite operatorsand any company using satellites in their business.An insured sum of US $300 million on a single launchis not uncommon which clearly makes it a volatile lineof insurance, but one which is essential to the spaceindustry. Financers of space missions and projectsalmost always require insurance as a condition oftheir funding.The pinnacle of any space underwriter’s career is visitingone of the handful of commercial launch sites around theworld to witness first-hand a launch which one is insuring.I attended a night-time Ariane 5 launch in French Guyana,a visual and very aural spectacle. Shortly afterwards, Iexperienced the panic and adrenalin rush of the whole ofmission control when the telemetry was temporarily lostafter separation of the satellite from the launch vehicle.Another highlight was the maiden launch of the groundbreakingAtlas 5 launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral. A tripto California took me aboard the innovative Odyssey Launchpad, formerly a fire damaged oil rig and now a mobile sealaunch-platform which enables equatorial launches.My most memorable trip wasto the Kazakhstan launchsite of Baikonur, which isallegedly not exactly whereit appears on most maps asit is still used for Russianmilitary launches. We stoodon Yuri Gagarin’s launch pad,saw more rockets in piecesthan I could imagine, andvisited the space museumwhich houses various re-entry capsules from past Soyuzlaunches and the Buran, the Soviet’s response to the NASASpace shuttle programme. We also met representativesfrom the Russian Space Agency in Moscow who hosted usin true Russian style: a boat trip on the Moskva river, withcaviar blinis and numberless vodka toasts…Space insuranceis the insuranceof the physicalassets ofsatellites andtheir launchvehicles ...Michelle (centre) at theKazakhstan launch siteof BaikonurST CATHERINE’S COLLEGE 2008/37
- Page 1 and 2: The Year2008St Catherine’s Colleg
- Page 3 and 4: CONTENTSContentsMaster’s Report 2
- Page 5 and 6: MESSAGESThe public profile of Colle
- Page 7 and 8: MESSAGESplacing Oxford in the posit
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- Page 11 and 12: COLLEGE LIFEST CATHERINE’S COLLEG
- Page 13 and 14: COLLEGE LIFESpaceywatching his exam
- Page 15 and 16: COLLEGE LIFEJames Bennett, the Home
- Page 17 and 18: COLLEGE LIFEbusiness - which turns
- Page 19 and 20: COLLEGE LIFECatz fivezero, 1962-201
- Page 21 and 22: COLLEGE LIFEJoshua Silver (1964, Ph
- Page 23 and 24: COLLEGE LIFEPhilosophy, Politics &E
- Page 25 and 26: COLLEGE LIFEGraduate Degrees & Dipl
- Page 27 and 28: COLLEGE LIFESports ReviewIn rowing,
- Page 29 and 30: STUDENT PERSPECTIVESDaniel Gallaghe
- Page 31 and 32: STUDENT PERSPECTIVESLogan Gerrity(2
- Page 33 and 34: STUDENT PERSPECTIVESLucy Rowland(20
- Page 35 and 36: STUDENT PERSPECTIVESnuts. Three day
- Page 37: ALUMNI NEWSintegral metal plaque in
- Page 41 and 42: ALUMNI NEWSDavid Baum (1982, Botany
- Page 43 and 44: ALUMNI NEWSJack Douay (1946, Agricu
- Page 45 and 46: ALUMNI NEWSNews in briefSophie Chil
- Page 47 and 48: ALUMNI NEWSThe College time capsule
- Page 49 and 50: CATZ FELLOWSthe idea that we can le
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- Page 53 and 54: CATZ FELLOWSThat research currently
- Page 55 and 56: CATZ FELLOWSOckendonof Mathematicse
- Page 57 and 58: CATZ FELLOWSDan HoweEmeritus Profes
- Page 59 and 60: CATZ FELLOWSMichael and Khoan retur
- Page 61 and 62: GAZETTEninety-four, he and Margery
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- Page 65 and 66: GAZETTEupgrading this remarkable sy
- Page 67 and 68: GAZETTERobin McCleery(1976, Physiol
- Page 69 and 70: GAZETTEClive Barnes(1948, English)F
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- Page 73 and 74: GAZETTEMathematicsJames Baker - Sir
- Page 75 and 76: Master and Fellows 2008Kirsten E Sh