July Newsletter 2021

The College is incredibly proud to have had two inspiring Trinity athletes competing at the Tokyo Olympics this summer.

Champion rower and medical student Imogen Grant (2014) made it to the final of the lightweight women’s double sculls with her Team GB partner Emily Craig, just missing out on the bronze medal by just 0.01 seconds. Senior Treasurer of the First and Third Trinity Boat Club Dr Catherine Aiken (1999) said, ‘We are all in awe of everything Imogen has achieved, and incredibly proud of her.’ Read.

PhD researcher and champion runner, Louise Shanahan (2019) represented Ireland in the women’s 800 metres today, Friday 30 July. Although Louise did not make it through to the second heat she put in a fantastic performance and achieved a time of 2:03.57. 

Tokyo has been an amazing opportunity, and achievement, for our sportswomen to build upon. You can read more about Imogen and Louise’s sporting accomplishments, and how they were feeling before they headed off to Tokyo, on the website. Read.

The Trinity Bradfield Prize 2021 is now open for applications from aspiring academic-entrepreneur teams with an early stage tech idea that has commercial potential. Three prizes will be awarded from the £20,000 prize pot – the first prize is £10,000 cash and also includes a bespoke mentoring programme and three months membership of the Bradfield Centre at Cambridge Science Park. Dr Simon Engelke won first prize in the inaugural Prize of 2018, and you can read about the impact of the Prize and how it led to the development of Battery Associates on the website. Read.

Congratulations to Rosa Rahimi Aminzavvar (2018) who has been awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to study for an MPhil in Modern Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Oxford. Rosa is one of two Scholars-elect from Cambridge and she is the only Canadian undergraduate at a UK university to receive a Scholarship this year. Read.

GRADUATION DAY 2021

On 30 June, the College was delighted to be able to host the first in-person General Admission since February 2020, due to the pandemic. Nearly 100 students graduated in a carefully choreographed day, including a socially distanced group photograph, a picnic in the College grounds with their families, and General Admission at Senate House. It was a very special and happy occasion, and you can see a selection of photos from the day of celebration on the website. Read.

GREAT COURT RUN 2021

The Great Court Run was also back again this year, with perfect weather for negotiating the cobbles at high speed. Congratulations to the two competitors – Peter Molloy (2020) and Isaac Flanagan (2020) – who beat the clock with times of 46.8 and 47.2. Yes, that’s seconds! Read.

Congratulations to Dr Andreas Demetriades (1997), who has been elected President of the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (EANS) and will be taking up office in October 2021.

EVENTS

Trinity Golf Day 2021 

Congratulations to Robert Fergusson (1973) who triumphed and took home the trophy at the Trinity Golf Day on 24 June, which is organised each year by the Trinity Golf Society. You can read about the day of friendly competition and how to join the Society on the website. Read.

Trinity in Japan

If you missed Trinity in Japan’s recent meeting with Senior Bursar Richard Turnill (e2020) you can catch up with the discussion on Trinity’s investments, and all of the group’s recent conversations with guest speakers, via their YouTube Channel. Register.

Historian and Trinity Honorary Fellow Professor Dominic Lieven will be joining Trinity in Japan for their next meeting coming up on Friday 3 September at 11.15 BST/19.15 Tokyo time to discuss his new book In the Shadow of the Gods: The Emperor in World History. All Trinity members are welcome to attend and you can register for the event via the website.

 Annual Gatherings – 11 and 15 September

Alumni are warmly invited back for an afternoon and evening of celebration. This event will include a formal (black tie) dinner in Hall.

• Saturday 11 September from 2pm for alumni who matriculated in 2008, 2009 and 2010. Register.
• Wednesday 15 September from 2pm for alumni who matriculated in 1965, 1966 and 1967. Register.

Please note: Due to the variability of COVID case numbers and the College’s preparations for Michaelmas Term, there is a possibility that we may need to postpone these events but we are hoping for the best. Please do register and we will keep you informed of any changes.

Trinity and Villiers Park Educational Trust are collaborating on the Future Leaders programme, an exciting new initiative to inspire and support young people age 14-19 from less-advantaged backgrounds in the south coast town of Hastings to access higher education. Read.

SMOOTH SAILING

A trio of Trinity and Cambridge University Cruising Club members have been sailing to victory over recent weeks.

• Juliette Welham (2017) was a member of the Cambridge team who won the Ladies British Universities Sailing Association (BUSA) Team Racing event held on 12-13 June at Rutland Water Sailing Club. Read.
• Engineering student Tim Clifford (2019) was placed first in the Windsurfing Cuppers Event held on 22 June at Grafham Water Sailing Club. Read.
• Undergraduate engineer Mattis Prince (2020) was a member of the Cambridge team that placed third at the BUSA Open Team Racing Event held on 12-14 July at Spinnaker Sailing Club. Read. He was also a member of the Clare College/Trinity team that was placed second in the Cuppers Event held on 22 June 2021 at Grafham Water Sailing Club. Read.

Following their film ‘Nevergreen’, shot by Callum-Hale Thomson (2014) during the UK lockdown in December 2020, Gus Mitchell (2014) and Eloise Poulton (2014) are debuting their first stage show ‘Nevergreen: Work in Progress’ at the Arcola Theatre in London. Running on Tuesday 17 and Sunday 22 August, the show tells the astonishing untold story of Rachel Carson: trailblazing scientist, writer of the epoch-making Silent Spring and reluctant pioneer of the environmental movement. Overcoming poverty and prejudice, Carson combined scientific knowledge with imaginative power, unfolding the wonder of nature to millions. Details.

ALUMNI BOOKSHELF

• Parwana Fayyaz (2016) – Forty Names, Carcanet Press, July 2020.

Alumni are invited to join the online launch of Dr Fayyaz’ poetry collection on Wednesday 11 August at 19.00. Hosting the reading will be Professor Adrian Poole (1967), who will be joining Parwana to discuss her new book. The event will feature readings and discussion, and audience members will have the opportunity to ask questions. The text will be shown during readings so that you can read along.In this remarkable first collection, Parwana Fayyaz evokes events in the lives of Afghan women, past and present – their endurance and achievements, told from their points of view. John McAuliffe writes of the ‘remarkable litanies, which haunt her poems’ occasions’ and the title poem, with which she won the 2019 Forward Prize for Best Single Poem, is such a litany, conjuring and commemorating. Registration for this online event will cost £2, later redeemable against the cost of the book. All attendees will receive the discount code and how to purchase the book during and after event.

• Jeremy Dibble (1977) – The Music of Frederick Delius: Style, Form & Ethos, The Boydell Press, June 2021. Professor Dibble examines Delius’s individual approaches to genre, form, harmony, orchestration and literary texts which gave the composer’s musical style such a unique voice.
• Robert Fraser (e1991-1993) – The Quality of the Light: A Novel in Five Paintings, Cranthorpe Milner Publishers, 8 June 2021. Autumn in London, Thatcher’s Britain. As the rooms of the National Gallery echo to strange footsteps, and a bomb explodes in distant Brighton, a young painter receives a bizarre commission from his ailing and obsessive uncle. Gradually the past returns to engulf him, freighted by scenes and personalities he has long hoped to forget.
• Michael Lloyd (1968) – British Business Banking, Agenda Publishing, April 2021. Dr Lloyd’s book explores not only how the historical formation of British banking structures produced such a relatively risk-averse arrangement compared to other European countries and the United States, but also why this banking attitude has persisted to the present day.

If you have a recent or forthcoming book, blog or article, podcast or production, and you haven’t shared the details with us yet, please get in touch.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY – EVENTS OPEN TO ALL ALUMNI

• Trinity: Trinity on the Backs, Wednesday 4 August, 12.00-15.00. Alumni and their guests are invited to the College for an informal ‘picnic style’ afternoon.
• Trinity: Trinity on the Backs, Sunday 8 August, 12.00-15.00. Alumni and their guests are invited to the College for an informal ‘picnic style’ afternoon.
• Online: Trinity in Japan: Professor Dominic Lieven, historian and Trinity Honorary Fellow, Friday 3 September, 11.15 BST/19.15 Tokyo time. REGISTER.
• Trinity: Annual Gathering for alumni who matriculated in 2008, 2009 and 2010, Saturday 11 September from 2pm. REGISTER.
• Trinity: Annual Gathering for alumni who matriculated in 1965, 1966 and 1967, Wednesday 15 September from 2pm. REGISTER.
• Online: Cambridge 2021 Digital Alumni Festival, Friday 24 September to Tuesday 28 September. REGISTER.
• Online Alumni Festival: The Trinity Clock with Dr Hugh Hunt (e1990), Monday 27 September, 18.00. REGISTER.

We want to hear from you! Do keep us up-to-date with your latest achievements and activities for our Global Alumni News pages in The Fountain and the Alumni Achievements section in the Annual Record. Please send your news, appointments, and publications to: alumni-comms@trin.cam.ac.uk.

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Header image: Smiles all round from graduates and Praelector Dr Hugh Hunt on Graduation Day 30 June 2021 © David Rose