Mansfield Magazine 2015-16

2015/16

Mansfield

Mansfield 2015/16

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Contents Message from the Principal

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College news

4-5

Love Lane: building for the future

6-9

Senior Tutor’s Report

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Bursar’s Report

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JCR President’s Report

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MCR President’s Report

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A year in Development and Alumni Relations

14-15

Access Report 2016

16-17

College life

18-23

Developing partnerships in Kenya: Kirstine Dunk Worth sharing: Paul Solman muses on a term

24-25

at Mansfield as a Visiting Fellow 26-27 College ties through the century: John Whitley reflects on what Mansfield has meant to him and his family

30-31

Visiting Student Programme

32-33

The changing flavours of neutrinos: Steve Biller

34-36

Adam van Trott and Mansfield

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Building foundations in Nepal, India and Tanzania

38-39

Mansfield College Association

40-41

Alumni news

42

Mooting at Mansfield

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Nostalgic return for Peruvian presidential candidate

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College and University prizes 2016 Examination results 2016

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Obituaries 48-49 Fellows’ news and publications Events calendar

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Photo credits: Photovibe Cover photo, p. 2, p. 14 - 15 (left second from top, centre left, bottom left, top right, right third from bottom, far right second from bottom), p. 21, p. 40 – 41, p. 43.

Ashwood Photography p. 3 Faculty of Law, University of Oxford p. 4.

Sally Jones p. 5 (bottom right).

Margarita Corporan p. 14 (left second from bottom, right fourth from top).

Thomas Barnett p. 14 – 15 (Top left, bottom far right), p. 16, p. 17 (bottom).

Kirstine Dunk p. 15 (top far right).

Helen Brookes p. 17 (top).

Richard Waite p. 22.

University of Oxford Department of Physics p. 34.

Courtesy of the authors p. 6 – 9, p. 12 – 13, p. 18 -19, p. 20, p. 23, pg. 24 – 25, p. 26, p. 30 – 31, p.32, p. 35 – 36, p. 37, p. 38 – 39, p. 42, p. 44, p. 48, p. 50 (middle far right & bottom far right), p. 51 (centre far right & bottom far left).

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Produced by the Development and Alumni Relations Office at Mansfield College Mansfield College Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3TF Registered Charity Number 1143860 Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at: E development@mansfield.ox.ac.uk W www.mansfield.ox.ac.uk Contents/Credits Editor: Kathryn Worthington, Alumni Relations Officer Copy-editor: Phil Harriss Design and printing: Windrush Group

We would like to thank all of those - students, staff, alumni and friends - who have contributed to this year’s magazine.

Follow us on www.facebook.com/mansfieldoxford twitter.com/mansfieldoxford https://www.linkedin.com/groups/1093187 https://www.flickr.com/gp/mansfieldcollege/F47r6g

Message from the Principal Baroness Helena Kennedy QC It has been a hugely busy year. The Love Lane building is now well underway and I watch from my study windows as progress is made daily, turning what started as a dark hole into a fast-rising edifice. It is going to be so wonderful to Photo: Ashwood Photography have our second-year students housed on site. Some may still choose to live independently in external rented accommodation, but most will find the new rooms better appointed and more affordable – a bonus in these tough financial times.

I cannot thank enough those of you who stretched your own finances to help bring about this dramatic change.

The new building will make an immense difference to College finances, as our students will pay rent to us rather than Oxford’s landlords. This is the equivalent of doubling our endowment. It also means we will have the greatly increased conference revenues that are so essential now to the sustainability of Oxford colleges.

A significant part of the funding came from Guy and Julia Hands, and the new building will bear their name.

The Oxford Institute of Human Rights, which will be housed in the lower two floors, will carry the name of the Bonavero family, who gave a substantial gift to bring it into existence. The Institute fits so well with everything Mansfield stands for, and the appointment of Justice Catherine O’Regan – a former judge of the South African Constitutional Court – is yet another source of celebration. We feel that her arrival is a coup for Oxford and a wonderful boast for us, as she will join the Mansfield Governing Body as our latest don.

In making all of this come true, many of you contributed in gifts large and small, and the College will be eternally grateful for your generosity. The Institute has met its initial target, but the Mansfield side of the bargain still has a shortfall. We need to raise the last £420,000. In the creation of a £13m building it is not a huge sum. I just need us all to make one last push. Please see what you can do for us; I do not want to see Mansfield having to borrow this sum from the bank. Every contribution counts.

But running Mansfield College is not all about buildings and fundraising. We have had a fascinating year with interesting Visiting Fellows – the scholar Dr Rachel Holmes, who found us a conducive sanctuary for her work on Sylvia Pankhurst; and Paul Solmon the American economist, giving us seminars on American Trump-enomics and contributing to debates with British economists on the EU Referendum!

We heard a range of other wonderful speakers in the weekly Mansfield Series of lectures: from Naomi Wolf the American historian, on censorship, to Lindsey Hilsum the foreign correspondent, on ‘women in conflict’. We had Elif Shafak the Turkish author on her own nation’s political strife; and Sir Stephen Sedley, the former Lord Justice of Appeal, entertained and moved us with his lecture ‘The Bells of Hell’ about First World War songs.

Sir Simon Jenkins, whose father was an alumnus, gave the Milton Annual Lecture speaking on the menace of empire. Altogether, a feast of intellectual thought and challenge.

And as for feasts, our High Table is one of the best in Oxford because our chefs and kitchen staff are second to none.

For those of you who have not been to Mansfield for some time, I think you will find it looks the same but different. The new garden in front of the East Range is utterly beautiful and not only does the scent seduce us, the herbs are used by the staff in College cooking!

Mansfield College is a wonderful community and I feel very lucky to be part of it. Our students are our life blood and over the months and years I see how College changes their lives. We should feel really proud of the access we provide to so many from state schools. We remain the place with the highest percentage of young people from this sector; this year it will be 85%. To spend time in the company of my Fellows and students is a privilege.

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College news

News in brief Inaugural Director of the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights announced The Principal is delighted to announce the appointment of Justice Catherine (Kate) O’Regan as the inaugural Director of the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights. Kate has had a distinguished career as a scholar, practitioner and judge, including a 15year term of office as a judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa. She was appointed to the first bench of the Court by President Mandela in 1994, and contributed to the Court’s jurisprudence in its formative years. Kate has also served on a range of international adjudicative bodies, including as Chair of the UN Internal Justice Council and President of the IMF Administrative Tribunal. We have welcomed Kate to Oxford, as a Fellow of Mansfield College, and look forward to working with her on the development of the new Institute.

Baroness Helena Kennedy receives Honorary Fellowship To mark and celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Wolfson College (1966-2016), its Governing Body has decided to offer a number of Honorary Fellowships to individuals that the College particularly values and admires for their professional distinction and for their friendship and benevolence to Wolfson. It was delighted to invite Mansfield’s Principal, Baroness Helena Kennedy, to accept an Honorary Fellowship.

The Principal was pleased to accept the invitation and was made an Honorary Fellow of Wolfson College on October 22nd, 2016.

Mansfield’s new website As you may have already seen, the Mansfield College website (www.mansfield.ox.ac.uk) has a new look! The last website, which served us well for the past seven years, was swapped over on November 21st, 2016.

The new design focuses on the important values Mansfield holds, being friendly and welcoming. With

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Justice Catherine O’Regan

its fantastic use of images submitted by students and staff, photos, a new ‘Mansfield People’ section and an interactive map, the aim is to show Mansfield at its best.

Keeping up to date with the latest technology, the new website is both laptop and mobile friendly. If you haven’t already, make sure that you explore the site and give us your feedback. You can also visit the links to Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to stay more connected with Mansfield.

Mansfield Ale We are very pleased to announce that Mansfield College has launched its very own craft beer, Mansfield Ale. It is brewed by local firm Chadlington Brewery especially for us and is unique to Mansfield.

This golden ale is created using entirely natural ingredients and a secret combination of hops and malt.

The hints of citrus and lingering malt make it a perfect accompaniment to classic dishes such as fish and chips, steak and even a variety of cheeses.

Individual bottles are currently priced at £3.20 for our students and alumni, and are available to purchase at Mansfield College.

College news

Film crews spotted at Mansfield Film crews were spotted around Mansfield in November 2016 as Number 9 Films (whose credits include Carol), in conjunction with the BBC, started filming the big-screen adaptation of On Chesil Beach, Ian McEwan’s bestselling novel from 2007. Mansfield College provides just one of the locations for filming.

Set in England in 1962, On Chesil Beach stars Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn, Atonement) and Billy Howle (The Sense of an Ending, The Seagull) in the lead roles as Florence Ponting and Edward Mayhew.

The film is being directed by Dominic Cooke (The Hollow Crown) and is expected to be released towards the end of 2017.

Archaeological finds discovered in the grounds of Mansfield during Love Lane construction An archaeological excavation undertaken by Oxford Archaeology for the Love Lane site unearthed an array of objects including a worked bone item, 29 fragments of shell and 628 fragments of pottery. These have

PPE Reading Room

been donated to the Oxford County Museum where they will be assessed and curated to ensure their longterm survival.

New PPE Reading Room This summer a long-held ambition at Mansfield was achieved following a grant from the College Contributions Committee.

The Computer Room, which some may remember as the Snooker Room, was far from an inspiring study space. A false ceiling hid a mass of cabling above, meaning there was no natural light or ventilation and the room was crammed with tired furniture and IT equipment. The pitched ceiling has now been exposed, windows refurbished and bespoke oak furniture installed, transforming the room into a bright and welcoming study space. The new design also provides much-needed space for new books in the Library, such as the substantial donation to our English collection received this summer from alumna Professor Pamela Clemit. The computers have been relocated and a remote printing service set up.

Special thanks are due to Tony Berezny, Matt Brock and Paul Gillett for their tireless work on the project.

Work in progress in PPE Reading Room

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Love Lane: building for the future The Rick Mather Architects team give a rundown of the latest developments in Mansfield’s transformational construction project. rooms address the trees and gardens of Wadham. Many rooms also benefit from corner windows, which provide panoramic views at all levels. Cross laminated timber (CLT) is used for the primary structure of the upper floors, and each room has an exposed timber face on one wall.

The Love Lane Building will provide Mansfield College with 73 new en-suite bedrooms; a Visiting Fellows’ flat with terrace; a home for the new Bonavero Institute of Human Rights comprising office, teaching and seminar spaces; and a large lecture theatre shared between the College and new Institute. As well as including much-needed new facilities, the design of the building also maximises the amount of open space and gardens for the College.

The new Institute occupies the majority of the lower two levels of the building and incorporates a series of flexible learning, study and social spaces configured around a central light well. Large-format glazing allows for natural light, but also carefully frames views of the new landscaping, mature trees and the listed Champneys buildings arranged around the reshaped and restored Quad.

The form of the building accommodates the line of the 17th-century Civil War ditch (which marks the College’s southern border), and opens up the Listed facade of the Principal’s Lodgings. The dramatic stepped arrangement was developed from these constraints and provides a characterful variation and shadow to the facade. Extensive use of glass on the east – to the lower public rooms, stairwell, and corner windows of the student rooms – helps produce a sensitive, yet distinct, new addition to Mansfield’s range of buildings.

The study-bedrooms on the four upper levels are simple, elegant and configured to maximise space and flexibility.

Large slim-framed windows are arranged above a built-in desk, from which dramatic views are provided across the new gardens and to the main Quad beyond. West-facing 6

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A new 150-seat raked lecture theatre is provided with access from both levels directly to the Institute, as well as to the external terrace and garden at ground floor. The space has a rich interior and is lined with sustainably sourced European oak. It has been designed with many uses in mind.

The acoustic specification allows for non-amplified and amplified events including multi-media projection and film.

The project is phase three of a continuing master plan that has already seen the delivery of the East Range kitchen and café, and the Chapel refurbishment project, which together have successfully reinforced the social heart of the College.

The Love Lane project will also see the completion of the landscaping to the main Quad and the reinstatement of the lawned oval, the shape of which was lost in the 1960s during the construction of the John Marsh Building.

The aim is to achieve a striking new building that will provide vital new facilities, excellent value for money for the College, and will work in many flexible ways long into the future.

Site progress Excellent progress has been made on site by the main contractor, Beard. All of the piling, basement construction and waterproofing, and construction of the lower floors were completed in under six months. At the time of writing, we have recently signed off the construction of the upper four floors, which were completed in just six weeks.

The speed of installation of the 500 or so prefabricated CLT floor, wall and roof panels that make up the upper floors enabled the project to be ‘topped out’ only five months after commencement of the initial piling of the basement.

Bathroom pods– complete with all fittings including showers, toilets, wash basins and shelves – were installed in parallel with the installation of the CLT. These were craned into each room as each floor level was completed and have since been moved into their final positions where they are currently being plumbed and wired-in.

Windows are now being installed, with external brickwork and stone cladding following on shortly after. The current aim is to make the building watertight as soon as possible, allowing the internal works to proceed through the winter.

The project is currently on programme and working towards completion in September 2017, ready for the first intake of students and the opening of the Institute.

We believe that one of the reasons progress has been so impressively quick and problem-free is down to the way in which the design process has taken place. The project has been developed in a modern and collaborative way between the client, architect, consultants, contractors and suppliers using a Building Information Model (BIM). A full 3D model has been developed, which allows the design to be coordinated and various construction data and information to be drawn off this. The CLT was designed collaboratively in the digital model and information derived from this was then used directly to form the cutting patterns of the panels in the factory. The BIM also allows an extremely detailed design of the building to be developed, on to which all of the different trades can be overlaid to enable potential difficulties to be identified and resolved. The contractor is also using this 3D model on site to engage with the design of the building, to brief operatives and to reduce any issues that may arise on site.

Contemporary design techniques, modern construction and value for money The original scheme for Love Lane was redesigned and redrawn in 2014 by Rick Mather Architects to maximise this valuable site, provide space for the Institute, and to meet an achievable budget. At this point we also adopted a prefabrication approach to a number of key elements, including CLT and bathroom pods, with precision, speed and cleanliness of construction in mind. In addition, the prefabricated elements further enhance the significant environmental attributes of the building.

The use of CLT, while being efficient and fast, is also highly sustainable. All of the timber is procured from fast-growing and renewable sustainable sources local to the plant, and consequently is carbon negative. The wider project also features numerous energy-saving and sustainable measures including high levels of insulation and airtightness, which exceed Building Control requirements.

Further features include the use of natural ventilation to the student rooms, low energy LED lighting, combined heat and power units, and reduced water consumption throughout– which both minimises short-term embodied energy use and reduces long-term energy use and cost. Consequently, Love Lane will have significantly reduced running costs as well as a comfortable ambient environment.

All of these measures were instrumental in the building achieving 11 out of 11 on the energy assessment aspect of its planning consent (where a score of just six is the threshold for planning approval). This is the highest score possible, and the highest attained for this type of building in Oxford.

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Love Lane: how you can get involved Every donation of whatever size will help us meet our target and we hope many of you will make every effort to back the campaign and put your mark on Mansfield.

Visit www.mansfield.ox.ac.uk/give-online or contact the Development Team: Tel: 01865 270998 E: development@mansfield.ox.ac.uk

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Senior Tutor’s Report

Lucinda Rumsey After several years of good progress in the Norrington Table, it was disappointing to drop to 29th this year, with only Queen’s College below us. Although our position was depressed by a small number of less strong results, there were many very good results, with 18 of our finalists getting firsts: the same number as five years ago when we were 12th in the Norrington Table!

This year we had four firsts in History, three in Engineering, three in Geography, two in English, and one first in each of Maths, Materials, Physics, Law, Oriental Studies and Theology. A further eight of our scientists on four-year courses were awarded firsts in their third-year examinations, and 19 of our students doing first-year examinations were awarded scholarships and exhibitions for excellent Mods and Prelims performance. Currently 53 of our students are scholars or exhibitioners.

Undergraduates across a range of subjects were awarded a total of 11 university prizes. Five of those prize winners were Materials students: Katherine Danks received two awards for her Part II project, the R H Craven Prize and the James S Walker Award; India Kirkpatrick was awarded the Worshipful Company of Ironmongers’ Prize for her Part II project; Rusheb Shah received the Armourers and Brasiers’ Company / TATA Steel Prize for Best Team Design Project in Part I; Yuxin Yin was awarded the Armourers and Brasiers’ Company / Rolls Royce Prize for outstanding overall performance in Prelims; and Lev Chechik was awarded a Gibbs Prize for the best third-year performance in Materials.

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Three other students were awarded Gibbs Prizes: Ella Grodzinski was awarded a Gibbs Book Prize for her high distinction Prelims performance in Human Sciences; Ludovico Lazzeretti (Engineering) was awarded a Gibbs Prize for the best third-year performance in Engineering; and Elliott Thornley (Philosophy and Theology) won a Gibbs Prize for the best finals Philosophy performance in the joint school. Other finalists receiving awards were Vidar Skretting (Oriental Studies) who was awarded the Senior James Mew Prize for Arabic; and Joel Semakula (Senior Status Law), who received the D’Souza Prize for overall best performance in the second BA. This year Mansfield received its highest ever number of applicants for undergraduate admission.

Our direct (first choice) applicant numbers went up nearly 11%, compared with a 4% increase in applications to the university as a whole. We had wondered whether our current building works might put off prospective applicants when they come to visit on Open Days, as the College looks a bit less beautiful than usual at the moment.

However, for our current students the temporary inconvenience of the building site is far outweighed by the prospect of having accommodation provided for the full duration of their course. I believe that this significant new benefit is also one of the reasons the number of applicants to Mansfield has risen so much this year.

Bursar’s Report Allan Dodd I am often asked by friends – many of whom seem to think that we shut up shop after the end of Trinity term, take a long break and open up again sometime in late September – whether I have anything much to do over the summer. Well, that would be nice, but the reality is somewhat different, this summer even more than usual.

All of you will know that we are now well into the build of the Love Lane project. An ever-bigger hole in the ground has gradually been transformed into the basement of a building, and by the time you read this the upper frame will be in place, bathroom pods will have been installed in the study-bedrooms, and the interior fit-out will have started.

Of course, I claim no responsibility for the hard graft of the construction work, but in addition to the regular progress-monitoring, a surprising number of decisions, large and small, continue to come my way – minor changes in the design that have to be signed off; applications from the contractor to undertake work that will have an impact on the way the College operates; choices of every fitting, from floor boxes to lighting; approval of the frighteningly large monthly bills; and ensuring that the funding is lined up to meet them. It’s exciting, but occasionally daunting, especially the last of these.

What many people may be unaware of are the other projects that we cram into the summer period – the only time we can really tackle anything other than day-to-day maintenance. This year we had lots of them, as we continue the programme of making the College a more attractive and safer place for staff and students. With regard to safety, we changed all of the doors in staircases A to D – around 50 in total – and at the same time installed new fuse boards with modern circuit breakers, in both cases to comply with the new fire-rating code of practice for student accommodation. This required careful juggling of room availability so as not to compromise our conference income unduly, which we simply cannot afford to do.

In staircase E – the Hands Building – we replaced all of the bedroom furniture. This was a long overdue upgrade of rooms that were beginning to look very tired. Down at Ablethorpe we installed new kitchens, redecorated and re-carpeted throughout, and replaced some of the bedroom furniture that had seen better days. Finally, at least on the building front, the old

computer room is no more, and new library space (similar in size and functionality to the Law Library next door) has been created in its place. And just so that our new IT Manager, Matt Brock, didn’t feel left out, he had to supervise the re-cabling of the west range of the main building as part of the computer room project, while also managing the development of a new website – which I’m sure you will find to be a major improvement on the previous version.

Why do I tell you all of this? Well, partly to reassure you that we do really stay busy, and partly to emphasise how much we are investing – time, effort, money and creativity – in making Mansfield a better place in which to study, work and live. I thank you all for your support in helping to make this possible, as every donation from our friends and alumni goes into improving Mansfield.

And of course, I should confirm what you would expect of our fantastic staff – that they continue to rise to the challenges created by this activity, often putting in far more time than they are paid for, and always showing endless flexibility in keeping the College operating while rooms and essential services are taken out of operation and brought back on a daily basis. We are very lucky at Mansfield in having great people, and that makes work a pleasure – even over a busy summer when my friends think I have nothing much to do.

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JCR President’s Report Eloise Abbott PPE, 2014 The past year has been positive, fulfilling and exciting – as well as, at times, frustrating, upsetting and hard.

One truth remains: Oxford is a challenging place for its students.

Nevertheless, Oxford and its challenges are unreservedly embraced by Mansfield students.

Alongside managing many problem-sheets and essays, the members of Mansfield’s JCR have campaigned and competed in earnest this year. We have an impressive number of students involved in University-level sport, and Mansfield College Boat Club had an incredible Torpids and Summer Eights. The JCR also continues to engage with student politics, working closely with Oxford University Student Union (OUSU) on liberation, charity, access, and welfare campaigns.

Many students campaigned in the run-up to the two referendums that faced us this year: the OUSU referendum on whether to disaffiliate from the National Union of Students (which was voted against by the student body); and of course, the EU Referendum.

Several important figures within the University voiced their support for the many EU students currently at Oxford who may find it more difficult to study here in the future. They also emphasised the University’s strong commitment to continue research partnerships with European universities and funding bodies. Such messages have been greatly appreciated.

In February we held our triennial ball, which showcased the incredible creative talents of the students on the Ball Committee. The theme was the ‘Doors of Perception’, taken from William Blake’s The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: ‘If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is: Infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things through narrow chinks of his cavern.’ The Ball Committee succeeded in opening not just our eyes, but all our senses, in a luxurious evening of eating, drinking, and dancing. To those students who gave so much of their time and energy in constructing this event, Mansfield thanks you. The Committee has also chosen to give the profit from the ball to the JCR, and I am in consultation with students as to how this generous gift can best be utilised for the benefit of Mansfield students.

As has become customary in the President’s Report, there follows a comment on the current building works. The construction of the Love Lane building is well underway, and the Bursar has worked hard to

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minimise the impact of this on students living in College.

Of course, tutors have had to deal with many hours of deliveries and drilling also, so we all look forward eagerly to the completion of the building and the housing of all Mansfield students in College-owned accommodation, to be achieved in October 2017. Students in their second year currently rent privately and this can be a severe financial strain. Mansfield will become a more accessible place when we can offer accommodation to all undergraduates and for this I am very thankful.

During the past year, students successfully lobbied College to ensure that the Love Lane building contained gender-neutral toilets; this is of crucial importance to our College’s commitment to the inclusion and protection of transgender and non-binary people. We have since published a trans policy and, along with our thriving LGBTQ+ community, I feel proud of the message we are sending to potential applicants. We are also working hard on greater inclusion, and higher application rates, for BAME (black, Asian, and minority ethnic groups) and disabled students.

A welfare survey was completed by more than 5000 current Oxford students. It found that large numbers of students are reporting mental health issues; this is a worry of which the Mansfield student body, and in particular the current Bench, is acutely aware. Mental illness should not be seen as an unavoidable side-effect of the pressures of Oxford. Luckily, Mansfield tutors – while expecting the utmost effort and academic rigour – are exceptionally respectful and aware of such issues.

With our Senior Tutor at their head, a woman who acts unwaveringly in the interests of students and who does so with such inexhaustible kindness, who could expect any different?

We were sad to say goodbye to those leaving us in the summer, but excited to welcome a new cohort in October. Mansfield JCR is an incredible combination of intelligent, dedicated, and dynamic people, and I am immensely proud to have led it.

MCR President’s Report Andrew Dwyer DPhil Cyber Security, 2014 As always, Mansfield’s MCR has been busy organising events and new activities, to better the experience of the postgraduate community at the College.

Freshers’ Week was a fun, if hectic, occasion where we provided a packed schedule including trips to local restaurants, welfare events, and a meet your ‘parent’ evening. Throughout the year, we expanded the number of social and welfare activities to include ice-skating, cinema trips, an LGBTQ+ evening in conjunction with the JCR, and more exchange dinners with other MCRs. This was in addition to regular welfare breakfasts and afternoon teas with our Peer Supporters, who are specifically trained in providing support to members of the MCR. The Michael Mahony Graduate Seminar was once again a great success, with thanks going to Prof Jon Chapman, Dr Peter Bergamin, and Prof Helen Margetts for their intriguing presentations.

This year has seen the MCR grow yet again, which has led to an exciting and diverse group of individuals joining the community. The growth has required some painstaking formalisation of the rules underpinning how we work, which we hope will hold their own into the future. Primarily, this has led to the formation of a new gender-neutral Constitution – part of which concerns alumni, who now have formal membership of the MCR; we hope this will help foster greater ties in the future. The more inclusive approach has also entailed the introduction of an Equalities Representative, who will address issues concerning gender, ethnicity, LGBTQ+, disabilities and other groups at Mansfield.

from developing countries, offering a chance to study at Oxford. Additionally, in response to the current refugee crisis across Europe, the MCR passed a motion to support the Refugee Scholarship for exceptional displaced students. This broader movement of support from the MCR demonstrates the strength of our community: a community of which I am proud to be part. For MCR members, there is now a dedicated pot of money each term allocated through the Small Projects Fund. Applications include purchasing items or organising events that are beneficial to all. Several events for law, geography and maths have taken place – in addition to the purchase of decanters, rugs and a microwave. I hope that the fund will provide further investments for the MCR. As I look to the future, there are some concerns for the MCR community. The expansion of the University’s postgraduate population is increasing pressure on the resources that Mansfield is able to provide. Although further expansion is a broadly positive development, adequate resources have to be provided to maintain a strong link between Colleges and postgraduate students. This includes the provision of sufficient College Advisors, funds to apply for, and ultimately an adequately sized year-round MCR space. These challenges will give us an opportunity to evaluate how College and the postgraduate community can work together.

Finally, I should like to say thank you to my Bench, College and MCR members over the past year who have made this role such an enjoyable experience.

Two significant initiatives introduced this year include the support of undergraduate scholarships and the Small Projects Fund. In conjunction with the College community, the MCR supported Mansfield’s Reach scholarship for disadvantaged young people

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A year in Development and Alumni Relations From the Team As the photographs here reveal and our edition of ‘Donor News’ outlines, 2015/16 has been another exciting and varied year.

We have held a number of successful events including receptions in London, New York and Washington DC – as well as joining in the College Christmas Carol service, hosting subject dinners, a law moot, events for our current and alumni rowers, lectures, talks, and the Summer Garden Party, here in Oxford. We are thrilled that these events have been so well supported by our alumni: thank you.

If we haven’t seen you at an event for some time, we hope to have the opportunity to catch up with you soon. We always enjoy hearing your ideas for new activities to add to our programme. If there’s an event you would like us to arrange, please get in touch.

We have looked to keep you closely engaged in the College community in other ways too, through our e-newsletters, our social media activities and our telethons. And we have tried to get in touch with some of you where contact has been lost, through a Personal Information Form and work behind the scenes to improve our information. This is a major, ongoing piece of work, but we hope our efforts go some way towards helping you feel connected to the Mansfield family. If you can help us reach out to people you know who are not in contact with College, please get in touch.

A Year of Progress The year has seen dramatic change to the College landscape, much of which has been made possible thanks to the support of our alumni and friends. From new planting alongside the sunken terrace outside the Crypt café in summer 2015 – a beautiful addition to College – through to the ever-changing perspective of the new building under construction, the landscape continues to evolve.

There have also been many less visible, but nonetheless equally significant improvements to College spaces in the past year, as highlighted by the Bursar. These include the new heating systems in the John Marsh

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building, and the redevelopment of kitchens in Ablethorpe. The new PPE Library, where the computer room used to be housed, is also a wonderful addition to our library provision and study spaces. These changes – often the result of donations – have brought great benefits to Mansfield students.

But although this year has been one of exhilarating change and improvement, much of what makes Mansfield, Mansfield, has stayed the same. The Access team in the College Office has continued to deliver some wonderful events and activities for prospective students who might otherwise have been daunted by applying to Oxford, or who come from areas that have traditionally seen few Oxford applicants.

Thank you to those of you who supported our Access work in 2015/16.

Throughout the year, students have passed our window in nervous anticipation ahead of Collections and Finals, or in search of sustenance after a late night in the Library. They have also jovially walked the Quad in celebration of sports successes, a game of croquet, an inspiring lecture, or a prize they have received. Much of this has been made possible by donations to our teaching, our sports teams, our student prizes, and our Library. Thank you for these, too.

What is to Come?

Looking ahead to the coming year, there are some key challenges – we still need to raise £420,000 for the new building. You might like to support the project by naming a lecture seat in the new auditorium (£600); or a student bedroom; or by making a regular donation. Whichever way you can help, please do. It would be wonderful if you could join those who have already donated, enabling us to have the backing of as many alumni as possible for what will be a transformational improvement to College. Or if you would prefer to support other parts of College life, do let us know.

We shall continue to organise a varied events programme, to keep in touch with you through a range of communications, and to find opportunities to make you feel part of College. It will also remain a pleasure to record our gratitude for the support you give us – whether this support is financial or a gift in kind (like a venue for an event, supporting careers talks, or student mentoring).

Thank you for everything you do to make Mansfield special. If you can help us do more, please get in touch. If we can do more for you, please let us know.

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Access Report 2016 Lucinda Rumsey Tutor for Admissions

Every day I receive a news alert from the University Press Office, listing every article that has appeared in the media about Oxford University that day. Many of the stories are about Oxford research projects that have caught media attention, but there is a regular portion of stories about Oxford admissions, most on a similar theme: ‘Oxford condemned over failure to improve state school access’, ‘Oxford college admissions complex and intimidating’, ‘Social gap widens as poor children’s chances of entering Oxbridge shrink’.

This year I have been part of a working group looking at Oxford’s widening participation strategy, the Access Targets Working Group. Our own internal headline is: ‘Oxford spends £6m on outreach each year. How come we have made so little difference to the social diversity of our intake?’ If we count our bursary funding (financial support for students from lower income families), Oxford spends £16m a year on measures to widen access. In 2015/16 Oxford was very pleased to announce that its proportion of students from the state sector had increased. And yet, still fewer than 60% of our UK students come from the state sector, when only 18% of students over 16 attend an independent school.

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Under Oxford’s agreement with the Office of Fair Access (OFFA), the University can only charge student fees if a proportion of the money raised funds projects aimed at widening participation. The agreement includes targets to increase the successful application of children from areas of social deprivation and from schools with a poor record of participation in higher education. Oxford’s Access Targets Working Group is looking at those targets and how we encourage successful application from the groups we want to reach. As we are trying to improve access from schools with below-average performance, as well as encourage students from schools with good performance but low progression to Oxford, we are considering how we can help raise both attainment and aspiration. We are also looking at how to dispel the myths about who Oxford is for, and making transparent those admissions procedures that our critics describe as ‘complex and intimidating’.

The first step towards accepting good candidates from the target groups is to encourage them to apply to Oxford in the first place. For the past two years Mansfield has already more than met the OFFA targets in its applicants and its intake, and we continue to recruit more than 80% of our UK students from the state sector. In the past year

LEFT: Our Team of Student Access Ambassadors are all set to welcome young people considering applying to Mansfield.

we also increased the number of outreach events that we ran, 176 events in all and 30% more than last year. As usual these included visits to schools, as well as day events and residentials in Mansfield. Helen Brooks, our Access and Admissions Administrator, runs that work with super-human energy and initiative, but we also have brilliant student ambassadors who talk to prospective applicants about their experience of Oxford, and run subject sessions that give an insight into what they are learning in their own studies.

Highlights this year included the three days of Application Conferences and visits we held for more than 30 Hull and York schools, with evening sessions for parents and carers; and our Social Mobility Foundation residential in Mansfield, where 35 students from schools in Manchester and Liverpool stayed at Mansfield for three days as a taster of undergraduate study. In all we worked directly with about 1650 students in schools and colleges, and about a third of our events were with pre-16 students. We know that if we want to raise aspiration and attainment we have to start before year 12.

The costs of Mansfield’s outreach activities contribute to the £6m that Oxford spends each year on widening participation. Individual college spending on access varies hugely, between £26,000 and £240,000 a year. The average is £76,000. We spent around £60,000. Our budget has been cut by £1000 for the coming year because the College overall faces a very difficult financial year. Compared with most other colleges we have a small budget and tiny staff: the ‘access’ half of Helen Brook’s post as Access and Admissions Administrator, and a portion of my time as Tutor for Admissions; some colleges have three full-time staff. The good news is that with our tiny resources we are making a significant impact, increasing applications to Mansfield, and contributing to widening access for the University as a whole.

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College life

Sports Report

Compiled by Alexandra Pitchford (Law, 2015) Sports & Societies Officer

Badminton

Rugby

This year the Mansfield badminton team partnered with St John’s College. Although the team only competed in a couple of matches, weekly training was well attended by students from both colleges, and a large number of beginners got involved. The season culminated in a formal dinner at St John’s.

The Mansfield/Merton rugby team have had a rough season during the past year, and currently remain in the University’s division four. Captained by Zak Keane, several members of the team travelled to Spain over the summer, to compete in the Ibiza 10s tournament in June.

Football

Ice hockey

The Mansfield/Merton football team (captained by Kasra Amini of Merton) has had a very successful year.

The team won promotion with 10 wins out of 12 league games (a win percentage of 83%: a club record). They also made it through to Cuppers knockouts.

Congratulations to the Mansfield Alts ice hockey team, who won Cuppers in Hilary term. The team consisted of Ulysse Schnyder, Lova Chechik, Tinger Wen, Myles Tang, Hildie Rose Hoeschen and Daniel Shipley. Throughout the evening of the tournament, the team won all but one of the games (which ended in a draw), ensuring themselves a place in the final. The last game ran well over time into a ‘Golden Goal’ period when Tinger Wen scored, winning the tournament for Mansfield.

Cricket Mansfield and Merton have a combined team and remain in the second division of the University Cricket League.

Swimming Mansfield entered a team of swimmers in Cuppers during Michaelmas 2015 and came third. This was a remarkable improvement from the previous year, when the team was placed 17th. Swimmers included Heather Burke, Holly Winfield, Jack Frigaard, James Harrison, and Katrina Morris.

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College life

Rowing

Heather Nelson Treasurer, MCBC DPhil Engineering, 2014 Mansfield College Boat Club achieved great success in 2015/16 on both the men’s and women’s side.

Following poor weather conditions, river closures and a spontaneous trip to Dorney Lake, both the M1 and W1 won blades in Torpids – the first time since 1996.

In an effort to continue our success from Hilary term, the club organised a rowing camp at a local boat club in preparation for Summer Eights. All the hard work paid off as W1 and M2 both secured blades and also reached their highest positions on record in Summer Eights; M1 and W2 also bumped but narrowly missed out on blades. M1 also reached their highest position ever on the river and are hoping to continue their success in the coming year and reach division one in Summer Eights. Looking forward to 2016/17, we hope to encourage more novices to join the club and wish the new captains the best of luck with training.

From Thursday 29th September to Saturday 1st October 2016, the Mansfield College Boat Club rowed the 162km Oxford-to-London route to raise muchneeded funds for the rapidly growing club.

The rowers would like to say thank you to all who supported and helped them along the way, and to the support crew who followed alongside. All money raised from the challenge will support MCBC, allowing them to build upon their recent success.

Read more about the MCBC Oxford to London row in this year’s edition of the ‘Mansfield College Donor News’.

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College life

Societies Report

Compiled by Alexandra Pitchford (Law, 2015) Sports & Societies Officer

Poetry Society

Mansfield Human Rights Forum

Mansfield Poetry Society was revitalised during the latter half of the year, initially under the leadership of third year Nassia Williamson and then first years Heather Burke and Violet Smart. The society hosted several events, including a termly poetry night and a Sunday morning poetry brunch, in which students could share their favourite pieces, or present poems they had written themselves.

The Human Rights Forum is anticipating an exciting year ahead. Under second years Danielle Buckett and Daisy Deller, the group is planning to stage a panel session on the implications of the ‘Brexit’ vote. Human rights specialist, Alison Young, and Mansfield College Principal, Helena Kennedy, have already agreed to appear.

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College life

The 1887 Society

By Annie Johnston and Madeline Wild Geography, 2014

Mansfield’s geographical association, The 1887 Society, hosts guest speakers and social events throughout the year for all College members to attend. The Society is so named because 1887 marked both the formal introduction of academic geography at Oxford and the first-year anniversary of Mansfield College.

Recent speaker events have included ‘Seekers, travellers, migrants: Cowley Road’s food geography’

by Mansfield alumnus, Martin Stott, featuring his Cowley Road Cook Book, and ‘Travelling with Purpose: Journeys Round India’ by Ash Bhardwaj, who is best known for appearing in the recent Channel 4 series Walking the Nile and Walking the Himalayas alongside Levison Wood.

The Society held a number of social events during 2015/16 including a formal dinner in Michaelmas term to welcome the new first years, and our annual wine tasting evening with Tony Lemon in Hilary term, which was greatly enjoyed by both the students and tutors.

The highlight of the year was undoubtedly the annual black tie 1887 Society Dinner in Trinity term. At the dinner we welcomed Jerome Mayaud (currently College Lecturer at Keble) as our guest speaker, who gave an entertaining talk about the development of sediment-transport models for dryland environments.

It was wonderful that the alumni, tutors and students were able to enjoy this memorable evening together.

Looking forward to 2016/17, we are planning a formal dinner once again to welcome the new Geography first years to the Society. Towards the end of Michaelmas term we shall be handing over our Presidency and would like to wish the new holders of the post the very best of luck.

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College life

On an individual level, students at Mansfield have been enthusiastic in giving their own time to help others.

This year, students have volunteered for projects such as: Education Partnerships Africa (EPAfrica), which aims to improve education in Kenya; assisting the sick and elderly in Lourdes; and helping to care for and socialise with refugees at camps in Dunkirk and Calais (a group of first-year students volunteering for Utopia 56).

In Hilary term ‘Oxford Pink Week’ became the focus for a large number of groups around Oxford and was particularly well supported at Mansfield. The week aimed to raise awareness of breast cancer and to fundraise for charities such as Breast Cancer Care, Hello Beautiful, and CoppaFeel. Several of our students were highly involved in the University-wide organisation of the week and actively promoted it within Mansfield.

In support of Oxford Pink Week and its nominated charities we held a ‘Pink’ Formal Hall and Champagne and Chocolates social in which the students dressed in pink and were served a ‘pink’ meal.

Overall this has been a very successful year for Charities and Campaigns at Mansfield – thank you to everyone for your enthusiasm and support!

Charities and campaigns Stephanie McGuire (Theology, 2014) Environment, Ethics, and Charities (EEC) Officer Mansfield students have been as active as ever this year in the support of charities and campaigns, both in Oxford and the wider world. As a JCR we elected several charities to support this year, which have included: Oxford Homelessness Pathways, ABC (Anorexia and Bulimia Care), Turl Street Homeless Action, and Oxford Pink Week. In backing these charities we held a successful ‘Auction of Promises’ with students donating a wide variety of ‘promises’ ranging from baked goods to a kitchen cleaner and even a personal photo shoot around Oxford. Mansfield JCR also got into the spirit of Valentine’s Day with our ‘Pidge a Rose’ fundraiser in which the charities and Welfare Officers teamed together to raise money and spread positive messages around College.

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College life

Mansfield College Organ Appeal Help us to restore Mansfield’s original historic organ Mansfield’s College Chapel, which is one of the largest in Oxford, is a well-loved space. It is central to life in College and is used on a daily basis by students, staff and Fellows.

The organ and its case are original features of the Chapel. It is one of the last surviving and unaltered Romantic organs in Oxford.

Initial estimates indicate that around £300,000 will be needed to put the organ back into full playing order. With your support we hope to extend the life of the organ for many decades, thus benefiting future generations of Mansfield students and the wider community.

The Gothic casework, designed by renowned Victorian architect Basil Champneys, is 125 years old and in desperate need of repair. This work, the first major restoration in the organ’s history, will be a catalyst for music-making both in the College and wider community.

Can you help?

Music at Mansfield

Please contact development@mansfield.ox.ac.uk or call 01865 270998 if you wish to support this project.

Mansfield students: Dana Mills (piano), Bethany Whalley (clarinet) and Rory Morrison (tenor).

John Oxlade, Director of Music

The Choir has sung at the weekly Wednesday evening services in Chapel throughout the academic year as well Our Wednesday lunchtime recitals and Sunday afternoon as at the Remembrance Day service, the Christmas Carol concerts have continued apace, with audiences enjoying service, the Valedictory service, the Commemoration the talents of nine recitalists from Mansfield: Aondoyima service and a wedding. It has been a relatively new Ioratim-Uba (piano), Laura Worman (flute), Matthew Choir this year with 15 new members joining us, though Palmer (piano), Domenico Cullura (French horn), Yuxin sadly one of our leading sopranos, Lucy Mahoney, left in Yin (piano), Dr Paul Lodge (voice and guitar), Jacqueline January to pursue her research in London. It was also sad Bashaw (piano), and two of our Instrumental Exhibitioners to say goodbye to the three VSPs returning to the USA – Kim Darrah (trumpet) and Nicholas Bushnell-Wye (Jacqueline Bashaw, Mina Blume and Mikayla Roller) who (violin). have contributed so much to the Choir’s success.

We have also welcomed guest soloists James Foran (viola) from the Royal Academy of Music, Prof George Caird (oboe) with cellist Jane Salmon and pianist Jonathan Higgins (from Birmingham Conservatoire), cellist Madeleine Ridd (Merton College), pianist Sihao Di (St Anne’s) and harpist Imogen Emmett (Lady Margaret Hall). It was a special delight to hear again three former

The summer concert also featured the Choir performing in a wide variety of musical styles, with soloist Katrina Collison from the Choir, guest vocal soloists Lucy Matheson (Lincoln College) and Rory Morrison, as well as instrumental ensemble items. There was also a tribute to the special contribution of our Senior Choral Scholar Roshan Forouhi who graduated in the summer.

Music in College owes a huge amount to the commitment, as well as the talents, of our musicians, but we are also extremely fortunate to be supported in such a dedicated way by many others behind the scenes – and I would like to express my grateful thanks for all the help given by Lynne Quiggin, Jane Buswell, Helen Jones, Tony Berezny, Peter Nagy, Elena Bancroft and everyone in the Porters’ Lodge.

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Developing partnerships in Kenya Backed by funders including the Mansfield Alumni Association, Kirstine Dunk (English, 2014) helped manage projects at schools in the Kisii district of south-western Kenya: improving water quality, upgrading laboratories and libraries, and forging firm friendships.

In summer 2016 I spent a fantastic ten weeks working as a volunteer in rural Kenya, for a charity called Education Partnerships Africa (EPAfrica). EPAfrica works with the staff and management in secondary schools to plan events and investments that will make a sustainable change to the lives of the staff and students.

Prior to our time in Kenya, each volunteer fundraised a total of £900 to be invested into their partner school, alongside running ‘softer’ projects that required little money but huge amounts of time to plan. I was to have one colleague – a student called Daphne from Cambridge whom I had met twice before we travelled to Kenya together. When we arrived, we would be alone in forging friendships, carrying out the project, and coping with a very different life in a small village.

Naturally, this level of responsibility and the quality of the partnership we needed to form – to make a real difference and not simply be ‘voluntourists’ – was quite daunting. Aid projects in Africa always run the risk of criticism for reinforcing ‘white superiority’ stereotypes, or of simply acting as a ‘feel-good holiday’ for the aid workers. However, I truly feel that Daphne and myself made some lifelong friendships, and developed a genuine partnership with the school wherein we worked, finding solutions to problems together.

From the start, the head teacher Mr Huron Kwaba and the board of management at Nyamuya ELCK Secondary School were extremely welcoming. At the end of the project, Daphne and I fondly remembered our first visit to the school on a cloudy afternoon where we were greeted with sodas and many enthusiastic handshakes. The tour we received that afternoon certainly showed us how many things we could work with the board to improve.

Huron was keen to discuss the state of the unfinished science lab, his concerns about student health (particularly the many cases of typhoid and pregnancy at the school), and absenteeism issues. He was determined to see his school develop and improve. From the beginning, I was pleased to find myself struck not

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only by the tough challenges ahead of us, but also by the dedication, concern, and committed attitude of Huron and the other management members.

Daphne and I spent several days learning about the school, getting to know the students and staff, and meeting members of the local community. We lived in a small house in a nearby village, and had frequent visits from chickens, scorpions, mice, and lizards. We walked with students to fetch water from a dirty source 45 minutes from the school grounds, and learnt about their aspirations to become pilots and nurses. This was sometimes particularly difficult to hear, as we knew that in previous years only one or two students had achieved grades good enough to attend university. However, it made us all the more determined in our morning meetings with Huron to plan investments that would provide better learning opportunities for the students, thereby enhancing their future prospects.

Unexpectedly, two weeks into the project – just as Daphne and I were completing work on an application for further funds raised by the central charity – we learnt that a volunteer was returning to England. The other half of that team, Calum, would stay behind in Kenya and continue the projects at his partner school, Riyabu ELCK. We joined with Calum to form a trio and work over the two schools, offering support and gaining the exciting opportunity of experiencing a very different school to Nyamuya. This posed some extra challenges for us all: learning to live across two houses, getting to know everything about a second school (and each other), and implementing projects when we couldn’t always be present to oversee them.

We decided it would be best if Daphne and I remained primarily responsible for Nyamuya, while Calum worked at Riyabu, but we all provided support and attended meetings at either school when needed. Despite the challenges that working at two schools posed, over the following weeks we worked hard with both head teachers to do our very best for Nyamuya and Riyabu. As Nyamuya was our original school, the money that I raised was invested there alongside Daphne’s fundraising; Calum and his partner’s money was invested into Riyabu.

At Nyamuya we installed a water filter to prevent students drinking dirty water, hoping to reduce cases of water-borne diseases. We reinforced the importance

of using the filter by writing a Water Use Policy with students and staff, and by working with the local clinic to set up a health day where one of the discussions focused on safe water – others focused on safe sex, and coping with peer pressure and exam stress.

We entirely replaced some sections of the school guttering to enable more efficient water collection, and added new guttering to the laboratory. All our new guttering had flash pipes, to prevent detritus from the roofs entering the tanks and creating silt in the bottom section (where worms and skin-irritating bacteria can grow). These measures were part of an effort to stop students missing lessons to fetch water, but also had the effect of increasing the amount of water collected by a high enough volume to allow us to plumb-in the laboratory.

The project consisted of a complex and demanding sequence of tasks involving many different contractors, working with an engineer, a mason, a welder, a carpenter, an electrician, a plumber, and many local suppliers. We employed the welder and carpenter to build new work benches along two walls of the lab (in excess of 70 feet), more than doubling the available work space for students in lessons. The carpenter worked with our plumber to install taps and sinks at regular intervals within these work benches, which were supplied with water from a pump-and-tank system that we created to ensure good water pressure. We then worked with the mason to lay a proper floor in the lab, which both increased safety and prevented dust from the floor contaminating students’ experiments. After this, we rewrote the laboratory rules – in consultation with the head teacher and lab technician – to reflect the changes to the lab environment that had been made. We also purchased 25 pairs of safety goggles to enable students safely to use strong chemicals or the likes of iron filings.

As well as this major investment, we bought musical instruments (drums, tambourines, a guitar, etc) and worked with Abraham (the student who was head of clubs) and the deputy head-teacher, to reinvigorate the school’s music club. We hope this will provide students with an element of arts-education and creativity that the curriculum and life at school currently lacks – as well as fostering a sense of pride in the school through their ability to compete in local music competitions.

Many of the problems faced by Riyabu were similar to Nyamuya’s. There, we laid the library floor and built library tables, also aiming to provide good study spaces and enable better learning. In addition, we installed water tanks and carried out a large-scale guttering project, for much the same reasons as at Nyamuya. Finally, we worked on the boys’ washing and showering area, as previously the moist environment and lack of proper drainage had led to it becoming a breeding ground for dangerous malarial mosquitoes.

Alongside planning these investments, we had a truly wonderful time with people in the Kisii community. We stayed overnight at our head teacher’s house, learning to cook chapatis with his wife and daughter; we made friends with the market sellers; spent time at the teachers’ houses eating sugar cane and drinking soda; and we enjoyed extremely interesting conversations with the people we met on journeys around Kenya.

On our one week of holiday (funded entirely by ourselves and in no way related to the project investment), we travelled to the Maasai Mara for safari with some friends of the charity, and then travelled to lakes Naivasha, Nakuru, Baringo and Bogoria where we cycled through a national park, climbed through a gorge, saw flamingos and went on a boat trip. The time spent relaxing with the other volunteers on this week really enabled us to strengthen our friendships and create some incredible memories. Despite this, some of my favourite moments remain those related to our investments: seeing students drinking safe water, or using the laboratory for the first time.

None of this work would have been possible without the significant financial help I received when fundraising in England. I know that all the students and staff at Nyamuya are incredibly grateful. Together, we would therefore like to say thank you to the great number of people and associations who very kindly supported me: The Mansfield Alumni Association, The Lord Mayor’s 800th Anniversary Awards Trust, and The Lynn Foundation, for their donations; Lucinda Rumsey and those working in the Development Office at Mansfield, who employed me over the Easter vac; the students of Mansfield who generously bought cakes from me; and my family and friends who donated online.

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Worth sharing American TV journalist and academic Paul Solman spent a term as a Visiting Fellow at Mansfield in 2016. Here he reflects on congeniality, conversation and the College’s renowned hospitality.

I’ve been around a bit. As a journalist for 46 years, a public lecturer and university teacher, I’ve met my share of welcoming, clever people. But, hokey as this may sound, never, in all my travels, have I encountered a more intellectually hospitable environment than Mansfield College.

During a Visiting Fellowship in Trinity term 2016, I could not help spending a good bit of time wondering how this could possibly be so. And as a TV journalist, I did much of that wondering aloud. With whom else but a Mansfield audience to share the answers?

First, of course, Mansfield is located in Oxford, the centre of English culture for about 920 years and intellectually, to Americans, the approximate equivalent of the entire Ivy League. Given all the world-class minds that famously marinated in this town, a lofty level of discourse didn’t exactly come as a shock. But the conspicuous congeniality of the Oxford environment was definitely unexpected.

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No, it wasn’t all beer and skittles. I concede that, for example, my writer wife and I quickly learned that Professor Henry Higgins – reportedly modelled on an Oxford professor – was just joshing when he insisted that the rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain. In fact, of course, it falls on Hertford, Hereford, Harris Manchester and St Hilda’s. This was a blow, as we couldn’t remember seeing so much as a cloudy day in all our years of watching Inspectors Morse, Lewis and Hathaway fail to protect Oxford and its denizens.

Closer to home, the unavoidable Turf Tavern posed a concussion risk to any of us over 5ft 4in. And though we celebrate Mansfield’s current expansion, we hadn’t expected such an intimate view of the excavators preparing the site for the new Human Rights Institute.

Out of one window: the serene rectangular pools of Princess Margaret’s Garden. Out of the other: a gaping, clangorous hole in the ground. Waiting for the jackhammer’s breakfast break to record TV narration was a Visiting Fellowship highlight. And though Antony

Gormley’s acrobatic statue was a reliable geographical marker, its perpendicular appendage was a bit disorienting, given the usual effects of gravity.

Moreover, Oxford hospitality itself can pose a problem. Invited to dine at various of the colleges, we found that every gathering began with drinks, featured drinks throughout a sumptuous meal, followed that with a ‘second dessert’ accompanied by more drinks, and closed with more drinks at a session euphemistically known as ‘coffee’. At some point the light bulb went off: this may be what they mean by ‘high’ table.

At Mansfield, we got more of the same treatment, with some especially memorable menus. I returned to the States in need of a drying out and a larger belt, though resolving not to blame Maria, Peter and Ben for catering to our every appetite.

The defining characteristic of dinners (and other assemblies), however, was not the wine or claret or Madeira, or even the snuff (snuff??), but the conversation. Serious, but never snarky; comfortable, but not complacent; quick-witted but not competitive (though maybe a pair of American journalists just didn’t arouse anyone’s competitive instincts). Dinner partners were flatteringly attentive and utterly intriguing.

I suppose practice makes perfect: there seems to have been a tradition of serious conversation at Oxford since Emo arrived from Friesland while Isolde was falling for Tristan. But Mansfield itself was, by comparison, born yesterday. And considering the nonconformity it began with and continues to cultivate, tradition isn’t the likeliest explanation for the conversational embrace of the College’s dons and donnas.

At lunch it might have been Lucinda Rumsey or Chris Salamone, chatting about English authors as old as the University itself; or Pavlos Eleftheriadis, talking about modern law and, exasperatedly, contemporary Greek politics; or Marina Galano, excitedly explaining the wonders of aluminium and the exigencies of research – all at a high table in which the discourse was elevated, if not the table itself. At guest dinners it was the likes of sparkling newcomer Bonnie Greer or distinguished old-

timers Michael and Irene Freeden. In the SCR, it might have been Stephen Blundell on muons or Peggy Morgan on Eastern religions. Or Paul Lodge on pretty much anything, from Wagner to Dylan, St Paul to Buber to the Dalai Lama. And in the quad, ‘human geographers’ like Luke Dickens or Derek McCormack would talk about… well, I’m still not quite sure. I only know it wasn’t the world’s largest lakes or the capital of Bolivia. There were also Joel Rasmussen, Ros Ballaster, David Leopold, Paul Flather – the roster seemed endless.

And back at her lodgings, the Principal, Labour stalwart Helena Kennedy, aka ‘the Red Baroness’, talking animatedly about the law, politics, Graham Norton, Julian Assange, John Waters, and god knows who and what else, with that forever twinkle in her eye.

The point is: everyone enthusiastically shared thought in a spirit of egalitarian community, daily making flesh of the words carved into the SCR fireplace and invoked by the Principal at every dinner: ‘nullius boni possessio est iucunda sine socio’.

Certainly no shortage of socio at Mansfield. Gab, gab and gab: never condescending; always engaging and warm (but never heated). And not just gab but cheery camaraderie – from the dining hall staff, the porters, our scout, from Tony Berezny and Matt Brock to Helen Jones and Jane Buswell. Where, Jan and I wondered, was the emotional reserve for which your country is so notorious back here in the States?

Now, perhaps the peculiar hospitality of Mansfield is a function of the College’s intimate scale. Maybe it’s the levelling atmosphere: the staff, so central to the community; the students from state schools, so assiduously wooed. (In my broadcast stories on Brexit for US public television, set in Mansfield, the student interviewees were particularly forthcoming and unassuming.) Maybe it’s the physical layout itself: the cappuccino/etc machine and the bottomless biscuit bin, for example, so strategically placed that the route to and fro makes it impossible to avoid the likes of Paul Lodge, which is how you learn that you’d never want to. Maybe it’s the sheer comfort of rooms like the SCR with its come-hither chairs under a vaulted ceiling.

Or maybe it’s Baroness Kennedy of the Shaws herself (you can’t overstate how we Americans love British titles) with her Friday soirées, which bring the campus together; her Saturday student brunches; her whirlwind geniality in general.

But in the end, who really cares why Mansfield is as it is? I can only say that I would recommend a Visiting Fellowship to anyone I know, were it not for the fact that I’d much rather reserve the spot for myself – in perpetuity.

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College news

Portrait of an Oxford college

Mansfield College Contents: 1. Origins and Reinvention 2. The College Buildings 3. Governance and Access 4. Three Principals Look Back 5. Three Thematic Perspectives 6. College Life: Then and Now General Editors: Stephen Blundell and Michael Freeden Photography: Keiko Ikeuchi

From various perspectives, this book tells the interwoven stories of Mansfield’s past and present, its extraordinary growth and development, and its ambitions for the future. It features stunning photographs by the College’s photographer in residence, Keiko Ikeuchi, as well as never-before published pictures from Mansfield’s archive.

Specifications: Hardback, 176 pages, 270 x 230mm over 150 illustrations, ISBN: 9781906507497 Publication: July 2012 New price: £10 Copies of the book are available: Online at tmiltd.com By phone on +44 (0) 20 7336 0144 Please contact the Development Office on + 44 (0) 1865 270998 for more information.

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Mansfield 2013/14

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An exclusive venue for conferences, corporate meetings and fine dining Are you looking for a unique alternative to hotel accommodation?

Have you considered an exclusive fine dining experience for you and your guests in the magnificent College Chapel or Hall?

Interested?

For further information and booking, please contact Lynne Quiggin, Domestic Bursar Mansfield College 01865 282888 lynne.quiggin@mansfield.ox.ac.uk www.mansfield.ox.ac.uk

Set in the heart of Oxford with its beautiful Victorian buildings, Mansfield College provides the perfect location for any event.

The College offers a fabulous venue where visitors can enjoy their conference or event in friendly and welcoming surroundings.

Weddings at Mansfield

Please note that the exciting construction of the Love Lane Building is underway – which will house student accommodation, lecture auditorium, and the Oxford Institute of Human Rights – we shall be unable to take wedding bookings at the College for the foreseeable future.

Mansfield College OXFORD Mansfield 2015/16

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College ties through the century John Whitley (Theology, 1963) reflects on what Mansfield has meant to him and his family.

In July 2016 my wife Rosemary and I celebrated our golden wedding with a lunch for family and friends in Mansfield’s Chapel Hall – the very building in which we had been married in August 1966 and one full of significance for me and my family. Mansfield Chapel is where I was baptised in 1940, worshipped from 1959 to 1969, held my daughter’s baptism in 1974 and my mother’s funeral in 2010.

But the family links with the College go right back to Mansfield’s beginnings as a theological college.

The Nathan Whitley Travel Fund This fund was established in 1906 by my great-uncle Alfred Whitley (18681945) in memory of his father Nathan Whitley (1830-1889). Their Halifax, mill-owning, Liberal, Congregationalist family combined pioneering social work

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Nathan Whitley, John’s great-grandfather

FAR LEFT: John & Rosemary Whitley with Felix, their youngest grandchild, celebrating their 50th anniversary in Mansfield ChapelHall, July 2016 LEFT: John & Rosemary Whitley, married at Mansfield Chapel 6.8.1966

How I came to Mansfield My grandfather John Henry Whitley (1866-1935) was Nathan’s eldest son, who became better known than his brothers through his career as Liberal MP for Halifax (1900-28) and Speaker of the House of Commons (1921-28). As a prominent Liberal Congregationalist, he and his son Oliver (my father) knew Nat Micklem, sometime President of the Liberal Party and Principal of Mansfield – and it was he who baptised me in November 1940 amid the noise of German bombers en route for Coventry. I am told that I made more noise than the bombers, but Nat explained afterwards that he had not wished to raise his voice for fear of casting doubt as to whom he was addressing. with concern for education and the early development of Mansfield College.

The original purpose of the fund was to provide scholarships enabling Mansfield’s theological students to travel in countries associated with ‘the roots of our culture’ (understood in 1906 to mean chiefly Italy, Greece, Egypt or Syria). Since then, both clientele and criteria have broadened and it is gratifying to hear how many Mansfield students appreciate their ‘Nathan Whitley’ experience.

‘The Nathan Whitley Travel Fund is an example of college funding that I always mention when I talk to prospective candidates about applying to Oxford, to give an illustration of what is special about the college system. I tell them that we have a fund specifically to support travel beyond a student’s course of study, given by a benefactor more than 100 years ago. It is a perfect example of the way that colleges care for their students beyond their studies, and shows them that what makes Oxford traditional can also make it a nurturing and supporting place. Hundreds of Mansfield students have benefitted from the generosity of Nathan Whitley and his family since early in Mansfield’s history. This year the Nathan Whitley funds contributed to: a drama tour of Japan, a trip to Australia to research skiing culture, an Inter-rail ticket around Central and Eastern Europe, and a study of oil endowment issues in Dubai.’

Lucinda Rumsey, Senior Tutor at Mansfield College

My student days began at New College (Greats, 195963). I joined the Congregational Society and worshipped at Mansfield, welcoming both the friendliness and the intellectual engagement with religious questions. Having felt the call to train for the ministry, I moved on to Mansfield (Theology, 1963-65). A year out in Grimsby, teaching in a comprehensive school and assisting the Congregational minister, was followed by our wedding at Mansfield, conducted by David Goodall, and three years as a research student in New Testament Theology, supervised by George Caird. During this time, Rosemary enjoyed the friendly gatherings of ‘Mansfield Wives’, hosted by Gladys Marsh and later Molly Caird. My doctorate was never completed and during that time I came to view my ‘call’ to the ministry as coming more from family influences than personal conviction.

What Mansfield means to me Rosemary and I joined the Quakers and my eventual career was as a teacher of Religious Studies and Classics in comprehensive schools around Oxford. In that multifaith setting I drew much on the formative experiences of student work for refugees and racial harmony, combined with community service including time at the Mansfield House Settlement. Our link with Mansfield was specially maintained through friendship with Carol and Mike Mahony, who played such an important part in Mansfield’s growth into full College status. Mansfield’s special character as a small supportive multi-disciplinary community, with emphasis on access, environment and now the new Institute for Human Rights, continues to inspire.

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VISITING STUDENT PROGRAMME

Mansfield’s Visiting Student Programme, 2015/16 Chris Salamone took up the position of Director of the Visiting Student Programme in Trinity term 2016 to cover Dr Helen Lacey’s maternity leave. He reports on this year’s developments.

Our traditional farewell reception for the class of 2015/16 recognised and celebrated how our Visiting Students have enriched the life of the College community. With tutors and students sharing their goodbyes and future plans, the evening of canapés was capped off by a heart-warming speech from this year’s Visiting Student Representative, Jacqueline Bashaw. There have been academic successes to shout about this year. Katerina Carro-Garcia (Georgetown) and Mikayla Roller (William Jewell) were awarded prizes for their top grades in Hilary and Trinity terms respectively. Yujing Fan (Wellesley College) achieved two awards: first for the best Michaelmas term academic performance, and second for her consistent excellence across all three terms.

It’s equally a delight to congratulate the successes of those Visiting Student alumni who have continued to keep in touch with the College. We welcome back to Oxford Clara Gutwein (Barnard) who will be returning to the University for an MSt in Medieval History. Further afield, Daniel Thomas (Wisconsin-Madison) has been accepted on to the political science PhD programme at Columbia University, while Alina Dvorovenko (Cornell) will be moving to New York this August to take up a position in economic consulting. If any Visiting Student alumni would like to share news about what they are up to now, or tell us about future prospects, do send us an email: vsp@mansfield.ox.ac.uk

In Michaelmas term 2016 we were excited to welcome students from two prestigious Chinese universities (Jilin and Tsinghua) after establishing a relationship with Oxford Prospects Programme, which works to promote international outreach, exchange and collaboration. In the past year, Mansfield has also forged links with the University of Iowa and Washington & Lee College, from whom we look forward to receiving applications in the years to come.

We’re very excited about what promises to be a stimulating and rewarding year ahead.

Chris Salamone, Stipendiary Lecturer in English at Mansfield, is currently writing a monograph on how fragments of Shakespeare’s works were printed in 18th-century poetry collections.

Visiting Student profile

because of its emphasis in PPE and its tight-knit community.

I knew I would need a reliable support-system studying so far from home, and such a system is undeniably found at Mansfield.

Mikayla Roller VSP, 2015/16

How have you found the experience different to that at American universities?

Even though I had experienced tutorials before, Oxford was still vastly different from studying at an American institution. I had never before experienced such freedom of thought, since my time and energy at Mansfield was not devoted to various lectures and coursework that diverged from my primary major, like in the US. Moreover, students at Oxford are not expected to juggle part-time or full-time employment while pursuing their studies. This allowed me a lot more free time to follow ideas to their fullest potential.

What is your subject and your home town?

I am a Philosophy, Politics, and Economics student from William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri; I was born nearby in Kansas City, Missouri, in the heart of the US. What drew you to Oxford in general and Mansfield, specifically?

I chose Oxford as the destination for my Junior Year Abroad because the honours programme at my home institution incorporated rigorous tutorial-style learning into the first two years of my undergraduate degree. Tutorials provide such a unique learning experience, holding students accountable for their ideas and written work in a way that large lecturebased classes cannot. I knew I wanted to continue this style of schooling at a place that is home to bright tutors, driven students, and seemingly infinite resources. I chose Mansfield

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Mansfield is a college renowned for its diversity and welcoming spirit. It was therefore with great pride that we greeted the class of 2016/17, which draws together students from far and wide, including the following universities: UC Berkeley, Boston College, Cornell, Dickinson, Haverford College, Holy Cross, University of Kentucky, Kenyon College, Middlebury College, Northwestern, Wheaton College, Santa Clara, Wake Forest, William Jewell College, and the University of Virginia.

How would you describe your residential life at Mansfield?

I lived in student accommodation outside College, with many other Visiting Students and third-year Mansfield students. When homesickness set in this was a comforting place to live, among other Visiting Students who could relate to missing parents and American peanut butter. Though many of us were from the US, we came from different cities and states so we brought with

VISITING STUDENT PROGRAMME

New friends, new challenges, and many different kinds of scones Jacqueline Bashaw VSP, 2015/16, College of the Holy Cross My decision to study abroad at Mansfield for the duration of my junior year was a daunting one. I initially wasn’t sure that I wanted to leave my home university, my family, and my country for a whole year, but fortunately I decided to go. More than a year later, I am certain that I made the right decision. From day one, Mansfield welcomed me with open arms. I moved in, met my neighbours – amazing students from all over the world – and began to acclimatise to a world full of new friends, new food, and new phrases.

I honestly can’t believe how quickly Mansfield began to feel like home. I never encountered an unfriendly face or felt unwelcome, and the students and faculty went above and beyond to integrate the VSPs into the undergraduate student body. I sang with the Mansfield Choir, played football with the Mansfield/Merton women’s team, and enjoyed warm conversation at formals. While there was certainly a learning curve as I became familiar with a new culture, this ultimately proved a pretty smooth transition.

My initial fears about leaving home were quickly mitigated by Mansfield’s community, the godsend that is Skype, and a good cup of tea. At the end of my year abroad, I found it hard to fathom that I had been away from home for nine months because I felt so comfortable in the UK. While I spent a good portion of those months in the library, this was certainly time well spent. I was able to take advantage of Oxford’s immense academic resources in some of the most beautiful buildings I have ever set foot in, let alone studied in.

Although the tutorial system was at first strange and confusing,

us unique experiences to share with other citizens of our own country. We truly became a family, cooking meals – or assembling bowls of cereal – together and exploring the vibrant Cowley Road together, home to some of the most culturally diverse food in Oxford, which was right outside our doorstep.

What other activities are you involved in?

I was involved in Mansfield rowing and wrote a few pieces for Cherwell, Oxford’s independent student newspaper. I loved being able to dabble in Oxford’s many diverse clubs, from Model UN to Cricket Cuppers. However, I found my time singing with Mansfield’s choir to be the most rewarding activity during my time abroad. Not only did we sing together, but we ate together at every Wednesday-night Formal Hall. These nights away from writing always produced a sigh of relief, and provided muchneeded laughter. I also treasured my time with Mansfield’s Christian Union. This group of Mansfield students helped me to walk in faith, challenged my complacency, and offered their homes to me during the holidays. I was blessed to experience the New Year with my new English families in Ivybridge and Thornbury.

What’s your favourite part of your daily routine?

I miss most my 15-minute commute from my home on the Cowley Road to the Mansfield Library or the Social Science Library

I really enjoyed the emphasis it placed on independent study and the freedom it granted me to explore topics that I found interesting. I learned how to articulate my thoughts better, both verbally during tutes and in my numerous essays, and became more comfortable with defending my ideas and – fortunately, only on occasion – being wrong. I was not only able to take courses, such as Old English, that aren’t offered at my home institution, but I took these courses in one-on-one meetings with world-renowned experts. I would never have had these life-changing experiences if I hadn’t decided to attend Mansfield. The work was rigorous and difficult, but I was never posed a challenge I could not tackle.

My tutors were certainly demanding, but brilliant, understanding, friendly and compassionate too.

Although Oxford did require me to step-up my game academically, I somehow found that there was always time for fun. On the nights I spent in the library, I always had good company – and my time out of the library was spent on ice-cream runs, dinners with my academic family, twilight walks, and pub crawls. Oxford is simply a fantastic city, full of history and excitement. I tried many different kinds of scones, watched world-class plays and musicals, wandered through incredible parks and meadows, and learned to punt on the Cherwell (which admittedly included a quick swim, too…). I had so many amazing days, and honestly believe that my year was better spent because I stepped outside my comfort zone (but never on the grass!). While I was anxious leaving home, at the end of my year it was just as hard to say goodbye to Mansfield, my home away from home.

– also known as my other two homes. These walks served as daily reminders of where exactly I was during the stressful season of deadlines; I was a part of the story of a unique and historic city and university. My friends and I, English and American alike, would often urge each other to look up during our walks around town. Each time, we would spot a new gargoyle or discover a new plaque on a city-street that would fill us with wonder and gratitude at the opportunity to study in such a beautiful place.

What surprised you the most?

I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it is to travel in the UK. Brilliant public transportation allowed me the opportunity to frequent London, visit Birmingham – and explore Cardiff Castle one uncharacteristically sunny Saturday during Hilary term. If you have no qualms about overnight buses and cramped quarters on low-cost planes, then travelling from London to mainland Europe is also a snap. I never believed it possible for the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and the Tuscan sun to be so attainable.

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RESEARCH

The changing flavours of neutrinos lead to a Stockholm banquet Steve Biller, Professorial Fellow in Particle Physics at Mansfield, was part of the team investigating the nature of neutrinos at a Canadian observatory. Here he describes his work, and the success that led to the team being awarded the most prestigious scientific prize of all.

Just over a year ago, on October 6th, 2015, I received the news that my former project, the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO), was a recipient of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics. The award would be presented to the Canadian international director of the experiment, Art McDonald, but it was a great honour and cause of celebration for all of us who worked on SNO over its 20-year lifespan.

At the time of the announcement, I was helping with the induction of our current second-year Physics students when I got an email from a colleague. So, I excitedly gave the new students all an impromptu 15-minute lecture about what our experiment had achieved before energetically dashing off to meet up with colleagues at the department.

Neutrinos are among the most fundamental particles in the universe, constituting a large part of what’s called the Standard Model of particle physics: the most precise scientific theory yet constructed. They come in three distinct types, or ‘flavours’ – electron neutrino, muon neutrino and tau neutrino – each named after the particle they tend to produce when interacting (or which can interact to produce them). Next to photons (particles of light), neutrinos are believed to be the most abundant particle in the universe, being created in vast numbers during the Big Bang. They are produced in radioactive decays all around us (and, indeed, in us) and are also produced in nuclear reactors. They power the shock waves from supernova explosions and are liberated from the fundamental nuclear fusion reactions that power our sun. And they are very, very peculiar, only interacting by the weak nuclear force, which means that typical neutrinos can carelessly travel through light-years of lead. Oddly, they are all left-handed, meaning they all spin counter-clockwise relative to their direction of travel, and they were all assumed to be massless according to the Standard Model. But neutrinos have a history of throwing up surprises…

In the mid-1950s, Ray Davis set out to make the first measurement of neutrinos from the sun in order to study directly the nuclear processes at work. There are about 100 billion neutrinos produced by 34 Mansfield 2015/16

the sun passing through your thumbnail every second, yet chances are that only a handful will ever interact with your body during your lifetime, making their detection extremely challenging. But Ray succeeded, finally earning himself a Nobel Prize in 2002.

However, he found only about one third of the neutrinos that theory predicted. Over the years, other experiments using different techniques found similar deficits, and so the puzzle grew to become known as the Solar Neutrino Problem. Only electron neutrinos can be produced in the sun and this is the only type of neutrino that these experiments were designed to observe. One hypothesis was that some of the electron neutrinos might somehow be changing into one or both of the other flavours, thus escaping detection.

A peculiar notion, but there was a theoretical mechanism for this in which neutrinos are treated as mixtures of different ‘mass states’ that were distinct from their ‘flavour states’ (if you’re struggling to conceptually grasp that notion, you’re not alone!). But neutrinos weren’t supposed to have mass.

In fact, none of these properties emerges as a natural prediction from the Standard Model.

‘For a little over a week, the people of Sweden stop everything and do their utmost to celebrate intellectual achievement as hard as they possibly can. How wonderful.’

The way to test for this clearly and settle the issue once and for all came from Herb Chen, who was my PhD thesis advisor in California. Herb was a truly brilliant scientist and incredibly friendly and good-natured. He put together the collaboration and saw the proposal through its first crucial stages, but tragically died of leukaemia at the early age of 45, so never got to see his dream fulfilled so spectacularly.

Herb’s idea was to use heavy water (often denoted as D2O), where the hydrogen atoms have an extra neutron bound to them. This has the property of allowing us to see two different reactions with neutrinos: one of which is only sensitive to electron neutrinos, while the other is equally sensitive to all neutrino flavours.

And so we found ourselves 2km underground in an ultraclean laboratory built in a less than ultra-clean nickel mine in Sudbury, Canada, with a detector involving the largest acrylic sphere ever constructed, holding 1000 tonnes of D2O loaned to us by Atomic Energy Canada Limited from its CANDU power reactor programme. The collaboration of scientists working on the project involved various universities and national labs in Canada and the US, plus our group in Oxford (which was the only European institution involved). Our group had an enormous impact, with students producing 20 PhD theses covering all aspects of the experiment.

There were immense technical challenges and the project suffered several delays as we skirted disaster time and again.

Finally, the experiment started taking data in 1999 and our first paper was published in 2001.

In the end, it all worked beautifully, even better than we’d hoped: the results unequivocally demonstrated that fusion processes in the sun work as theoretically predicted and that neutrinos do, indeed, change flavours. Together with the Japanese experiment Super-Kamiokande – which had meanwhile also shown a similar ‘disappearance’ of muon neutrinos produced by cosmic-ray interactions in the earth’s atmosphere – this confirmed the hypothesis of neutrino oscillations and demonstrated that neutrinos had mass.

The 2015 Nobel Prize was shared by the two experiments, whose discoveries have opened up one of the most active areas of fundamental research today. These discoveries may seem esoteric, but they have a ripple effect in underpinning our most basic understanding of how the universe works, and can lead us in unexpected directions.

On the Saturday at the end of October 2015, I received a phone call from Art McDonald inviting me to join him, along with my Oxford colleagues Nick Jelley and Dave Wark, for Nobel Week. We were greatly privileged to be among the small group of scientists on the project who were invited to attend. And so, early that December, we found ourselves on a plane headed for Stockholm and the Grand Hotel.

The city is pretty, spacious, clean, with an austere grandness spread over pieces of land joined together by bridges. The Old Town is a lovely place to wander and visit the Nobel Museum and have a ‘fika’ at a cosy café. Nobel Week is Mansfield 2015/16

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RESEARCH

‘Next to photons, neutrinos are believed to be the most abundant particle in the universe…’ full of events and is relentless for the laureates, involving various interviews, a TV discussion panel, meetings with assorted dignitaries, photographs, etc. For the guests, there are various get-togethers at this museum or that embassy, the Nobel lectures, the Nobel concert and, of course, the ceremony itself followed by the banquet and ball. The banquet is televised nationally, with chefs giving the inside story to viewers about the design of each course, and with the laureates each giving short speeches. Televised?

Watching people eat and listening to occasional talks about neutrinos or parasitic worms? I asked one of the servers about the audience share: ‘Oh, at least one million. It’s very popular.’ In a country of nine million? Marvellous!

The final event is the Student’s Nobel Nightcap: an elaborate celebration hosted at the University of Stockholm by university students from all over Sweden. They plan the event throughout the year, spend a couple of weeks setting it all up, and vie for places in a lottery to be able to attend.

The event starts at midnight, following on from the banquet and ball. Upon entering, we receive a booklet with a map to the different rooms: Aztec Temple, Atlantis, Express Train, Desert, etc. We are in white tie, as are many of the students – aside from the occasional pirate or caveman. The Nightcap goes on into the early hours, but it has been a long day and we depart a bit past 1.30am, serenaded by a student choir as we leave.

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It was an unforgettable experience and, to be honest, also a very strange one. We did feel slightly detached from everything else. For the Nobel guests, there were large periods of quietness punctuated by events that were often overly rich with formality and ceremony, even by Oxford standards. We were all keenly aware of how fortunate we were and how the handful of us in attendance in no way represented the extraordinary efforts of many others who fought to make the experiment a success and could not be there. And we were also very aware of the role that luck plays generally in being selected for a Nobel Prize. But, all that aside, for a little over a week, the people of Sweden stop everything and do their utmost to celebrate intellectual achievement as hard as they possibly can. How wonderful.

Art’s first stop on the way back from Stockholm was to Oxford. I picked him up from the guest room at Mansfield on the Monday to take him to the department. He was bleary-eyed, operating on just a couple of hours’ sleep and, I think, very glad just to have made it this far. That evening, Art became an Honorary Fellow of the College and we held our own Nobel banquet at Mansfield. Many of our past PhD students and postdocs from SNO came back to join us, along with our current PhD students, family members and friends from the department and the College. Not a bad way to round off the year.

The Adam von Trott Scholarship at Mansfield Graham Avery Convenor of the Adam von Trott Memorial Appeal Adam von Trott

Adam von Trott, who studied at Mansfield in 1929, was a German diplomat and a central figure in the opposition to Hitler. In his memory, The Adam von Trott Scholarship brings German students to Mansfield to study for a Master’s degree in Politics or International Relations.

terms of academic excellence and as a model of international cooperation’.

In February 2016 the future of the Scholarship – which is awarded jointly with the University’s Department of Politics, and is supported by the Adam von Trott Memorial Appeal – was assured by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding. This Memorandum provides that, from 2016/17 onwards, the German Foreign Office (of which Adam was a member) will contribute substantially towards the financing of the Scholarship.

As Convenor of the Adam von Trott Memorial Appeal, I was invited in May 2016 by Göttingen University, of which Adam was an alumnus, to give a lecture in its Adam-von-Trott-Saal. I also visited the Stiftung Adam von Trott at Imshausen in Hessen. The Stiftung and the University are keen to strengthen their links with Oxford.

At the signature ceremony in Mansfield’s Old Hall, the Deputy Head of the German Embassy in London, Tania Freiin von Uslar-Gleichen, acknowledged the dedication of supporters of the Adam von Trott Appeal in making ‘a special and invaluable contribution to the transformation of relations between our countries, as partners, as allies, as friends’, and Professor Ros Ballaster of Mansfield praised the Adam von Trott Scholarship as ‘an outstanding success in

Imshausen, now an international centre for peace and dialogue, was the family home where Adam grew up.

In his last letter to his wife Clarita, before he was put to death in Berlin in August 1944, Adam wrote: ‘Grüß’ mir Imshausen und seine Berge’ (‘greet Imshausen and its hills for me’). It is on a hill above the house that Adam is commemorated by a simple wooden cross, which I visited in the company of Verena Onken von Trott, his elder daughter.

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Building foundations Mansfield Alumnus Anthony Lunch talks about building livelihoods and education in Nepal, India and Tanzania.

Anthony Lunch (Geography, 1964) has an interesting ‘retirement job’. As Chief Executive of MondoChallenge Foundation, the charity he founded in 2004, his days are filled with keeping tabs on the education and livelihoods programmes the Foundation runs in Nepal, India and Tanzania.

The charity works with 40 villages in the Helambu region of Nepal, 70 miles north-east of Kathmandu. The work is primarily education-based and involves providing multiple resources for schools across the region. ‘A large part of the work has been the rebuilding of schools after the earthquake last summer’ explains Anthony. ‘The destruction was appalling and 80% of buildings were destroyed. Since then, we have rebuilt seven schools, with a budget of £400,000.’

‘It’s not just buildings’, Anthony emphasises. ‘We also fund teacher salaries and training, and have a scholarship programme enabling 70 of the brightest pupils to go on to take their A levels.’ Education for girls is a top priority and the charity has built three hostels in the region, which enables girls to avoid what is frequently a two-hour walk through dangerous hills to their homes. ‘This has helped reduce the drop-out rates for girls, which is vital for ensuring a better educated future population,’ he explains.

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Out in Tanzania, the challenges are very different. ‘Although we also support education programmes here’, Anthony points out, ‘the most exciting work we do is linked to livelihoods.’ In a country with 25% of the population affected by HIV, many widows are left struggling to cope with young children and are desperate to find ways to feed and house their families. Since 2005, the charity has provided small grants to enable some of these women to set up their own businesses.

Anthony has just returned from a visit to see how the programme is progressing. He explains: ‘with a grant of less than £100 each, to fund initial stock, the fearless Tanzanian tradeswomen are doing more than make ends meet. There are 900 of them now and they run businesses as diverse as selling vegetables from market stalls, breeding chickens, making clothing or running small cafés. One of the ladies I saw was making bricks, with her own kiln supplying several local builders.

From her initial grant, she had borrowed more to expand and was a true success story, even sending her two children to university in Dar es Salaam.’

How did all this happen? ‘I guess it had its origins in my year spent in Gambia as a VSO teacher before coming up to Mansfield. It was one of the best years of my life, and just living and working in a developing country left an indelible impression.’

Anthony went on to a successful career in business, working for multinationals in the UK and Belgium, and setting up his own company. He never expected to be working in the charity sector, but feels the skills and experience he gained in the business world have been a great help. Does he look forward to proper retirement? ‘I will ease myself out as soon as we find a successor, but I expect to stay involved and help wherever I can.

This is like a family to me and you don’t cast that off easily!’

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Daniel Seiderer’

A proud member of the Mansfield family…

Daniel Seiderer (MBA, 2007), President of the Mansfield College Alumni Association, remembers his time at the College and the values it instilled – and he looks forward to the Association continuing to support Mansfield in its momentous new endeavours.

When I finished my MBA as a student of Mansfield College, my intention was to stay in the UK for another two to three years. That was eight years ago, and as I write this, I’m still living in the UK. I say ‘as I write this’ on purpose. When the article is published, I shall probably already have moved back to Germany. My years in the UK were interesting ones and I have definitely not regretted staying here for much longer than originally intended.

Completing an MBA at Oxford and enjoying life in the city as a Mansfield student certainly prepared me well for a career as a management consultant in London. The MBA equipped me with a sound business understanding and the knowledge of all those models and frameworks

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that are so useful as a consultant. And at Mansfield College, I encountered from the first day the very best of what I fortunately came across again and again during my time in London, and which helped to prolong my stay in that great city: a culture of openness and inclusiveness, an atmosphere of learning and a willingness to debate and to respect differing opinions.

These are the values that I cherished about Mansfield College then. And these are the values that Mansfield College still represents and will continue to represent.

This is why I not only enjoyed life as a Mansfield student, but am – to this day – proud to be a member of the Mansfield family.

Daniel Seiderer (right) at Student of the Year Awards, Lucy Mahoney (centre) and Peter Bergamin.

And family it is. Whenever I return to Mansfield, I feel as welcome there as on my first day entering the College grounds. One of the best occasions to return to the College as an alumnus is obviously the annual Summer Garden Party, followed by the Mansfield College Alumni Association dinner.

As every year, the party in 2016 was perfectly organised by the College’s Development Office. A big, big thank you to all the staff there. I had the honour to report on all the support that the Alumni Association provided to Mansfield and its students throughout the year: from financial support for study trips, sporting and cultural activities, to the annual Student of the Year awards. This year’s Students of the Year were Lucy Mahoney and Mary Townsend. Unfortunately, Mary couldn’t attend in person and therefore received her award in absence. Lucy was presented with her award at the dinner, which – with an inspiring talk from Ian Blatchford (Jurisprudence, 1983), Director of the Science Museum Group, and John Oxlade’s wonderful piano music – made a perfect end to a perfect day.

The Summer Garden Party also presented an ideal occasion to witness the progress on the construction work for Mansfield’s new Love Lane building, which will not only house the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights but will also provide much needed student accommodation.

Speaking about the Institute of Human Rights, the fact that it will be hosted by Mansfield does make me proud. In times of uncertainty, human rights are under particular threat. And uncertainty unfortunately is what we are increasingly facing, with wars in the Middle East and Afghanistan, rising tension with Russia, the continued threat of terrorism and Brexit. In such times, the new Institute is more needed than ever to act as a protagonist for universal human rights and to provide through its research and teaching, guidance on human rights matters. Isn’t it fitting that Mansfield should accommodate the Institute, given that its ethos is so much in line with the values I encountered as a Mansfield student – and that the College continues to represent so well?

The Mansfield College Alumni Association will certainly keep supporting the College in this as in all other endeavours.

And though I will have relocated back to Germany when this article goes to print, I am already looking forward to returning to Mansfield and seeing the College and the new Institute of Human Rights flourish.

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ALUMNI NEWS

Dhruti Shah English Language and Literature, 2000 BBC journalist and producer Dhruti Shah was chosen as one of 2015’s 13 global Ochberg Fellows by The Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism in New York. Established in 1999 for journalists seeking to deepen their knowledge of trauma and improve reporting of traumatic events, the Ochberg Fellowship is awarded to outstanding senior and mid-career journalists in all media who have specialised in covering violence, conflict and tragedy, including such issues as street crime, family violence, natural disasters, war, conflict and genocide.

Pamela Clemit English, 1979 Pamela Clemit has moved to Queen Mary University of London, where she was appointed Professor of English in October 2015. She was also elected Supernumerary Fellow at Wolfson College, Oxford, in February 2016.

Pamela is the recipient of the KeatsShelley Association of America Distinguished Scholar Award for 2016.

Andrew Beattie Geography, 1987 In February 2016, Andrew Beattie published his latest book Storm Force: How Britain has been forged by the wind.

Exploring how wind and storms have influenced Britain’s history, economy, culture and landscape, the book, published

by Oxford-based publisher Signal Books, charts the impact of the wind in Britain through famous events in the country’s past – from the Roman invasion to the D-Day Landings – and through notable storms, such as the ‘Great Storm’ of October 1987 that Andrew experienced when at Mansfield.

Paul Burke VSP, 1991 Paul Burke, an attorney with Utah law firm Ray Quinney & Nebeker, was inducted into the Utah Youth Soccer Hall of Fame on March 4th, 2016 in Ogden, Utah. Paul, a shareholder, director, and general counsel of Ray Quinney & Nebeker, received the highest honour of Utah’s soccer community in recognition of his service as a player, coach, referee, administrator, and president of the Utah Youth Soccer Association. He was also acknowledged for his leadership in improving the organisation’s technology and business practices during his tenure as president.

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Paul was celebrated, too, for his role in the development of the Salt Lake Regional Athletic Complex, a 140-acre facility with 16 soccer and sports fields in north-west Salt Lake City. He had proposed the project in 2003 to then-Mayor Rocky Anderson, and then worked with the State Parks Board to facilitate the transfer of the land to Salt Lake City.

Paul went on to serve as co-chair of the successful bond campaign to finance the construction of the facility. Former Mayor Ralph Becker has described him as having been ‘instrumental as a community advocate during the bonding process, as this [project] has needed public support every step of the way.’

Paul became the first former player from Utah Youth Soccer to be inducted into its Hall of Fame. In addition to providing pro bono legal service to the organisation, he also served as the Chairman of its Rules, Protest & Appeals, and Disciplinary Committees. Since 2006 Paul has also been the Chairman of the Rules Committee for the US Soccer Federation.

Robert Lively Jr DPhil Theology, 1970 Robert Lively Jr published a new book in January 2016, entitled The Mormon Missionary: Who is that knocking at my door? The book is based on personal interviews with nearly 300 past, present, and future Mormon missionaries.

It is available on Amazon, and is an outgrowth of Robert’s DPhil thesis, which looked at Mormonism in 19th-century England.

Keith Powell VSP, 1990 Keith Powell has opened a solo law practice in South Carolina, USA. The firm, Powell Counsel LC, will focus on educational law, public infrastructure contracting, organisational and public governance, and local government public finance.

Mansfield alumni among new senior appointments in the Armed Services We are very proud of the fact that two Mansfield alumni feature in the latest senior appointments to the top echelon of the Armed Services.

Sir Philip Jones Geography, 1978 In April 2016 Sir Philip Jones KCB was promoted to the rank of Admiral and appointed First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff. He joined the Royal Navy in 1978 and, after training at BRNC Dartmouth, went up to Mansfield to study Geography.

Sir Christopher Deverell PPE, 1979 Sir Christopher Deverell KCB MBE was promoted to the rank of General and appointed Commander Joint Forces Command, in April 2016. He was commissioned into the Second Royal Tank Regiment in 1979, the year in which he also matriculated at Mansfield.

LAW NEWS

Mooting at Mansfield Jay Mehta (Jurisprudence, 2013) and Joel Semakula (Jurisprudence, 2014) On 14th November 2015, Mansfield College hosted the bi-annual Law Dinner and Moot Court event, in which alumni, current students and law fellows gathered for drinks and dinner, and watched students compete in a Moot Court. The event provided a great opportunity for alumni practising law to reconnect with the College, and for current students to network and learn more about life after graduation.

The evening opened with a Moot Court consisting of two rounds, in which eight of Mansfield’s current undergraduate and second BA Jurisprudence students argued a contract law problem. The fictitious case centred on a dispute over a new wine, custommade for Mansfield College, which was subsequently rejected by its provost.

The students mooted around two issues: an implied duty of good faith in English contract law, and the enforceability of an alleged penalty clause. If students were ever in any doubt before the moot, they soon realised the dynamic nature of case law, as a new pivotal contract case was decided just days before the moot, adding an interesting layer to the debate as well as throwing the students’ research on its head!

The first round was judged by David Bailey and Andrew Hurst, current barristers and past students of Mansfield, who gave students advice on their arguments and mooting styles in preparation for the appellate round. During the final round, the mooters were fortunate enough to argue before two High Court judges and a former judge of the Court of Appeal, Sir James Dingemans, Sir Simon Picken and Sir Stephen Sedley. Many in the audience did not envy those in the final, as they faced stiff challenges from three of the finest legal minds this country has to offer.

All were particularly impressed by the thoughtful and clear judgements delivered by the Justices immediately following oral argument. If only tutorial essays could be produced with such ease.

Following the moot, all of the attendees enjoyed dinner among old friends and new. Current students loved hearing about Mansfield in the past, and alumni were able to experience how College continues to develop; many stayed to grab a drink at the new bar.

As current students, we really appreciated seeing the Mansfield law community together for the evening and hope to see more alumni at future events. Our thanks go to those in the Development Office for organising the evening.

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Nostalgic return for Peruvian presidential candidate Paul Flather Supernumerary Fellow, Secretary General of the Europaeum Miguel Hilario-Manenima (VSP, 1997) made a nostalgic return to his alma mater in Oxford in the summer, to discuss policy ideas linked to his campaign as a candidate in the 2016 Peruvian presidential election.

Miguel shot to prominence when he arrived in Oxford as a Visiting Student reading Politics, Philosophy and Economics. Born in a canoe, and growing up deep in the Amazonian rainforest, he was the first from his tribe ever to study beyond secondary school level.

He has long campaigned on behalf of the indigenous Amazonians – and indeed I served for many years as a trustee on his UK foundation to support Amazonian Indians.

campaign. There were initially some 20 candidates for the presidency, whittled down to 10 with withdrawals and two controversial disqualifications. Miguel remained in the field, but was crowded out in the final 10. The winner, after a close run-off, was the new President, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, a former investment banker who just edged out his chief rival Keiko Fujimori, daughter of a former President deposed among serious corruption allegations, by some 40,000 votes.

Since leaving Oxford and completing a PhD at Stanford, Dr Hilario has worked for both the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington DC and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Miguel likened his campaign experience to ‘swimming with the sharks’. Even media coverage and polling outcomes, he said, appeared dependent on how much candidates would pay them. ‘The older the sharks, the more comparative advantage they had against the newcomers and good-intentioned politicians,’ he added.

Nevertheless, he travelled thousands of kilometres to meet voters by bus, plane, boat, motorcycle and car, especially to speak in remote areas. He visited 19 of the 25 Peruvian departments, setting out to appeal mainly to the disadvantaged, the urban poor, women, younger voters, and the indigenous. ‘We are promoting reforms in Peru, so not only those at the top reap the benefits of economic development. There should be equal opportunities for all,’ he explained. His highlight, he recalled, was a televised debate with Miss Fujimori, where he focused on his anti-corruption agenda. Miguel revealed he ‘won’ by 3:2 according to post-debate reports in La República newspaper.

He entered the Presidential campaign committed to promoting the rights of indigenous Amazonians and to fighting the corruption that has dogged politics in Peru, bringing down many previous Presidents. His talk, delivered to a packed seminar room in Mansfield’s Garden Building, was suitably entitled ‘Inequality in Peru: Challenging the Political Status Quo?’ He outlined some of his plans as a future President of Peru, specifically to fight corruption, promote income equality, boost the nation’s schools and promote so-called eco-tourism.

After a lively discussion, informal talks continued with students – many from the University’s Latin American Society – and then in the SCR and over dinner in hall.

Miguel has long admired Oxford where, as he puts it, ‘so many of the world’s famous politicians’ studied. Indeed, he recalls that he was inspired to launch his own longstanding interest in politics while a student here, when he stood for a political election for the first time in his life. He says he made up his mind while cycling to the College library from his digs in the old Woodstock Road residential block.

He set up a new party, Progresando Perú (Developing Peru), early in 2016 to campaign against corruption – and to support him in the presidential

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The experience has not, though, put him off politics.

He says he has learnt a great deal, and hopes to be in a position to fight future elections on behalf of the interests of Amazonian Indians. He now plans to spend some time thinking about and researching future policy ideas. As he says: ‘One thing I learned at Mansfield from the tutorial system is we need to have a better way of encouraging knowledge by asking questions and doing research.’

Dr Paul Flather, who chaired the seminar in Mansfield, has given lectures in Peru on how to tackle political corruption there.

2016 PRIZES

College and University prizes 2016 Scholarships Christopher Baird (Geography) Kirstie Bosman (PPE) Angus Braithwaite (Materials) Yi Hern Chang (Engineering) Lev Chechik (Materials) Dennis Christensen (Mathematics) Owen Clarridge (Geography) Joseph Dax (History) Elizabeth Deane (History) Nigel D’Souza (Mathematics) Kirstine Dunk (English) Wojciech Dziwulski (Engineering) Jack Frigaard (Engineering) Jiajin Gong (Engineering) Isabelle Green (Geography) Max Grodecki (Philosophy & Theology) Ella Grodzinski (Human Sciences) Qianjun (Ellen) Hang (Mathematical & Theoretical Physics) James Harris (Mathematics) Mark Hattersley (Mathematics & Statistics) Mihai Hrecinuc (Engineering) Zhongyi Hu (Mathematics & Statistics) Joseph Inwood (History) Louis Jamart (Human Sciences) Jordan Juritz (Physics) Ludovico Lazzeretti (Engineering) Yang Lu (Physics) Stephanie McGuire (Theology) Alexander Oscroft (History) Arthur Pander Maat (Mathematics) Elizabeth Parsons (English) David Peters (Mathematics) Aleksandar Ristic-Smith (Engineering) Joseph Seddon (PPE) Emmeline Skinner Cassidy (Oriental Studies) Christopher Smart (History) Emily (Laura) Spiers (English) Keziah Stephenson (PPE) Marius Todea (Mathematics) Pei Yi (Perry) Wang (Mathematics) Joseph White (History) Laura Worman (Geography) Yuxin Yin (Materials) Kieran Zielinski (PPE)

Exhibitions Imogen Brown (Materials) Lucy Coupe (English) Rebecca Freedman (Theology) Kate Gerrand (Human Sciences) Natalie Tan (Materials, Economics & Management) Zichao Wang (Mathematics) Elliot Warriner-Bacon (Physics) Edwin Watson-Miller (Mathematics) Shuai Xie (Engineering)

Instrumental Exhibitioners Kim Darrah (PPE) Nicholas Bushnell-Wye (Jurisprudence) Owen Clarridge (Geography)

COLLEGE PRIZES Worsley Prize for Law Danielle Buckett

Mason Lowance Prize in honour of John Creaser for best performance in English language and/or literature 2nd-year work Elizabeth Parsons Mason Lowance Prize in memory of Stephen Wall for the best performance in English Finals Thomas Barnett Helena Wilson Sarah & Peter Harkness Prize for Prelims James Harris (Mathematics) Joe Seddon (PPE).

College Essay Prize Barry Sadid (Oriental Studies) Principal’s Prize Ludovico Lazzeretti (Engineering) Henty Prize for outstanding 2nd-year work in Geography Benedict Nother Visiting Student Prize for 2015/16 Yujing (Lisa) Fan (Wellesley College)

Adam Monk Scholars Nigel D’Souza & Zhongyi Hu Bob Coates Prize for Mathematics Pei Yi (Perry) Wang Kwabena Osei-Boateng Engineering Science Prize Mihai Hrecinuc

UNIVERSITY PRIZES Lev Chechik (Materials Part I) Gibbs Annual Prize for Best Overall Performance in Part I Katherine Danks (Materials Part II) Nomination: IoM3 R H Craven Award for Best Polymers Graduate Katherine Danks (Materials Part II) Nomination: IoM3 James S Walker Prize for Best Polymers Project Ella Grodzinski (Human Sciences Prelims) Gibbs Book Prize India Kirkpatrick (Materials Part II) Ironmongers’ Company Annual Award: Best Part II Talk Ludovico Lazzeretti (Engineering Part B) Gibbs Prize for best performance in FHS Engineering Science (Parts A&B combined) Joel Semakula (Law FHS) D’Souza Prize for Overall Best Performance in Second BA Rusheb Shah (Materials Part I) Prize for Best Team Design Project Vidar (Ben) Skretting (Oriental Studies FHS) Senior James Mew Prize for Arabic Weiming Tan (BCL) South Square Prize for Corporate Insolvency Law (Shared in 2016) Elliott Thornley (Philosophy & Theology FHS) Gibbs Prize for performance in Philosophy papers in Honour School of Philosophy & Theology Yuxin Yin (Materials Prelims) Armourers and Brasiers’ Company/ Rolls-Royce Prize for outstanding overall performance in Prelims

John Sykes Prize for best Part I Materials results Lev Chechik

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EXAMINATION RESULTS 2016

DOCTORATE (DPhil) Astrophysics Pass Eleanor Legg Clinical Medicine Pass Ayako Kurioka Computer Science Pass Ana Armas Romero Engineering Science Pass Nicole Miranda

Mai Zhang English Pass Erin Nyborg Geography & the Environment Pass Lucy Mahoney

Andre Neves History Pass Mary Blanchard Law Pass Carla Ferstman Materials Science Pass Yi Guo

Chi Jin Darren Neo Obstetrics & Gynaecology Pass Maurizio Poli Oriental Studies Pass Peter Bergamin Physics Pass David Rackstraw Theology Pass Dafydd Daniel

James Patrick

MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY (MPhil) MPhil Economics Pass Lukas Hensel MPhil International Relations Pass Hendrik Schopmans MPhil Modern British & European History Pass John Layde MPhil Politics Pass Neil Dullaghan

Irene Scarpa

MASTER OF SCIENCE (MSc) MSc Applied Statistics Distinction Nicholas Galbraith Pass Ivan Damgov

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MSc Biodiversity, Conservation & Management Pass Lucie Douma

MSc Clinical Embryology Pass Mishael Arif Khawaja MSc Education Pass Ashwin Menon MSc Environmental Change & Management Pass Karolina Kalinowska MSc Mathematical & Computational Finance Distinction Mohamed Anas Ouaaline Pass Mengyang Ge MSc Mathematical Modelling & Scientific Computing Pass Simon Vary MSc Social Science of the Internet Pass Chun Yue Raphael Leung MSc in Water Science, Policy & Management Pass Si Jia Lee

MASTER OF STUDIES (MSt) MSt in British & European History Pass Christopher Cherry-Hulley MSt in English Pass Ann-Kathrin Kirschbaum

Alexandra Marcus

Dillon Sefic MSt in English Language Pass Chong Hu MSt in Jewish Studies Pass Steven Philp MSt US History Distinction Nicholas Hitchcock MSt Medieval History Distinction Emilie Lavallee MSt in Modern Jewish Studies Pass Marius Bischoff

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (MBA) Distinction

Pass

Reuben Ayley Michael Railton Massimiliano di Tommaso Nicholas Ingle Dimitar Stankov Muhammad Toronoglu Tania Warren

MASTER OF PUBLIC POLICY Pass

Dorkina Myrick Joseph Ssentongo

MJURIS Pass

Stergios Aidinlis Lukas Koehler

BCL Pass

Anca Bunda Amba Kak Weiming Tan

MASTER OF ENGINEERING (MEng) Engineering Science Class I Frederick Fielding

Sarab Sethi Class II.ii Gianluca Bush Engineering, Econ & Management Class I Ulysse Schnyder Class II.i Chutian Huang Materials Science Class I Katherine Danks Class II.i India Kirkpatrick

Jack Shuttleworth

MASTER OF MATHEMATICS (MMath) Mathematics Class I Thomas Babb Class II.i Jack Violet

MASTER OF PHYSICS (MPhys) Physics Class I Class II.i

Alex Nim Rachael Ewins Daniel Shipley

BACHELOR OF ARTS (BA) Engineering Science Class III Danting Hu English Language & Literature Class I Thomas Barnett

Helena Wilson Class II.i James Costello-O’Reilly

Isabel Linehan

Natasha Somi

Fay Watson

EXAMINATION RESULTS 2016

Geography Class I David Smith

Frances Thompson Class II.i Rachael Kershaw

Holly Leadbitter

Ryan Lewis

Jessica Loring History Class I Mark Collett

Martha Robinson Rhodes

Sophie Wright Class II.i William Ferris

Sara Semic History & Politics Class II.i Holly Winfield Human Sciences Class II.i Samuel Peacock Jurisprudence Class I Jonathan Mellor Class II.i Jehanara Mehta-Jamooji

Lisa Robertson

Joel Semakula

Joseph Sorrell Mathematics Class I †Pei Yi Perry Wang Class II.ii Yakang Qi Mathematics and Statistics Class I †Mark Hattersley Oriental Studies Class I Vidar Skretting PPE Class II.i Luke Charters-Reid

Andrea Cigala

Alexander Clark

Roshan Forouhi

Rayan Sabbah

Gina Sternberg Philosophy & Theology Class I Elliott Thornley Theology Class II.i Clementine Collett

Helen Harvey

UNCLASSIFIED HONOURS Engineering Science Part B Class I Wojciech Dziwulski

Jack Frigaard

Ludovico Lazzeretti Class II.i Shuai Xie Materials Science/ MEM Part I Hon Pass Lev Chechik

Tabitha Jones

Rusheb Shah

Tinger Wen

James Zhou Physics Part B (4 years) Class I Qianjun Hang

Jordan Juritz

Elliot Warriner-Bacon Mathematics Part A Hon Pass William An

Dennis Christensen

Arthur Pander Maat

David Peters

Marius Todea

Joshua Vaughan

Zichao Wang Physics Part A Pass Timothy Conn

Zachary Keane

Zhiyuan Li

Yang Lu

MODERATIONS Jurisprudence Pass Medinat Biobaku

Danielle Buckett

Heather Burke

Daisy Deller

Alexandra Pitchford Jurisprudence (Law Studies in Europe) Pass Matthew Prestidge

PRELIMINARY EXAMINATIONS Engineering Distinction Yi Hern Chang

Mihai Hrecinuc Pass George Barnett

Aaron Hicks

Charlotte Martin

Eleanor Naris English Pass Katrina Collison

Lucy Coupe

Susanna Cripps

Neelam Dovedi

Eloise Lee

Miriam Nemmaoui

Matthew Palmer

Amaris Proctor

Riya Rana Geography Distinction Isabelle Green

Laura Worman Pass Seth Garley

Seren Robinson

Lara Sevillano Driscoll

Soyoon Shin

Andrew Stevens History Distinction Elizabeth Deane

Joseph Inwood

Alexander Oscroft

Christopher Smart Pass Safa Dar

Alex Dobson

Madeline Rose History & Politics Pass Lucy Huckle Human Sciences Distinction Ella Grodzinski Pass Kate Gerrand

Ella Vickers Strutt Materials Science Distinction Yuxin Yin Pass Jack Aspinall

Alexandra Austin

Tara Milne

Matthew Sylva Mathematics Distinction Nigel D’Souza

James Harris Pass Fei Ge

Matthew Harrington

Troy Sharples

Edwin Watson-Miller Mathematics and Statistics Distinction Zhongyi Hu PPE Distinction Kirstie Bosman

Joseph Seddon Pass Catherine Bean

Daisy Chandley

Edward Ray

Hannah Smith

Matilda Tempest Physics Pass Aondoyima Ioratim-Uba

Kathryn Jones

Carlo Mussolini

Samuel Sutherland

Anna Wald

Daisy Walker Theology Pass Moritz Adam

Callum Greaves Diploma in Legal Studies Pass Ariane Clement

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OBITUARIES

• Ride bikes; • Visit museums; • Watch clouds; • Enjoy nature; • Drink tea; • Think of me.

By Musab Bora, Esra Bulut Aymat, Sarah Jones, Melissa Sapuan, Joanna Shelver and Amber Wheeler

Sohaib Shamim Physics, 2002 September 9th, 1984 – November 6th, 2015 DR ELEANOR SIAN KIRK Human Sciences, 1996 November 4th, 1977 – August 1st, 2016 Eleanor (Elee) Kirk passed away from cancer in August 2016, aged 38. Elee arrived at Mansfield 20 years ago with a passion for science and museums. Her undergraduate dissertation focused on the ethics of human cloning. She had a particular gift for communicating scientific ideas clearly, and upon graduating pursued a career in museums as a researcher and educator.

After gaining an MSc in Science, Culture and Communication from the University of Bath in 2001, Elee worked for Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum for seven years, writing and presenting workshops for over 20,000 children. There she met her partner, writer, lecturer and philosopher Will Buckingham.

She then worked at the Thackray Medical Museum in Leeds before embarking on a PhD at the School of Museum Studies, University of Leicester. Her doctoral thesis, ‘Crystal Teeth and Skeleton Eggs: Snapshots of young children’s experiences in a natural history museum’ (2014), based on fieldwork in Oxford, has been downloaded hundreds of times. After a research post in the Law School at Leicester, she was appointed Senior Lecturer at the UCL Institute of Education in 2015.

Details of the varied research projects Elee worked on can be found on her website, http://eleekirk.com/research/. She was also a founding volunteer for the charity ‘Kids in Museums’, working to improve the experience of children in museums. In 2016, in an act of typical generosity, she launched an appeal for the Leicestershire and Rutland Hospice (https://www.justgiving. com/fundraising/Elee-Kirk).

Elee made many friends at Mansfield and was active in College life. We will remember her creative, engaging mind and pragmatic ways, but above all her warmth, loyalty and sense of fun. Her varied interests – from the music of Simon & Garfunkel and The Beatles to pet cats and hand-drawn snails – were captivating. The insights and skills she shared with us at University, such as cooking healthy vegetarian recipes, have stayed with us, serving as daily reminders of how much she has touched our lives. She was a joy to know and is sorely missed, but her legacy lives on. She designed a beautiful postcard to be handed out at her memorial, on which she wrote:

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Sohaib Shamim, who graduated from Mansfield in 2006 with a Masters in Physics, unexpectedly passed away on November 6th, 2015, aged 31. Sohaib grew up in Lahore, studied at Lahore Grammar School and was a recipient of the prestigious Noon Foundation scholarship (awarded to outstandingly gifted candidates from Pakistan) to pursue further education at Oxford.

Shortly after graduating, despite several options open to him to choose a comfortable life in London, he returned to Pakistan, passionate to expand education in his home country. He joined the physics faculty of what is perhaps Pakistan’s leading university, the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS).

Among other interests, Sohaib was particularly enthused by mountaineering and cricket – reflected in the many photographs of him standing amid the tortuous peaks of northern Pakistan, or dressed in all-white cricket gear on one of Oxford’s cricket pitches.

Above all, though, what distinguished Sohaib most was his exemplary humility and extraordinary sense of humanity and compassion. You would be hard pressed to find a single example of him having harmed or shown animosity to another, or having complained about a bad situation. On the contrary, many who knew him will be quick to point out his constant willingness, selflessly and unconditionally, to help not only close friends but also distant acquaintances whenever called upon.

Sohaib’s funeral was held in Lahore on November 6th, 2015. He is survived by his parents and younger brother.

The Reverend Dr Robert Paul Wyatt March 23rd, 1934 – June 29th, 2016 Robert Paul Wyatt was born in Danville, Virginia, to the late Emmett Jackson Wyatt and Bessie Elliott Wyatt. He graduated from Friend High School in South Boston, and the University of Richmond, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Union Presbyterian Seminary, where he received Master of Sacred Theology and Doctor of Ministry degrees. He went on to study at Mansfield and at Princeton Presbyterian Seminary.

OBITUARIES

Robert served three congregations: Mill Swamp Baptist, Ivor, Virginia; Druid Hills Mission, Danville, Virginia; and for 29 years at High Hills Baptist Church in Jarratt, Virginia. In retirement, he served several churches as interim pastor, including several years as part-time pastor of Adams Grove Baptist Church in Emporia. He was active in associational life, serving as a member of the Board of Missions of the Baptist General Association, moderator of the Petersburg Baptist Association, parliamentarian of the association for 14 years, and chair of the History and Archives Committee. He also edited the centennial history of the Petersburg Baptist Association.

Robert enjoyed teaching, and taught for off-campus schools of the University of Richmond and Bluefield College. He taught seminary courses in local churches for many years as a cochair of the Seminary Extension Department of the Petersburg Association.

He was a life-long student of history and wrote on the life of Robert E Lee. He was also active in local religious and civic groups and was a member of the Greensville-Emporia Ministerial Association and Jarratt Ruritan Club. Robert became a founding member of the Greensville-Emporia choir, where he enjoyed singing Christmas programmes for 30 years. In addition, he served as chaplain for the Southern Virginia Regional Medical Center and its predecessor, Greensville Memorial Hospital. Known to many as ‘Preacher Bob’, he loved Southside Virginia and the people who live there.

Robert is survived by his wife of 56 years, Brenda Owen Wyatt; and their children, David Owen Wyatt, Joan Elisabeth Wyatt, William Michael Wyatt and Robert Andrew Wyatt; his twin sister, Betty Wyatt Grant and husband, Jim, of San Diego; as well as many nieces and nephews who were attentive and kind to him.

He was preceded in death by three sisters, two brothers; and son, Ronald Charles Wyatt.

Robert had many friends in Jarratt and Emporia and treasured each one. A memorial service was held at High Hills Baptist Church, Jarratt, Virginia on Saturday July 23rd, 2016.

The Reverend John Robert Achtermann Theology, 1961 May 11th, 1935 – November 27th, 2016 The son of career army chaplain, Lt Col (ret) Revd Ariel H Achtermann, and Martha Olm Achtermann, Bob was born in Bucyrus, Ohio. The family moved frequently as his father was reassigned, but the moves were embraced as an opportunity for new experiences. Notably, Bob lived in Nuremburg Germany from 1946 to 1950 while his father, who spoke fluent German, served as chaplain to prisoners and witnesses in the War Trials there. He graduated from high school in Anchorage, Alaska.

Bob was deeply involved with the Boy Scouts of America earning most merit badges, including the Order of the Arrow and the Eagle Scout Award. A highlight of his boy scout career was being

selected as one of 50,000 scouts to attend the first national jamboree in California during the summer of 1953.

Committed to education for himself and others, he earned degrees from Franklin & Marshall College, and Hartford Theological Seminary. He engaged in postgraduate research and study at Mansfield, and at Temple University in Philadelphia. He taught at Tougaloo College, Mississippi and at Temple University.

In 1963 Bob was ordained a minister of the United Church of Christ. His ministries were marked by a commitment to social justice and human service. A brief stint as a labour relations specialist for the US Navy served to reinforce his primary commitment to ministry within the Church. He served multiple UCC congregations as full-time, supply or interim pastor from 1965 to 2000. Bob was also active with the Penn Central Conference, serving on the Board of Directors with special interest in outdoor ministries. He worked for the United Church Board for Homeland Ministries as executive director for the Council for Health and Human Ministries from 1977 to 1989.

Bob introduced his children to camping, hiking and biking. He spent days with the family backpacking on the Appalachian, Horseshoe, and Midstate trails in Pennsylvania. He was the pacesetter, mechanic, or ‘sag wagon’ driver for many a bike race.

He also organised a family camping trip through Europe out of a VW camper, sharing with them his love of archaeology, the diversity of cultures, history, and nature.

Bob enjoyed travel and reading mystery and espionage novels.

He also read three archaeology magazines, and the National Geographic monthly. His musical taste was eclectic. Another hobby was painting – in oils and acrylics, and in a variety of styles – his home becoming an art gallery of sorts. He kept a camera close at hand to capture the beauty of the moment. His greatest pleasure, perhaps, was watching the sunset from his deck while savouring coffee and a cigar.

Bob is survived by his wife of 57 years, Barbara Schlegel Achtermann, his sons Mark and Karl, daughter-in-law Karen Nicklaus Achtermann and grandchildren, Willow, Thomas R, and Joshua K of Lancaster, and a niece, Liz A Lentz (Gary) of Audobon, New Jersey. He is predeceased by both parents, his older brother, Ariel James Achtermann, and nephew A James Achtermann, Jr.

The Reverend Norman Barry Jones MA Theology, 1955 February 1st, 1934 – July 6th, 2016 Norman Barry Jones, a former student of Mansfield, sadly passed away in July 2016. We extend our deepest sympathies to his family and friends.

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Fellows’ News and Publications

Professor Ros Ballaster Professorial Fellow in English From October 2017 Ros takes up a three-year appointment as Head of the Faculty of English Language and Literature.

Recent publications ‘Bring(ing) Forth Alive the Conceptions of the Brain: From Stage to Page in the Transmission of French Fiction to the English Restoration Novel’, in Jacqueline Glomski and Isabelle Moreau (eds), Seventeenth Century Fiction: Text and Transmission (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016): 183-198.

‘Introduction’ with Ruth Perry, and coeditor of ‘Special Issue: Festschrift for Janet Todd: A Life in Feminist Scholarship’, Women’s Writing (2016), 23(3).

‘Foreword’ to Aisha al-Bauniyyah, The Principles of Sufism, ed and intro by Th. Emil Homerin, The Library of Arabic Literature (New York: NYU Press, 2016): xi-xv.

‘Enter the Novel: Prose Fiction in the Georgian Theatre,’ in web resource, Eighteenth Century Drama: Censorship, Society and the Stage (Marlborough: Adam Matthew, 2016). http://www. eighteenthcenturydrama.amdigital. co.uk/Explore/Essays/Ballaster. Ros also served as consultant editor on this library subscription resource.

‘The Rise and Decline of the Epistolary Novel, 1770-1832,’ in JA Downie (ed) The Oxford Handbook of the EighteenthCentury Novel (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016): 409-425.

Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell Professorial Fellow in Physics Congratulations to Jocelyn, who in summer 2016 was awarded an Honorary Degree from Rutgers University in New Jersey.

Rutgers celebrated its 250th anniversary in 2016 and during the ceremony Jocelyn shared the stage with two other recipients of Honorary Degrees: Bill Moyers, a retired public broadcasting reporter, and one Barack Obama.

Jocelyn comments: ‘I have never seen anything like it before! The Commencement ceremony was held in the open air, in their football stadium. There were about 10,000 graduands on the field and another 40 or 50,000 family and friends in the stands.’

DAVID M. BERRY ANDERS FAGERJORD

Professor David Berry Visiting Fellow Recent publications Digital Humanities: 50 Mansfield 2015/16

DIGITAL HUMANITIES

Knowledge and Critique in a Digital Age, David M Berry and Anders Fagerjord (Polity Press, 2017).

Dr Pam Berry Supernumerary Fellow in Geography Pam is a Lead Author in the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services European and Central Asia Assessment’s chapter on nature’s benefits to people and quality of life.

She has recently been awarded a grant of £99,275 NERC Green Infrastructure Innovation funding for a project ‘Tools for planning and evaluating urban green infrastructure – Bicester and beyond’ (2016/17).

Recent publications ‘Why conserve biodiversity? A multinational exploration of stakeholders’ views on the arguments for biodiversity conservation’, P Berry, V Fabok, M Blicharska, Y Bredin, M Llorente, E Kovacs, N Geamana, A Stanciu, M Termansen, T Jaakelainen, J Haslett, and P Harrison (2016), Biodiversity and Conservation ‘What can conservation strategies learn from the ecosystem services approach?

Insights from ecosystem assessments in two Spanish protected areas’, M GarcíaLlorente, P Harrison, P Berry, I Palomo, E Gómez-Baggethun, I Iniesta-Arandia, C Montes, D García del Amo, and B Martín-López (2016), Biodiversity and Conservation ‘Biophysical and sociocultural factors underlying spatial trade-offs of ecosystem services in semiarid watersheds’, M GarcíaLlorente, I Iniesta-Arandia, B Willaarts, PA Harrison, P Berry, MM Bayo, AJ Castro, PA Aguilera, C Montes and B Martín-López (2015), Ecology and Society 20(3).

Professor Stephen Blundell Professorial Fellow in Physics Recent publications ‘Fourier space derivation of the demagnetization tensor for uniformly magnetized objects of cylindrical symmetry’, F Lang and SJ Blundell (2016), Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials, 401: 1060-1067.

La2SrCr2O7F2: A Ruddlesden-Popper Oxyfluoride Containing Octahedrally Coordinated Cr4+ Centers’, R Zhang, G Read, F Lang, T Lancaster, S J Blundell and MA Hayward (2016), Inorganic Chemistry 55: 3169-3174.

‘The science and art of seeing’, a review of The Starry Sky Within: Astronomy and the Reach of the Mind in Victorian Literature,

by Anna Henchman, Contemporary Physics 57 (2016): 246-249.

‘Transverse field muon-spin rotation measurement of the topological anomaly in a thin film of MnSi’, T Lancaster, F Xiao,

Z Salman, IO Thomas, SJ Blundell, FL Pratt, SJ Clark, T Prokscha, A Suter, SL Zhang, AA Baker, and T Hesjedal (2016), Physical Review B, 93, 140412(R) ‘Unconventional magnetism on a honeycomb lattice in a-RuCl3 studied by muon spin rotation’, F Lang, PJ Baker, AA Haghighirad, Y Li, D Prabhakaran, R Valentí and SJ Blundell (2016), Physical Review B, 94, 020407(R).

Professor Georgina Born Professorial Fellow in Music, Anthropology and Sociology In the Queen’s Birthday Honours list of 2016, Georgina was awarded an OBE for services to musicology, anthropology and higher education – many congratulations to her.

In September 2016, Georgina also became the Chair of the Interdisciplinary Culture, Media and Performance group of the British Academy. This position has the responsibility of helping to bring cultural, media and performance studies into full status as a Section of the Academy. The Section will be the first to cross between the Humanities and Social Sciences – an important historical development.

Dr David Clifton Stipendiary Lecturer in Engineering Science David has been appointed as a permanent Associate Professor by the Department of Engineering Science. He has also received an EPSRC ‘Grand Challenge’ award for ‘future leaders in healthcare’ – worth £2.2m.

Over the past year, David’s work has been awarded a total of nine grants, including £4m from the Wellcome Trust for tracking antibiotic resistance with tuberculosis bacteria.

Professor Michael Freeden Emeritus Professorial Fellow in Politics Michael has been appointed as a Professorial Research Associate at SOAS, University of London. He has also been elected a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and has been awarded a two-year Leverhulme Emeritus Fellowship.

Professor Kathryn Gleadle Tutorial Fellow in Modern History This year Kathryn has taken up a role as Director of the Centre for Gender, Identity and Subjectivity (CGIS), an interdisciplinary research centre based in the History faculty. Projects will include a workshop on global and comparative feminisms and events to celebrate LGBTQ history month.

Fellows’ News and Publications

Professor Andrew Higgins Tutorial Fellow in Law In 2016 Andrew Higgins received an Australia Day Award for his work on the Investor State Arbitration, Philip Morris Asia v Australia in respect of Australia’s introduction of tobacco plain packaging laws. The Tribunal recently dismissed Philip Morris’s claim on jurisdictional grounds. Andrew has acted as Special Counsel for the Australian Government since 2011 on the constitutional, investor state arbitration and WTO challenges to its tobacco plain packaging laws. The constitutional challenge was dismissed in 2012 and the WTO challenge is ongoing.

Separately, Andrew was recently re-appointed to the World Health Organisation’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control expert group, on Article 19 ‘Liability’, on behalf of the Union for International Cancer Control. Andrew was first appointed to the group in 2013 and authored the group’s review of international best practices on civil and criminal liability for tobacco. The group’s mandate was extended by the 6th Conference of the Parties.

Dr John Jarick Lecturer in Theology (Old Testament) Recent publications Perspectives on Israelite Wisdom: Proceedings of the Oxford Old Testament Seminar, J Jarick (ed) (London: Bloomsbury, 2016).

‘The Rhetorical Structure of Ecclesiastes,’ in the above volume: 208-231.

‘Ecclesiastes Among the Tragedians’, in Goochem in Mokum / Wisdom in Amsterdam: Papers on Biblical and Related Wisdom Read at the Fifteenth Joint Meeting of the Society for Old Testament Study and the Oudtestamentisch Werkgezelschap, Amsterdam, July 2012, GJ Brooke and P Van Hecke (eds) (Leiden: Brill, 2016): 95-107.

The Revd Dr Philip Kennedy Senior Research Fellow in Theology Recent publications ‘“Saying the Same Thing

by Saying Something Different”: Ephesians, The Church and Vatican II,’ in The New Testament and the Church: Essays in Honour of John Muddiman, John Barton and Peter Groves (eds) (London: Bloomsbury, 2016): 132145.

Professor David Leopold Tutorial Fellow in Politics Recent publications ‘On Marxian Utopophobia’, Journal of the History of Philosophy, 54/1 (2016): 111-134.

‘Isaiah Berlin, Karl Marx, and the Enlightenment,’ in Isaiah Berlin and the Enlightenment, Ritchie Robertson and Laurence Brockliss (eds) (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016): 21-34.

Professor Paul Lodge Tutorial Fellow in Philosophy Recent publications ‘Eternal Punishment, Universal Salvation and Pragmatic Theology in Leibniz,’ in Lloyd Strickland et al (eds) Universal Genius – Tercentenary Essays on the Philosophy & Science of GW Leibniz (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016). ‘“Whether any material being thinks, or no.” Leibniz’s Critique of Locke on Superaddition,’ Proceedings of the 10th International Leibniz Kongress (Hanover: 2016).

‘True and False Mysticism in Leibniz,’ Leibniz Review (2015).

‘Heidegger on the Being of Monads: Lessons in Leibniz and in the Practice of Reading the History of Philosophy,’ British Journal for the History of Philosophy (2015).

Professor James Marrow Professorial Fellow in Materials Science Recent publications ‘Multi-scale damage modelling in a ceramic matrix composite using a finite-element microstructure meshfree methodology,’ L Saucedo-Mora, and TJ Marrow (2016), Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 374 (2071).

‘Three-dimensional displacement mapping of diffused Pt thermal barrier coatings via synchrotron X-ray computed tomography and digital volume correlation,’ D Khoshkhou, M Mostafavi, C Reinhard, MP Taylor, DS Rickerby, IM Edmonds, HE Evans, TJ Marrow, BJ Connolly (2016), Scripta Materialia, 115: 100-103.

‘Time-resolved synchrotron tomographic quantification of deformation during indentation of an equiaxed semi-solid granular alloy,’ B Cai, PD Lee, S Karagadde, TJ Marrow, T Connolley (2016), Acta Materialia, 105: 338-346.

Professor Richard Powell Tutorial Fellow in Geography Recent publications ‘Geography and politics redux? Introduction to the Virtual Issue’ (2015), Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 40(4): 596-602.

‘History and Philosophy of Geography III: Charting the Anabasis?’ (2015), Progress in Human Geography, 39(6): 827-843.

‘What futures for the pillar of geography?

A report on the 16th International Conference of Historical Geographers’, RC Powell and RM Wilson (2015), Historical Geography, 43: 1-4.

‘Institutions, resources and the governance of postcolonial Greenland’, in DA Berry, N Bowles and H Jones (eds), Governing the North American Arctic: Sovereignty, security and institutions (Houndmills and New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016): 200-216.

Professor Alison Salvesen Supernumerary Fellow in Oriental Studies From January to June 2016, Alison convened a six-month residential research project for international scholars at the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies, entitled ‘Israel in Egypt’ and funded by the Polonsky and Dorset Foundations.

Two visiting scholars, Dr Lindsey Askin (Cambridge) and Dr Craig Perry (Princeton), were welcomed to Mansfield’s SCR for the duration of their stay.

The project investigated the experiences of Jewish communities in Egypt from the fifth century BC to the medieval period, drawing particularly on the ancient papyri and medieval manuscripts preserved by the unique climate of Egypt. Apart from the seminars, workshops, and a two-day conference, the group visited the British Museum’s special exhibition, ‘Egypt: Faith after the Pharaohs’, the Oxford Papyrology research unit, and viewed the Cairo Geniza manuscripts in the Bodleian’s Weston Library. Fortuitously, they were even able to attend a performance of Handel’s oratorio Israel in Egypt at the Oxford Early Music Festival.

It has been commonly thought that the large Jewish communities in Egypt were wiped out by the Romans following the suppression of the widespread Jewish revolt in 117AD. One finding of the project was that Jewish life did continue in Egypt after the revolt, though at a less visible level. Surviving documents also indicated that Egyptian Jews in both the antique and medieval periods were often highly mobile, with much interaction between communities and families in Egypt and the Holy Land.

Mansfield 2015/16

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Events Calendar 2017 Events held at College unless otherwise specified

FEBRUARY New York Drinks Reception Date TBC Further information and invitations will be sent out in due course.

Tuesday 28th at 5pm Annual Hands Lecture With guest speaker, Lord Browne of Madingley, at the Oxford Examination Schools.

MARCH London Drinks Reception Date and venue TBC Further information will be sent out in due course.

Friday 24th to Sunday 26th Meeting Minds: Alumni Weekend in Asia Held in Hong Kong and Singapore. Please visit www.alumni. ox.ac.uk/events/meeting-minds-alumni-weekend-asia for more information.

MAY Saturday 6th 1887 Society Annual Dinner The annual dinner of the Society for current and former Mansfield Geographers.

Saturday 27th MCBC Eights Week Dinner at College Come and cheer Mansfield crews on by the Isis on the Saturday of Eights Week! Join us afterwards for dinner and speeches from the MCBC captains.

JUNE Saturday 24th Summer Garden Party & Commemoration Service Our annual event to celebrate the end of another academic year. Open to all alumni, students, College staff, SCR members, and all family and friends of the College.

Mansfield Alumni Association Annual General Meeting & Dinner Old Boys’ cricket match Date and venue TBC Please note this event is provisional and dependent upon sufficient prior interest being expressed. Please get in touch with the Development Office as soon as possible if you are interested in taking part.

52 Mansfield 2015/16

SEPTEMBER Friday 15th to Sunday 17th Meeting Minds: Oxford Alumni Weekend Held at venues throughout Oxford. Please visit www.alumni. ox.ac.uk/alumni_home for more information.

NOVEMBER The Adam von Trott Annual Lecture and Drinks Reception Date and Speaker TBC DEGREE CEREMONY DATES Saturday 4th March 2017 Saturday 15th July 2017 Monday 17th July 2017 Tuesday 18th July 2017 Friday 3rd November 2017

Mansfield Lecture Series As well as all these exciting events, please don’t forget our regular lecture series every Friday at 5pm during term time.

Entry is free and all are welcome to attend. More information on speakers will be announced on our website.

Our events calendar will always be subject to additions, which we shall keep you informed about via our E-Newsletter and on our website. For further information about events at Mansfield, please contact Alumni Officer, Kathryn Worthington: Email: alumni.officer@mansfield.ox.ac.uk Telephone: 0044 (0) 1865 270 998 We look forward to seeing you!