from a Fellow

Graduation is a special time for our students, and for me too. It is a real pleasure to lead graduands to their degrees … it is wonderful to see close-up the smiles on everyone’s faces on this momentous day.

It is my pleasure to welcome you to The Fountain 2023. This edition of the magazine has an overarching theme of time, so it is fitting that I am introducing it — in addition to being Trinity Fellow in Engineering Dynamics and Vibration, I am also Praelector (Presenter for Degrees) and Keeper of the College Clock.

Graduation is a special time for our students, and for me too. It is a real pleasure to lead graduands to their degrees with my fingers – literally – and even though I might not get the Latin quite right, it is wonderful to see close-up the smiles on everyone’s faces on this momentous day.

The clock too is special. Ever since 1610, my guess is that curious and enthusiastic students and Fellows have made their way up the Clock Tower for the weekly winding. It is arguably the most accurate tower clock in the world, thanks largely to the dozens of MEng students who have worked on monitoring and regulation projects. You can take a look for yourself on the clock monitoring website clock.trin.cam.ac.uk, and watch me give a behind-the-scenes tour of King Edward’s Gate and the College clock on YouTube youtube.com/watch?v=VNK4O87D62E

On a more serious note, I am Deputy Director of the Centre for Climate Repair, and we are looking at ways to refreeze the Arctic. It’s a real challenge but looking more and more likely as every year passes of relative inaction on climate. Our time to act is running out. If you want to find out more then go to climaterepair.cam.ac.uk/refreeze

In this edition, we interview three Trinity alumni who explore the past – palaeontologist Professor Paul Barrett (1990), film curator Fiona Kelly (1984), and archaeologist and writer Professor Francis Pryor (1964). You can read about the new student mentoring scheme that has been made possible thanks to alumni volunteers sharing their time and expertise, and Rod Davis (1960) shares his Trinity and musical memories, from playing the banjo in John Lennon’s schoolboy skiffle group The Quarrymen in the 1950s, to reforming and touring overseas forty years later.

In the 300th year since the death of Sir Christopher Wren, Library Graduate Trainee Madeline Birnbaum takes us back to the beginnings of the Wren Library. We also spend a day in the life of Milly Yelf, Trinity’s first Student Experience Officer, who is helping students to maximize their time at Cambridge and celebrating their voluntary work in the local community and beyond. To get your cogs whirring, crossword compiler Encota (Tim King, 1980) has created another challenging puzzle.

I hope you enjoy the magazine and please share your thoughts with us. Do follow me on Twitter @clockkeeper and take the time to keep in touch with the alumni team too – share any news via alumni@trin.cam.ac.uk

Professor Hugh Hunt (e1990) Fellow in Engineering and Keeper of the Clock