Welcome from a Fellow

“It has been exciting to see regular life returning in the College, and fantastic to see Fellows, staff and students back again, as well as to welcome alumni for real-life events.

© DAVID JOHNSON

Welcome to the 2022 edition of The Fountain.

I was honoured to be elected Trinity’s Vice-Master in February, succeeding Professor Grae Worster (1976). I have been a Fellow in Law at Trinity for nearly 20 years, and I am delighted to take on this new role. This academic year has been notable for both the return to something nearer normal and the College’s major new commitment to a pilot student support programme – the Trinity Maintenance Grant – a generous package which we hope will help to alleviate the financial pressures so many students are facing (see page 6). We have also responded to the conflict in Ukraine, and one of my new responsibilities is chairing the committee overseeing the Trinity Ukraine Relief Fund (see page 7), which was established in March. The College community is committed to supporting those affected. We are tremendously grateful to all alumni who have given to the fund and have made a real difference to the support we can offer.

It has been exciting to see regular life returning in the College, and fantastic to see Fellows, staff and students back again, as well as to welcome alumni for real-life events. I was lucky enough to attend the Trinity Law Association Dinner in March (pictured left), along with nearly 100 Law alumni, and it was wonderful to be able to catch up with old friends in person. I hope that my new role will allow for many more opportunities to meet with alumni – you’ll find a list of forthcoming events on the back cover of the magazine. Stories connect us. During difficult times, they can help us to navigate and make sense of the world and our experiences. With this in mind, this edition has a sharing stories theme.

Freya Berry (2010) writes about the stories we tell ourselves, and how they shape our lives and the lives of others – a theme she explores in her debut novel The Dictator’s Wife. Dr James Poskett (2012) reveals the global origins of modern science, uncovering the hidden contributions of scientists who don’t usually feature in standard histories. We interview three Trinity storytellers on their work on stage and screen – Rupert Goold CBE (1991), Isabel Adomakoh Young (2012) and John Haidar (2009) – and Trinity Senior Postdoctoral Researcher Dr Alexandra Amon (e2022) sheds light on her research mapping the structure and evolution of the Universe.

In our regular features, Library Graduate Trainee Lucy Dodge reveals a hidden treasure from the Wren Library, we spend a day in the life of Romane Thomas, Trinity’s Endowment Investment and Sustainability Officer, and our crossword compiler Encota (Tim King, 1980) has crafted another cryptic crossword for you to wrestle with.

I hope you enjoy the magazine. Please do keep in touch – don’t forget to share your stories with us at alumni@trin.cam.ac.uk

Professor Louise Merrett (e2003) Vice-Master