downing text 2012_Layout 1 - Downing College - University of ...

DOWNING COLLEGE ASSOCIATIONJohn was a Member of Parliament for many years and was devoted to Downing,being a member of its Campaign Board and a constant source of wise advice.We have again hosted distinguished visitors to the Fellowship. Dr JohnMcLaren, an economist, is currently the Thomas Jefferson Fellow from theUniversity of Virginia. Dr Arash Khazeni was the Pomona Fellow in the Easterterm, researching a rare collection of early modern Persian manuscripts helduniquely in Cambridge concerning the history of the Eurasian turquoise trade.Sadly we were deprived of our annual Keio Fellow, Professor Yuichiro Anzai,cognitive psychologist and former President of Keio University, who wasappointed as President of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science andtherefore unable to take sabbatical leave. However, we look forward towelcoming Professor Tatsuya Sakamoto, philosopher and former Vice-Presidentfor International Affairs at Keio, in October.The College has held two prestigious academic events during the year. InNovember 2011 Dr Charles Sawyers, Investigator at the Howard Hughes MedicalInstitute and Chair of the Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program at theMemorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, gave an outstanding and well-attendedOon Lecture on ‘Overcoming cancer drug resistance’. The Oon lecture series,funded by the Oon family of doctors in Singapore, has become a major event inthe biomedical year in the University. In March we held the second ‘CatalysisConference’ on the theme ‘The Problem with Justice’. Keynote lectures weregiven by Fellows Paul Millett, Amy Goymour, Adam Ramadan, Graham Virgoand David Feldman. They were joined by Professor Sarah Worthington(Downing Professor of the Laws of England) and Professor Catherine Barnard(Professor of European Union Law and Employment Law), both members ofthe Law Faculty and Fellows of Trinity College. The conference was a greatsuccess, as was the ‘Brain and Mind’ conference the previous year, and we intendfor this to become an annual event in the College calendar. Next March, theCatalysis Conference will be on the general theme of ‘Time and Space’.One of the special pleasures associated with the Catalysis Conference is theopportunity it provides to meet the many Downing alumni who attend. Therehave been several other events at which I have been fortunate to meet and catchup with old members of the College. The Alumni Day and Association dinner,held on the weekend before Freshers arrive, is therefore the event that marksthe beginning of the academic year. It was very well attended last year andprovides the opportunity also to enjoy the excellent events held by the Universityon its Alumni Weekend. The London event was held at the Academy of MedicalSciences new building – the old CIBA Foundation – in November. In theSpring I went with our Development Director, Gabrielle Bennett, to visit ourmany alumni in Hong Kong and many of them came to a really enjoyable24