Two recent Churchill College graduates have been honoured with prestigious Rex Moir Outstanding PhD Thesis Prizes by the Department of Engineering, recognising their exceptional research and marking a significant achievement for the College community.
Dr Matthew Waterson received the award for his 2025 thesis “Hybrid Ventilation Flows”, while Dr Ben Wetherfield was recognised for his 2024 thesis “Diffraction-based Optical Architectures for Processing One-dimensional Data”. Both researchers completed their PhDs at Churchill, where the College’s community provided an ideal foundation for their work.
Matthew Waterson
Matthew’s PhD research explored the fundamental mechanics of combining natural and mechanical ventilation systems through mathematical modelling and laboratory experiments. His work, conducted under Prof. Gary Hunt in the Energy, Fluids and Turbomachinery Division, has significant implications for sustainable building design. Their research also earned them a 2025 CIBSE Dufton Silver Medal for fundamental research in building services engineering.
Having completed his undergraduate degree in Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering at Churchill College in 2017, Matthew initially joined pioneering hybrid ventilation company Breathing Buildings as a graduate engineer before returning to academia in 2020. For him, choosing Churchill for his PhD was straightforward. He’d enjoyed his time at Churchill as an undergraduate, particularly appreciating the College’s physical environment and forward-thinking ethos, so he didn’t consider applying to anywhere else.
Beyond his academic pursuits, Matthew was actively involved in music throughout his time at Cambridge and he continues his musical passion today, playing tenor horn with Haverhill Silver Band.
Now working as an engineer for Cambridge-based Joel Gustafsson Consulting, Matthew is applying his research to real-world challenges.
“I’ve returned to industry as an engineer for a firm of consultants with a particular focus on decarbonisation. It would be great to build up industrial experience and successfully decarbonise lots of tricky existing buildings!”
Ben Wetherfield
Dr Ben Wetherfield’s PhD research evaluated the opportunities and limitations of harnessing diffraction in optical and photonic computing devices. His work in the Electrical Engineering Division’s Centre of Molecular Materials for Photonics and Electronics employed diverse methodologies including experimental optics, large-scale simulation, and mathematical asymptotic analysis.
For Ben, Churchill’s architecture and location proved ideal. The open feeling of the grounds and proximity to his lab and office in West Cambridge made it an excellent choice, in addition to the College’s excellent facilities and supportive community.
“I look back fondly on the special community in the Wolfson Flats when I had the opportunity to live there; it’s a great place for couples and young families. At the time, my friends Ivan and Audray Harkins really made the community tick! I also have to thank my College tutor Dr Liz Demarrais, who provided valuable support at key junctures in my PhD.”
As Music Bursar at the College, Ben took full advantage of Churchill’s two grand pianos, performing a professionally recorded recital in the music centre during Covid. He also enjoyed regular runs along the College’s perimeter path, taking in the Barbara Hepworth statue, the gardens, and views across Cambridge.
Since graduating from Churchill, Ben’s career has taken him from research in computer-generated holography and technology development with computer vision spin-out Prospectral, to software engineering on SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network in Los Angeles. He now works in New York City as a scientific and engineering consultant at Exponent, Inc., where he continues to work across multiple technical areas. One of his current projects includes an involved electromagnetism research component combined with a large-scale software deployment, demonstrating the breadth of his technical expertise.
In his spare time, Ben continues to play the piano and enjoys learning new languages.
