Here at Churchill we are delighted to welcome three new Honorary Fellows to the College Fellowship, elected at the governing body meeting on October 16th.
Dr Helen Czerski
Dr Helen Czerski (U97) is an oceanographer, physicist and broadcaster. An alumna of Churchill, she has a degree in natural sciences and obtained her PhD in experimental explosives physics in 2006. She has spent several years studying the optics and acoustics of ocean bubbles, and she currently works in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at University College London. As well as being a science presenter for the BBC, Helen is passionate about conveying the beauty and ingenuity of the physical world around us, and the perspective on the world that science provides.
Professor Sir Colin Humphreys
Professor Sir Colin Humphreys (G63) is a materials scientist who has carried out valuable work on the electron microscopy of semiconducting materials. His world-leading research on gallium nitride (GaN) has resulted in a substantially improved understanding of this important material with a wide range of technological applications. During his career, Colin has devoted considerable time and effort to communicating materials science to the wider public. This work led to his being awarded a CBE in January 2003 for services to science as a researcher and communicator, followed by a knighthood in 2010. Since 1996, he has also been a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.
Professor Dame Janet Thornton
Professor Dame Janet Thornton has had a distinguished career as a leading researcher in structural bioinformatics. She is currently the head of the Thornton Group, based at the European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI) in Cambridge. The group develops and uses novel computational methods to visual and analyse proteins on a molecular level. Their research aims to increase our understanding of how enzymes perform catalysis, how these molecules recognise their appropriate ligands and how proteins and organisms have evolved to create life. Professor Thornton was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1999 and received her CBE in 2000. Janet was a Title E Fellow at the College from 1 October 2002 – 30 September 2019.
