It has been a difficult year for us all, but news of great work by members of our community is uplifting. This includes those who are continuing to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, and those working in many other fields. Here’s what has been happening in the last few days.

Economist Professor Diane Coyle wrote about how “divergent fortunes” – those able to save money during the pandemic and those who lost work – will affect the UK’s post-COVID economic recovery (subscription required).

Fellow and chemist, Dr Stephen Cox, has been awarded the “Best paper by an Emerging Investigator” by the Journal of Chemical Physics.

Master of Churchill, Professor Dame Athene Donald, spoke about the best ways of encouraging more young women to study STEM subjects.

Fellow and Associate Director of the UK Dementia Research Institute, Professor Giovanna Mallucci, alongside Professor Kenneth S. Kosik of the University of California Neuroscience Research Institute, has been awarded the 2021 Potamkin Prize for Alzheimer’s Research.

Alumna Dr Olivia Remes from the University’s Department of Public Health and Primary Care discussed mental health and offered advice and tips (starts 41m 50s).

Fellow and Statistician Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter looked at Covid-19 comparisons between countries, and has been shortlisted for the Dr Katharine Giles Award for best popular article written by a scientist or engineer for his piece When politicians cite Covid-19 statistics, they may be wrong – it doesn’t mean the numbers are.

Fellow and social psychologist Dr Sander van der Linden appeared on Times Radio to discuss a reluctance to change habits. (starts 42m 57s).

Gates Cambridge Scholar Luis Welbanks, a PhD student at the Institute of Astronomy in Cambridge, has been awarded a NASA Hubble Fellowship and will begin his programme as a Sagan Fellow in the autumn at Arizona State University, enabling him to continue his studies on exoplanets.

We will continue to keep you informed of all of the work being done by the Churchill College Community. If you have any news you would like to share, please get in touch by emailing comms.manager@chu.cam.ac.uk.