Baroness Amos publishes maternity and neonatal report
Baroness Amos LG CH PC, Master of University College, Oxford, has published the final report and recommendations of the Independent National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation. Read more about the report here.

In Memoriam: Dr David Bell
The College deeply regrets to report that Dr David Bell, Emeritus Fellow of Geology at Univ, died on 24 June, aged 92. David and his wife Betsy have been longstanding active members of the College community and David will be deeply missed. Read a tribute to Dr David Bell here.

Univ Physicists lead advance in laser Science
Dr Robin Timmis (2020, DPhil Atomic and Laser Physics) and Professor Peter Norreys, Univ’s Supernumerary Fellow in Physics and Professor of Inertial Fusion Science, have unlocked a new route to extreme light intensities, reporting their findings in a study titled “Efficiency-optimized relativistic plasma harmonics for extreme fields”, which was published in Nature. Read more about their study here.

2026 Leavers’ Going  Down Drinks
On Thursday 18 June, finalists and graduate students leaving the College gathered to celebrate the completion of their studies at the 2026 Leavers’ Going Down Drinks, hosted by the Master, Baroness Amos. You can read more and see images of the event here.

Maria Balshaw appointed new Master
Following our announcement in January 2026 that Baroness Amos LG CH PC would be stepping down as Master of University College, we are delighted to announce that the College’s next Master will be Dr Maria Balshaw CBE, former Director of Tate galleries. Read more about Maria Balshaw here.

Sir Ivor and Lady Crewe Chamber Concert
On Saturday 9 May, members of the College community were invited to attend the inaugural Sir Ivor and Lady Crewe Chamber Concert. Dr Na Li (2016, Oriental Studies) has kindly provided the following event report, together with insights from Giles Underwood, Director of Music at Univ. You can read the full event report here.

Frank Marshall Prize Recital 2026
On Friday 29 May, an audience gathered at the 10 Merton Street Lecture Theatre to hear a violin recital by Lucy Baker, winner of the inaugural Frank Marshall Instrumental Prize. You can read more about the event and watch the full video recording of the recital here.

Prestigious Fellowships for three Univ Members
Three members of the College community, Professor Charlotte Deane MBE (1993, Chemistry), Professor Tao Dong and Professor Nicholas Halmi, have been recognised with fellowships in highly-distinguished societies relating to their academic fields. Read more about their fellowships here.

The Power of Volcanoes
Professor Tamsin Mather, Supernumerary Fellow in Earth Sciences and Professor of Earth Sciences at Univ, has teamed up with fellow Oxford volcanologist David Pyle, illustrator Daniel Long and publishers Nosy Crow to produce the book Think Big: The Power of Volcanoes, aimed at 7- to 11-year-olds. Read more about the new book here.

Meet our June 2026 Telethon callers
We are delighted to introduce our team of brilliant Univ students who are reaching out to our Old Members and friends of Univ during our Telethon. Read more about Univ’s Telethon callers here.

Head of the River
University College Women’s First Eight were crowned “Head of the River” in this year’s Summer Eights, which took place from Wednesday 27 to Saturday 30 May. Read more about UCBC winning the Headship here.

Read all of Univ’s College news or explore Univ’s Treasures.

William of Durham Day 2026
On Saturday 23 May, Old Members and friends as well as their guests gathered for William of Durham Day 2026. The annual event recognises current members of Univ’s William of Durham Club, who have pledged a legacy to the College, and also welcomes those considering this special form of giving. Read more about William of Durham day 2026 here.

USPGA Spring Meeting 2026
The USPGA (Univ Society Peripatetic Golf Association) Spring Meeting took place at Goring and Streatley Golf Club, Oxfordshire on 18 May 2026. John Shinkwin (1973, Physics) kindly hosted the event and has also provided an event report. You can read more about the event here.

Read all of Univ’s Alumni news.

Ten glorious days in Türkiye
Leah Fogarty (2021, Biomedical Sciences) has written about her journey through three completely different but equally mesmerising areas of Turkey: Antalya, Cappadocia and Istanbul. This trip was funded by Roger Short Memorial Fund. You can read more of Leah’s travel report here.

DPG Spring Meeting in Dresden
Maximilian Farfaras (2023, Future Propulsion and Power) has provided an account of travelling to the von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics (VKI), located between Brussels and Waterloo in Belgium. This trip was funded by the Graduate Research Training Fund. You can Maximilian’s full travel report here.

Student takes on 5k a day challenge
Univ student Julia Magin (2025, Biomedical Sciences) has been taking part in the “5k a day in June” challenge to raise money for the charity Young Lives vs Cancer. Read more about Julia and her fundraising challenge here.

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Profile: Amber Ford
Learn more about Amber Ford (2023, Medicine), who is a member of University College Boat Club and was the Women’s Captain (2025-2026) and Captain of the Women’s First Eight when they were crowned “Head of the River” in this year’s Summer Eights. You can read Amber’s full profile here.

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Univ North Docuseries Episode Two
The College has released the second episode of the Univ North Docuseries, which moves on from exploring the vision behind Univ North to the complex task of construction. Read more and watch the episode here.

Read all of our Univ North news or visit our Univ North Page.

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Students

•This term, Univ put forward a 7-person strong cuppers team for swimming. The team went head-to-head with other colleges in a continuous 30-minute relay and finished joint second, losing only to a team with 5 blues.

Fellows

•Professor Peter Norreys, Univ’s Supernumerary Fellow in Physics and Professor of Inertial Fusion Science, was presented with the 2025 Holweck Prize during the opening ceremony of the 3rd France-UK workshop on Inertial Fusion Energy & High Energy Density Science, which took place at the Sorbonne in Paris on 29 April.

•Professor Sarah Harper CBE, Supernumerary Fellow in Gerontology, Clore Professor of Gerontology and Director of the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing, discussed how societies and economies can adapt to shrinking and ageing populations on BBC Radio 4 show, The World This Weekend: Where have all the babies gone?. You can listen to the programme here.

Old Members

•Professor Charlotte Deane OBE (1993, Chemistry), Professor of Structural Bioinformatics at the Department of Statistics, appeared on BBC News London on Friday 5 June to explain how artificial intelligence acts as a vital complement to human expertise in vaccine development, by enabling more effective design and improved global health outcomes.

•Maria Cleminson (2000, Modern Languages) has been elected Mayor of Cambridge, shortly after becoming a city councillor. Read more here.

•Olivia Ricketts (1999, PPE) has been appointed the UK’s next Ambassador to Switzerland and will take up the post in January 2027. You can read more about the appointment here.