Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge

Last month Fitz Fellow Prof Jason Rentfrow was in Seoul and it was fantastic to take the opportunity of his visit to bring together some of the local Fitz community! Huge thanks to David Gartside (Law, 1995) for hosting a really special event 🙏 🇰🇷

Meet Stephanie who is undertaking a PhD in education here at Fitz:

In a few lines, please describe your research:

‘My research explores how universities can better support students to succeed, particularly those from backgrounds that have historically been at risk of failure in the U.S. higher education system. Specifically, I’m interested in understanding whether academic resilience interventions are effective, for whom they work best, and how universities can successfully implement them at scale. Ultimately, my goal is to help generate evidence that helps make higher education more equitable and improves student outcomes.’

What drew you to this subject?

‘During my senior year at Columbia, I took a seminar on contemporary approaches to Native American education where I was introduced to Angela Duckworth’s research on grit. That was my first exposure to the concept of student resilience in education, and it immediately resonated with me because it put language to my own lived experience of overcoming challenges in boarding school and later at Columbia. What fascinated me was that resilience wasn’t just an abstract academic concept. It was something that could be studied, nurtured, and used to improve people’s lives. I was struck by the idea that there was an entire field dedicated to understanding why some students thrive despite adversity and how institutions can better support them. I’ve been captivated by those questions ever since.’

How did you come to be at Fitz?

‘After completing my MPhil at Oxford and spending several years working across consulting, philanthropy, and education technology stateside, I wanted to return to academia to tackle questions that could have a real-world impact. Cambridge’s Faculty of Education was the perfect place to pursue those interests, and Fitz quickly stood out as a welcoming, supportive, and down-to-earth college community. Funny enough, I later discovered that my supervisor is also based at Fitz, which made my college placement feel even more serendipitous. It has been a wonderful place to call home during my PhD.’

What is the best thing about Fitz?

‘Without question, it’s the people. While I’ve loved being part of the postgraduate community, what has really stood out to me is the kindness and dedication of the College staff. Throughout my first year, and especially in my role as the MCR’s first Steward, the porters, the Wellbeing and Community Inclusion team, the Accommodation team, and the kitchen staff have all gone above and beyond to make Fitz feel like home. Their warmth, generosity, and willingness to help, often in ways that go unnoticed, have made a real difference to my experience. They embody the sense of community that makes Fitz such a special place to be.’

What do you hope to do next?

‘I hope my research will help universities in evidence-based decision making about how they support students. Longer term, I’d love to continue working at the intersection of research, policy, and practice, through collaborations with universities, governments, and organisations, to ensure research leads to meaningful improvements in educational opportunity and student success.’

Meet Omar who studying for his PhD here at Fitz:

In a few lines please describe your research:

'I am researching the risk of cardiovascular disease, namely heart attacks and strokes, in autistic people and what factors may be contributing to this risk.'

What drew you to this subject?

'I have always been interested autism research and cardiovascular medicine separately, and saw this as a great way to combine the two. It also felt like a way to make a big positive impact on the lives of people who often face barriers when accessing healthcare. This is especially true given that although the outcomes I am researching are severe, a lot can be done to help prevent them if the risk is identified early.'

How did you come to be at Fitz?

'I didn't fully understand the college system when I was applying to Cambridge and spent a lot of time looking at college websites. Fitz seemed like such a friendly community that perfectly blended the best of the old and new in Cambridge.'

What is the best thing about Fitz?

'I really love its grounds, every season it feels like there are new flowers, shrubs, and vegetables growing. It is also hedgehog friendly!'

What do you hope to do next?

'As an MB/PhD student, I hope to return to medicine and finish my clinical studies, followed by work as a doctor, eventually specialising in something cardiac related.'

We were very pleased to welcome back matriculants of 1966 and 76 for their Golden and Diamond Matriculation Dinner recently. It was wonderful to see old friendship groups reunited, and to reflect together on how the college has grown and changed. A big thank you to Dasha Tenditna for capturing the warmth of the evening in these beautiful photographs.

Meet Mariah who is studying for a PhD here at Fitz:

In a few lines please describe your research:

'I study East Asian history during the Cold War. I'm interested in how Tokyo managed to maintain relationships with both Beijing and Taipei, and how that helped create a stable regional order in which peace was maintained and economic and technological development could flourish, despite the enormous political complexity of the region. One case I'm investigating is the Baoshan Steelworks in Shanghai, a large-scale industrial project built with significant assistance from Nippon Steel in Japan.'

What drew you to this subject?

'My parents loved Japanese popular culture when they were young, and that had a real influence on me. Later I became interested in Japan–China relations. But I noticed that a lot of the research on Japan and China focuses on conflict. I wanted to look at the other side: how were conflicts managed, and how was development enabled?'

How did you come to be at Fitz?

'I first came to Cambridge in 2021 for my MPhil in Japanese Studies at AMES. I read a lot of online posts about Cambridge colleges, and what struck me about Fitz was that it was international, friendly, and chill. I could see myself fitting in, so I put Fitz as my first and only college preference. The reviews turned out to be true! I enjoyed the community so much that when I came back for my PhD in 2023, I chose Fitz again.'

What is the best thing about Fitz?

'The people, and the friendships. Everyone I've met at Fitz has been friendly and supportive. I made friends within days of arriving, and they've been my friends ever since. Even after some of us graduated and moved away from Cambridge, we've kept in touch. I've also received unwavering support from the College in times of need, and that means a lot.'

What do you hope to do next?

'I'm heading to Taipei in September for a year-long research fellowship at Academia Sinica, so I'll be spending my fourth year there. After that, finish my dissertation!'

This week the Master represented the College at the King's visit to open the New Whittle Laboratory, a £58 million facility designed to be the world’s leading research centre for jet engines and power generation. The New Whittle encompasses two elements: the Bennett Innovation Lab: designed to launch 20-30 missions over a decade, each building a new industry in the UK; and the National Centre for Propulsion and Power: a rapid test facility designed to cut the time between ideas and testing from years to weeks. If you'd like to learn more, visit the University's news article here: https://www.cam.ac.uk/news/the-king-officially-opens-cambridges-new-whittle-laboratory

Photos: Ian Jones

Jessica Xiao, a 4th year Veterinary Medicine student here at Fitz recently travelled to Hokkaido University in Japan to undertake a placement in the Laboratory of Parasitology in the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.

During the placement Jessica carried out lab work sorting out ticks collected from the field by s*x and species and field work surveying fox dens around Hokkaido University Campus where she checked camera traps and collected fox faeces.

Jessica reflected on what she learned from the experience: ‘Undertaking this 2-week placement at Hokkaido University has given me a vast amount of knowledge from getting me more confident with molecular laboratory techniques such as PCR, teaching me how to identify different species of worm eggs under the microscope, identifying species of ticks by their morphology as well as the lab's impact on public health.’

‘I witnessed how the lab was involved in surveillance and genetic analysis of Echinococcus multiocularis – a highly zoonotic worm – to determine how it entered Japan (Japan was previously free of this parasite) and advising on how to control this parasite. I hope that I can apply what I have learnt from this placement on clinical placements and the VetMB research project throughout the remainder of my studies.’

Meet Joe who is undertaking a PhD in Engineering here at Fitz:

In a few lines please describe your research:

'I work in the interdisciplinary space between robotics and geotechnical engineering, handily called 'soil-robotic interaction'. Essentially, I am looking at ways to optimise and utilise robotics for any kind of task that involves deformable materials. The s*xy sell is all about making robots that can do lunar construction, but we aren't there just yet.'

What drew you to this subject?

'I was pretty keen to do robotics research (robots are cool)! I enjoy getting my hands dirty and building stuff and seeing how it breaks and how we can make it better, and I'm not that strong so robots let me live out my wildest dreams. The stuff about soil still evades me but don't tell my supervisor that ;).'

How did you come to be at Fitz?

'When I was looking at colleges, I heard lots of things about Fitz having a very lovely postgraduate community. Did you know ours was the first MCR? I was also told that it was quite active which is good because that meant there are lots of different events to go every week (which are all great - thx social secs).'

What is the best thing about Fitz?

'Cliché I know but the community, it really is a warm and welcoming place. I have met many people I hope to know for the rest of my life. I also appreciate that the college doesn't really buy into the 'traditions' that some of the other more classical colleges fall into. That isn't my bag, so it's nice to have a space that feels relatively normal. It really makes the place feel so much more accessible, especially to a student who didn't do their undergrad here.'

What do you hope to do next?

'More research! The freedom it enables me from day to day can't be beaten.'

Fitzwilliam College warmly congratulates Andy Burnham (English, 1988) on becoming Prime Minister today.

At a recent event to launch our new North West Bursaries, Andy described how Fitz ‘ended up changing my life in ways I never could have imagined: introducing me to my wife, Marie-France; banishing my impostor syndrome; and giving me the courage to walk through doors that I had previously assumed would always be off limits.’

Fitzwilliam, founded to open a Cambridge education to talented students of every background, is proud to count both him and Marie-France amongst our alumni community and we send them every good wish as Andy takes up the highest office in public life.

Want to find out more about our North West Bursaries? https://www.fitz.cam.ac.uk/north-west-bursaries

Congratulations to Fitz's Javier Lorente-Macías who was recently awarded a CSAR PhD Award!

The Cambridge Society for the Application of Research (CSAR) PhD Award recognises outstanding research with real-world applications. Javier Lorente-Macías is one of twelve winners across all disciplines at the University of Cambridge.

Javier's research focuses on drop-on-demand inkjet printing — the technology behind semiconductor fabrication, bioprinting or advanced manufacturing. These devices eject thousands of droplets per second with tight positional accuracy, but their performance is limited by complex fluid-structure interaction dynamics that are costly to study experimentally and hard to control.

Javier's work developed new physics-based machine learning and optimization methods to better understand, predict and control these complex physical mechanisms, improving jetting performance and reducing industry's reliance on costly trial-and-error design.

He will use the grant to fund next steps into the commercialisation of this technology.