Sugden Prize Success for Dr Massey and Professor Swaminathan
Dr Massey (MHI-Robinson Senior Research Fellow) and Professor Swaminathan (Engineering) are part of a team that have recently received the Sugden Prize from The Combustion Institute (British Section) for the best journal article published in 2023. The research is a collaboration between the Department of Engineering Cambridge and UCL Mechanical Engineering, and supported by funding from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., Takasago, Japan.

In the award-winning paper 'Influences of heat release, blockage ratio and swirl on the recirculation zone behind a bluff body', the team investigated the influences of the swirl number, blockage ratio and heat release on flow structures. Find out more: https://www.eng.cam.ac.uk/news/sugden-award-combustion-institute.

Mathematics STEP Offer Holders' Day
Earlier this spring, eight of our Mathematics offer holders attended a STEP Mathematics workshop hosted by our Deputy Senior Tutor, Dr Chris Warner, alongside Bob Rawlinson, a local Mathematics teacher, and five of our current Mathematics students.
The sessions included help, guidance and group activities focused on tackling past paper problems. Our current students also ran a "How I prepared for STEP" session including a useful Q&A session.

Chris Warner said: "Our offer holders contributed enthusiastically to the workshops and I believe that they left with a 'we can do it' attitude that will underpin their further preparations for the STEP exams in June." 

Robinson PhD Student is Finalist in Technical Innovation Awards
Congratulations to Xiang Li, a Robinson College PhD student at the Department of Engineering. We're pleased to share that Xiang has been selected as one of the two finalists in the Technical Innovation category at the UKRI Innovate UK Immersive Tech Awards 2025. This is a national award recognising outstanding emerging student researchers and engineers in immersive technology across the UK. The final winner announcement will be announced on 2 June 2025. 

Hong Kong and Singapore
The Warden and the Development Director's recent trip to Hong Kong and Singapore offered us a fantastic opportunity to reconnect with alumni, friends, and supporters of Robinson College. The evening dinners, kindly organised by Dr KK Chan (1986, Electrical and Information Sciences) and Sok-Theng Cheng (1990, Law), brought everyone together in a truly memorable way (including the evening event pictured at the China Club in Hong Kong).

The Boat Race Success for Robinson Students
Congratulations to Robinson students Theo Hatcher (2021, Natural Sciences Tripos) and Louis De Neve (2021, Natural Sciences Tripos) who both competed and won their races in The Boat Race, contributing to Cambridge's landslide victory this year.   
Theo (pictured left) was in the Lightweight Blue Boat at seven seat and Louis (pictured right) was the cox for Blondie, the women's reserve boat.

Robinson Medic Represents Team GB
Robinson medic, Shubang Nagalotimath (2020, Medical Sciences) has been selected by British Powerlifting to represent Team GB at the upcoming World University Powerlifting Championships, hosted by the International Powerlifting Federation in Turkey.
Shubang says: "This is a tremendous honour, and I’m excited for the opportunity to compete on an international stage".
The Championships will be held 16-20 July in Istanbul. Good luck Shubang!

ALUMNI NEWS

Recognition for the Work of Dr Mauro Galetti Rodrigues
The work of Dr Mauro Galetti Rodrigues (1992, Biology) on plant-animal interactions in tropical forests of Brazil can be seen on BPS Nova website: https://www.pbs.org/video/secrets-of-the-forest-preview-pc9ryn/.

This follows the recent award-winning success of Mauro’s latest book Um Naturalista no Antropoceno.

Share Your Education-Focused Stories With Us 
Calling all alum! Our next issue of Bin Brook focuses on the theme of Education. If you work in education and have an interesting story to tell, or, if you took our Education tripos or studied for your PGCE at Robinson, we would love to hear about the career path that your studies have led you (both in and outside of the education sphere). Please email us at: development-office@robinson.cam.ac.uk with a brief update (no more than 100 words) and we'll be in touch. Many thanks!

In Memory of Mike Dunford
Dr John Hindmarch (Philosophy, 1992) writes: "I am very sad to share the tragic news that Mike Dunford (Maths, 1992) passed away at the beginning of this year after an all-too-brief battle with cancer. Mike was much loved during his time at college, and remained a close and treasured friend to so many in the 30 years since. Many former Robinsonians came from all over the world to celebrate Mike's life - via the medium of pork pies - at the funeral in February.

Mike's death robs us of one of life's genuinely good people. He left us far too early, and his absence leaves a huge hole in the lives of his friends and family, including wife Emma and two young daughters. We miss you Mike!"  
If you would like to share your memories of Mike, visit mikedunford.muchloved.com and request access to share your stories.

The Mike Baxby ARC Award 
Following the death of Mike Baxby (Engineering, 2003) by suicide in November 2023, the City of Sheffield Rowing Club, of which Mike was a prominent member, created "The Mike Baxby ARC Award." The first winner of this new award, given at a special ceremony in April, was Lewis Carroll of Burton Leander Rowing Club. 
Presenting the award, Mike's mother, Tanya, expressed her family’s heartfelt thanks: "I can't begin to describe just how humbled and proud my husband and I are today, and how grateful we are to all of you for celebrating Michael in such a wonderful way and keeping his name and his memory alive."

Mike was diagnosed as autistic when he was 24. ARC is the Cambridge University Autism Research Centre. Its work on suicide prevention is at the heart of its cutting-edge research programme: www.autismresearchcentre.com

UPCOMING EVENTS

Saturday 21 June 2025 - Robinson College Boat Club Dinner and Boat Naming Ceremony. Robinson rowing alumni and current RCBC members are warmly invited to this day of celebrations. Book a ticket.

Saturday 28 June 2025 - Donor Day - this 'by invitation only' event serves as a special thank you to the donors of Robinson College. Find out more.

Saturday 27 September 2025 - Reunion Dinner - celebrating 1985, 1995, 2005 and 2015 cohorts. Find out more and book your ticket today.

The Robinson College Shop is always open online. Click through to browse a selection of Robinson-branded apparel, stationery, gifts and more.