As a regular at the annual reunion of French Fellows’ elected to Churchill College, I attended the French Fellows’ Seminar held on 25-27 July 2025 in Cambridge.
The meeting kicked off with Dinner at High Table on Friday 25 July 2025. Former fellows share the privilege of being able to invite guests to share in the occasion with its formal procedures softened by the friendly informal atmosphere where mingling and chatting is encouraged.
Accomodation was provided by the College in Cowan Court.
Following Breakfast in the Hall, on Saturday 26th July, the Seminar was opened by Adrian Barbrook, Vice-Master, fresh from his ‘tour de France’ in the summer. Ludovic Drouin, the Scientific attaché represented the Embassy.
Frédéric Thibault- Starzyk (CNRS), French Fellow 2003, who, along with Anny King, organized the meeting, introduced the speakers, Nathalie Berny (Maison française d’Oxford), Jean-François Roch (ENS Saclay) French Fellow 2017, Damir Juric (CNRS) French Fellow 2021-22 (pictured here), Adrian Liston (St. Catharine’s, Cambridge, former Senior Research Fellow at Churchill College) and David Holcman (ENS Paris) French Fellow 2015, who spoke on topics ranging from fluid dynamics to AI and anesthesia, environmental advocacy to immune system diversity.
Lunch was provided in the Fellows’ Dining Room, where the Fellows were honoured to be joined by the Master, Professor Sharon Peacock (Professor of Microbiology and Public Health), who was able to take time out of her busy schedule to sit in on the afternoon’s talks. A business meeting followed at which the groups’ projects for the future were discussed and future meetings set : in Paris for an informal evening in November 2025, and at Churchill College in July 2026.
The pre-dinner reception on the Master’s lawn and High Table were and presided over by Professor Peacock at which she spoke warmly of the importance of wide horizons.
To end the weekend, on Sunday morning, Barry Phipps gave us a visit of the Bill Brown Creative Workshops, followed by lunch at The Punter before going our separate ways.