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On Tuesday 26 September, MPLS Head of Division Professor Sam Howison hosted a reception in the Garden Room at Trinity College, for senior academic and administrative leads from each MPLS department, and team leaders from the divisional office, to mark the start of the new academic year.

Professor Sam Howison with Professor Yujia Qing and Professor Hagan Bayley

The reception opened with a welcome to the 31 new academics joining us in 2022/23, and a recap of recent senior appointments, including: Heads of Department, Tim Coulson and Mark Fricker (Department of Biology), Hazel Assender (Department of Materials), Christl Donnelly (Statistics) and James Sparks (Mathematical Institute); and newly appointed Heads of Administration and Finance, Ian Bishop (Biology), Sophie Gibbons (Computer Science), and Charlotte Sweeney (Materials).

Sam Howison delivered a presentation on the role of the divisional office, recent developments (including the creation of a new Department of Biology) and raft of awards and marks of distinction, and divisional priorities for the coming year, spanning education, research and innovation, finances, the estate, and people.

The evening's guest presentation was delivered jointly by Professor of Chemical Biology, Hagan Bayley, who spoke about the academic input that enabled the successful commercialisation of nanopore sequencing technology; and newly appointed Professor of Chemistry, Yujia Qing, who described the latest developments in nanopore technologies for enabling single-molecule protein characterisation.

Professor Howison said: "It's wonderful to be able to welcome so many new academics to MPLS this year, and to publicly congratulate colleagues who have been appointed to some of our most senior positions as Heads of Department and Heads of Administration and Finance, and those who have achieved such widespread recognition through awards and marks of distinction across the University and around the world.

"There are certainly significant challenges before us this year, but also great opportunities, and I look forward to working with you all to see what we can achieve together in support of the University's mission during the months ahead."

Winning teams and individuals from this year's Vice Chancellor's Awards for Diversity, and Environmental Sustainability Awards, were also recognised during the reception, along with winners from the 2022 MPLS Impact Awards and MPLS Teaching Awards. The event closed with an opportunity for guests to network.