08 May 2025, 17:30 – 19:00
New Perspectives on the Universe
- LocationTrinity Hall Lecture Theatre, and online via livestream
- CostFree of charge
- Booking closing dateWednesday, 07 May 2025 12:00pm
- Event typePanel discussion
Join Professor Michael Hobson, Thom Colledge (2024), and Dr Amy Bonsor to explore different aspects of our universe, and learn more about their fascinating areas of research.
Together with these experts in planetary science, cosmology, and sustainable space development, we will discuss the origins of planets, the materials that shape them, and the challenges of responsible expansion into space.
The event will also be available to watch online via livestream.
All are welcome at the drinks reception beforehand.
This is a hybrid event. You can book to attend in-person or online using the booking links.
Programme
17:30-17:45 Drinks reception in the Terrace Room
17:45-19:00 Panel Discussion in the Lecture Theatre
Chair
Mary Hockaday
Mary Hockaday (1981) read English at Trinity Hall and took an MA in Journalism at New York University on a Fulbright Scholarship.
Mary Hockaday was formerly Controller BBC World Service English, responsible for the BBC World Service’s international radio and digital services, and growing the weekly audience to nearly 100 million. From 2009-2014 she was Head of the BBC Newsroom, overseeing the BBC’s core news services on radio, television and online for domestic and global audiences and leading innovation in digital and visual journalism. Mary was Editor of BBC World Service News and Current Affairs from 2001 to 2006. WSNCA won a Special Sony Gold award in recognition of its 9/11 coverage.
In the early 1990s Mary was based in Prague as correspondent for the BBC and The Independent, covering post-communist Czechoslovakia. She is author of a biography of Milena Jesenska, 20th Century Czech journalist and muse of Franz Kafka.
Mary serves on the board of the British Library, is a Lay Trustee with the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, is an Independent Non-executive Director with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and a Board Member with a small social enterprise, Climate Alliance. She is a former external examiner for Cardiff University’s School of Journalism.
Speaker
Dr Amy Bonsor
Dr Amy Bonsor is an astrophysicist studying planets orbiting our Sun and other stars. She is interested in how planets form and what they are made from. Her work aims to use our understanding of Earth and the Solar System to further our understanding of planets outside our Solar System, whilst at the same time utilising the discovery and characterisation of planetary systems outside our Solar System to further our understanding of our own Solar System, our planet and even the origin of life here on Earth.
Dr Bonsor is currently a Royal Society University Research Fellow and Associate Professor at the Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge. She is a fellow of Queens’ College Cambridge, and part of the Leverhulme Centre for Life in the Universe and the Cambridge Exoplanet Research Centre. She previously held a Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Research Fellowship and was formerly a post-doc at the University of Bristol and at the Institut de Planétologie et d’Astrophysique de Grenoble. Her PhD was obtained in 2011 from the University of Cambridge.
Speaker
Thom Colledge (2024)
Thom Colledge (2024) is a Royal Air Force Officer who won a full scholarship to read Politics and International Studies at Trinity Hall. Prior to this he commanded the UK’s Low Earth Orbit Space Surveillance facility in North Yorkshire. He is researching Low Earth Orbit Space Sustainability. His subsequent assignment will be to the Ministry of Defence in Whitehall where he will be responsible for UK space security policy.
Speaker
Professor Michael Hobson
Professor Michael Hobson is University Professor of Astrophysics. His research interests include cosmology, in particular primordial fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background, gravitation, Bayesian statistical inference and machine-learning.
Booking and cost
There is no charge to attend, however, booking is required. If you are not a current member or alum of Trinity Hall, please book using the ‘non-members’ form. Please note that bookings close at 12pm on Wednesday 7 May.
If you are joining us online, you will receive an email by 16:00 on Thursday 8 May with a link and joining instructions. The livestream will begin at 17:45.
Dining Privileges
We would like to invite alumni to use their dining privileges to join us at High Table after the discussion. Please note that spaces are limited.
Trinity Hall Spotlights: Space
This event forms part of Trinity Hall Spotlights: Space, a series which will bring insights into the latest research into cosmology and physics which is helping us understand more about what lies beyond Earth’s atmosphere. Through different academic perspectives, lectures and discussions, we hope you will be awe-struck, excited and better informed about these areas of knowledge, fascinating for their own sake and for how they help us reflect on our own place in the universe.
Photography
We like to take photographs at our alumni events to use in our digital and print communications. If you do not wish to have your photo taken, please let us know in advance or on the day.
Location
The Lecture Theatre, Trinity Hall, Trinity Lane, Cambridge, CB2 1TJ.
Please visit the Porters’ Lodge on arrival where they will direct you to the venue.
Cancellations
Please let us know as soon as possible if you find you are no longer able to attend, as we have limited capacity for this event. Please email the office or call +44 (0)1223 332555 at the earliest opportunity.
Contact
If you have any queries, please contact Rebecca Horner on developmentevents@trinhall.cam.ac.uk or call +44 (0)1223 763010. If you have any questions about events in general, please see our event FAQs.