The next Master of St Catharine's

The Fellows of St Catharine’s are delighted to announce the election of Professor Sir Mark Welland as the next Master of the College. He will take up office on 1 October 2016. Sir Mark succeeds Professor Dame Jean Thomas, who has been Master of St Catharine’s since 2007.

Professor Sir Mark Welland is Professor of Nanotechnology and Head of Electrical Engineering  at the University of Cambridge, where he has established the purpose-built Nanoscience Centre. Sir Mark is currently researching into a broad range of both fundamental and applied problems. These include using nanotechnology to both understand and treat human diseases, biologically inspired nanomaterials for green technologies, and nanoelectronics for future generation energy transmission and sensing. From April 2008 until May 2012, Sir Mark was Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Government Ministry of Defence. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, and a Fellow of the Institute of Physics in 2002, a Foreign Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences of India in 2008, and a Foreign Fellow of the Danish Academy of Sciences in 2010. Sir Mark was awarded a Knighthood in the Queen's Birthday Honours list in 2011.

Sir Mark brings to the College unrivalled national and international experience and expertise, as well as a thorough understanding of the University and the way it can engage with the wider world. We look forward to welcoming Sir Mark and his family to our College community.

‘I am in equal measures humbled and excited at being elected as Master and am looking forward to supporting the Fellows, students and staff of St Catharine’s over the next years,’ said Sir Mark. ‘I am honoured to be following Dame Jean, who has set a very high standard of leadership and intellectual rigour.’

Dame Jean said: ‘The Fellows have elected a distinguished scientist as the 39^th Master to lead the College in the next phase of its 543-year history. Sir Mark will find a welcoming and flourishing community at St Catharine’s. I offer him my warmest congratulations on his election, I wish him well for the future, and I hope he will be as happy at St Catharine’s as I have been for almost ten years.’