Time flies: A cliché that pops into my head whenever I admire the fountain that I first laid eyes on 18 years ago. It feels like it was only yesterday I was running round the Great Court as a fresher, excited by the prospect of living on foreign soil, free of parental supervision for the first time.  Meeting and discussing random topics over the dinner table with new friends all over the world was stimulating, even when excessive alcohol was consumed.  Like a duck takes to the River Cam, I felt fulfilled in a carefree and inspiring atmosphere.  With the frenetic mix of supervisions and societies events, eight-week terms always passed like the blink of an eye.

I stayed on for my doctoral studies, sometimes dreaming of becoming a fellow one day, not least for the superior food at High Table.  In the eight years of working towards my doctorate, I had matured from a naïve kid into an independent scientist. This metamorphosis would not have happened without a friendly nudge many years ago to apply for the Prince Philip scholarship.

 

Having travelled for six years around the globe as an astrophysics postdoc modelling barely observable stars, Herbert now works as a senior research scientist for Schlumberger Cambridge Research, analysing downhole data for monitoring and optimisation in the oilfield industry.