A celebration of 40 years of Bruce

To celebrate his contributions over 40 years of employment in St Andrews, the School held an event on the 26th June inviting a number of current and former students and colleagues to share their reminiscences of Dr Bruce Sinclair.  Among the speakers, eleven former School Presidents[1] were able to return, cover the last sixteen years since the roll was created.  Among their memories, they highlighted the individual support Bruce had given to them, his care in listening to what they had to say, and the way his teaching had given them confidence in what they had gone on to do.

The day started with a welcome from Prof. Clare Peddie,  the Proctor (Vice Principal Education), who spoke both about working alongside Bruce when they were both Directors of Teaching, as well as Bruce’s contributions to revising University policies on teaching and education.  Dr Alan Kemp, Dr Neli Mackinnon and Dr Richard Conroy gave a history of Bruce’s research and his mentorship.  Prof. Deborah Kane (a St Andrews alumna, and who carried out an external review of teaching in St Andrews) spoke of the exemplary attributes Bruce had shown throughout his career.  Prof. Christopher LeBurn spoke on his contributions to the MSc in Photonics and Optoelectronic Devices (POED), and its contribution to the success of photonics in Scotland. Nick Hood, Dr Catherine Dunn and Dr Paul Cruickshank spoke on his contributions to public engagement, working with local schools, encouraging students to consider teaching careers, and contributions to summer schools and widening participation.    Dr Dawn Beddard spoke both on Bruce’s contributions to the IOP in Scotland, and to both her experience of Bruce as a teacher, and now her son’s experience as a current student.

Many speakers throughout the day commented on the lasting impression Bruce had made from their first encounter at an open day; the enthusiasm he had shown for Physics and St Andrews that had convinced them to come here.   The event clearly showed how fondly many alumni remember Bruce’s contributions to their times in St Andrews, and the lasting impact his career has made.

[1] The School President is a student elected by their peers to chair the Student Staff Council, and to act as a student representative within the School.

Former School Presidents

Chris Carroll: graduated in 2013, PhD from University of St Andrews in 2019, now at OWC Brighton, Solar PV team.

Danielle Harper: graduated in 2015, PhD from Medical University of Vienna in 2020, now at University of Cambridge, Research Group Leader, Early Cancer Institute.

Louise McCaul: graduated in 2017, PhD from University College London (UCL) in 2026 in Atomic Physics and Quantum Technologies.

John Weaver: graduated in 2018, PhD from Nils Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen in 2022, now at MIT Kavli Institute, 2025 Brinson Prize Fellow.

Alisa Danilenko: graduated in 2019, PhD from Nils Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen in 2023, now at Keysight Technologies, Boston.

Thomas Rintoul: graduated in 2023, PhD in progress at Cardiff University in Astrophysics.

Anna Conti: graduated in 2025, PhD in progress at University of Cambridge in Biophysical Chemistry.

Hugo Decitre: graduated in 2025, PhD in progress at University of St Andrews on Strongly correlated materials with scanning tunneling microscopy.

Ellie Shaw: MPhys (Hons) Theoretical Physics student, TBG in 2027.