Tomlinson UC’s 4th Student in 4 years to win Rhodes
university-of-canterbury
Tue Nov 12 2013 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)
Tomlinson UC’s 4th Student in 4 years to win Rhodes
Tuesday, 12 November 2013, 1:14 pm
Press Release: University of Canterbury
Tomlinson UC’s fourth student in four years to win Rhodes Scholarship
November 12, 2013
A University of Canterbury (UC) mechanical engineering student, who is one of New Zealand most talented cyclists, is the latest UC student to win a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford.
Hamish Tomlinson, from Invercargill, becomes the fourth UC student in four years to win the coveted scholarship to Oxford.
Tomlinson has been studying insulin therapy at Christchurch Hospital, under the supervision of UC mechanical engineering Professor Geoff Chase, and significant guidance from UC’s Dr Geoff Rodgers.
He says the potential to see his work used clinically inspired him to pursue postgraduate study in biomedical engineering.
``I plan to pursue biomedical engineering research in Oxford. More specifically, I hope to use mathematical modelling techniques to better understand stroke events and how to quantify whether the corresponding brain damage is reversible or irreversible.
``I am also the faculty representative for the UC Engineering Society (ENSOC) and have organised the academic events this year. I am an academic tutor, a mentor and am the student representative at faculty board meetings.
``I will do my research in Oxford and then evaluate whether academia or industry is the right place for me to go. At this stage, I am thinking I would like to do a bit of both in my career and possibly return to UC for postdoctoral studies.
``My favourite thing about UC is the clubs. They provide great events, an amazing student cultural environment and there is something for everyone. I have got a huge amount out of the club environment, both as a member and within committees, and this is what makes UC stand out for me as the best university to attend in New Zealand.
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``Engineering at UC is very cool. There is a fantastic, friendly environment where people work hard and have a good time as well. There is a great rapport between lecturers and students, and the final year projects give awesome exposure to real-world research and development problems.
``The recent announcement of $260 million Government support for UC is very exciting. The engineering department will truly benefit from the new facilities and infrastructure with modern laboratories and study spaces for students to share their ideas.
``Hopefully this will encourage more New Zealand students to pursue engineering as a career. There are some very important problems that need to be solved in energy, medicine and reducing the environmental burden of the modern world, and engineering is the tool to tackle these issues. With new infrastructure, UC's contribution through research will go from strength to strength.’’
Tomlinson says he is looking forward to learning from Oxford’s history and rich traditions and would love to join the Oxford cycling club, one of the oldest cycling clubs in the world.
He is an outstanding cyclist and represented New Zealand at the Junior World Championships, breaking the New Zealand record for the track cycling team pursuit. He represented New Zealand at the Junior World Cycling Championships in Moscow, Russia, in 2009, finishing fourth in the team pursuit. He has won two national titles, a number of other medals and broke a New Zealand record when he was 17.
ENDS
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