Congratulations to this year’s Nautilus Award winners!

The Nautilus Awards are an annual celebration of exceptional contributions made by Green Templeton students to the college community. Nominated by members of the Green Templeton community, the winners were selected by a panel of students, staff and fellows. The 2026 awards will be presented at the annual Spotlight on Green Templeton reception on Thursday 25 June by Principal Sir Michael Dixon.

Rabeah Adawiyah Abdul Razak (DPhil Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, 2016)

During her stint as Graduate Common Room Vice President for Welfare, Rabeah has gone beyond the usual expectations of the role. She has organised weekly student brunches with skill and care, making them the heartbeat of the college community for many students, and a space where friendships have been forged and students recharged at the start of many busy weeks. Rabeah’s energy and leadership has built a team of students committed to welfare, and her willingness to help out wherever needed has been appreciated by more people than she may realise.

Caroline Antpöhler (MPhil Development Studies, 2024)

As one of the captains (with Sara Tanovic) of the Green Templeton Boat Club women’s side, Caroline has invested huge amounts of time into organising sessions, coordinating logistics, supporting novices, and fostering a culture that balances competitiveness with accessibility, fairness, inclusion, and genuine encouragement of others’ growth. Her fairness, care, and composure helped her make difficult decisions during crew selection, and she played a major role in advocating for and securing a new boat for the women’s side, contributing meaningfully to the long-term development and sustainability of women’s rowing in the college.

‘Caroline should be celebrated for the extraordinary amount of care and unseen work she has put into the women’s rowing community.’

Clara Cornelius (MSc Education, 2025)

As Project Manager for the Human Welfare Conference, Clara coordinated a team to deliver a major college event, actively prioritising practical steps to make the conference welcoming and inclusive for everyone involved: from creating a welcoming quiet space to working on access accommodations for individual attendees, to checking in on the conference committee to make sure everyone was supported in stressful period. She has brought a new perspective to the Richard Doll Society committee as RDS/GCR Representative). At the same time, Clara has been a quiet mainstay of college social life, setting up informal gatherings for residents of Observer’s House and helping to organise the college Christmas dinner so that students who could not go home for Christmas still had a warm and welcoming celebration at college.

‘Clara has been one of the people who genuinely makes Green Templeton feel warm, welcoming, and supportive. She is always the person bringing people together, helping out behind the scenes, and making sure others feel included.’

Shubh Kumar (DPhil Cancer Science, 2021)

Shubh’s presidency of the Graduate Common Room in 2025-26 was exceptional both for the quantity and success of GCR activities, and for the number of students who got involved for the first time. This is a mark of Shubh’s leadership, open and collaborative attitude, and dedication to student life. The role demands a lot and Shubh has thrown himself into it: this year he has represented students at college committees, run open meetings, trained colleagues, organised college exchanges, put together term cards, and reworked systems and policies—and all the time has remained cheerful, approachable and constructive.

‘This academic year was full of events and it was genuinely fun. As GCR committee myself, I felt inspired by Shubh to give my best in everything we organised.’

Leah Mitchell (MSc Comparative Social Policy, 2025)

Leah has been a positive force for a livelier and more inclusive social environment in college, both in her role as the GCR LGBTQ+ Officer, and with other contributions: she has helped with college exchanges, a Holi event at 34 St Margaret’s Road, and weekly Sunday brunches and set up a Forensic Pathology lecture with guest speakers. As LGBTQ+ Officer, Leah invited and hosted a special guest speaker for a themed Diversity Dinner, and created and ran a much-anticipated Pride Month Drag Night in collaboration with a local club. Her work has made the college a friendlier place for our LGBTQ+ students.

‘Contributing to the Green Templeton community comes easily, as Leah is inherently approachable, kind, and outgoing. She supports students’ wellbeing and sense of belonging, advocates for their needs, and benefits the college environment.’

Michael Petrus (DPhil Medical Sciences, 2025)

This Nautilus Award celebrates Michael’s achievement in conceiving and leading the 2026 Human Welfare Conference. The Human Welfare Conference is an annual college event, but is not always as ambitious or as successful as this year’s conference on ‘Rethinking AI, Tech & Health Equity in Medicine’, which brought together speakers from Oxford, Yale, the NHS, WHO, and industry—and around 90 attendees—for a focused and productive discussion, with a Conference Working Group continuing to work on new, and important outputs to make sure that the conference is the start of a longer academic conversation rather than just a one-day event. Michael’s clear vision and leadership skills, managing a large team of postgraduate students, were a major part of this success.

‘Thanks to Michael’s efforts and diplomacy, everyone on the team played a defined role and had a voice in the project, but he took full overall responsibility, never missed a meeting or a deadline, and was always warm, calm in the face of setbacks, and full of ideas.’

Kapil Narain (DPhil Clinical Medicine, 2023)

Kapil is a popular and caring Junior Dean, and has long been a valued, friendly presence behind the scenes at college. This Nautilus Award celebrates his championing and production of Shakespeare’s As You Like It in the college gardens—the first ‘Garden Play” to be performed at Green Templeton. Kapil’s positive, practical attitude combined with his passion for theatre overcame many complications and difficulties, from auditions to the final anxious check of the weather forecast, and the the sold-out shows were critically praised and enthusiastically received by audiences.

‘I am so pleased to see Shakespeare performed in our Arden-esque college gardens. It was wonderful to see so many Green Templeton students involved in the production, and also in the audience. Congratulations to Kapil for making it happen—long may it continue!’

Felix Radtke (DPhil Medical Sciences, 2022)

Felix has been an outstanding president of the Richard Doll Society in 2025-26. He was a thoughtful and conscientious leader, organising a programme of activities which supported the college’s medical and medical-adjacent students but which also found innovative ways to promote equity and justice in medicine and health care. The 2025 RDS Conference, ‘Beyond Borders: Global Healthcare in Times of Crisis’, offered timely sessions, including a reflective workshop, on medicine in conflict zones, healthcare under resource scarcity, and women’s health in crisis. Felix curated a photographic exhibition from Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, created in collaboration with camp residents, for display at Green Templeton. He also hosted Simon Tiek of the Refugee-Led Research Hub, to come to Oxford and speak about his health systems research and years of experience living in a refugee camp. Taken together, these contributions strengthened Green Templeton’s academic community, widened participation in the broader GTC community, and raised awareness in a way that stayed with people.

‘Felix did the core parts of the role well, but he also created opportunities and brought voices into college that would not otherwise have been there. That is why I think he should be honoured.’

Sara Tanovic (DPhil Computational Discovery, 2023)

Sara has co-led and sustained Green Templeton Boat Club women’s squad this year through extensive behind-the-scenes work as co-captain (with Caroline Antpöhler). She not only showed up consistently for training and club responsibilities, even when sessions were difficult or sparsely attended, but also volunteered for additional responsibilities, including coxing, and created resources such as tracking spreadsheets to support the wider team’s development. Even while dealing with her own injury, Sara managed significant complexity to coordinate training sessions, communication, logistics, and a weekly schedules across the academic year.

‘Sara has invested huge amounts of time into organising sessions, coordinating logistics, supporting novices, and sustaining the side through constant behind-the-scenes labour, while also leading by example through her remarkable reliability and commitment as a rower.’