St John's College News
Writer in Residence wins literary prize for her book on Irish women emigrants
鈥淭he honour of the Michel D茅on Prize will draw attention to the challenges, resilience and quite remarkable achievements of these Irish emigrant women鈥檚 lives鈥A St John's poet, essayist, reviewer, and editor has been awarded the 2024 Royal Irish Academy Michel D茅on Prize for non-fiction. Vona Groarke, the College's Writer in Residence, won the award for her book, Hereafter: the Telling Life of Ellen O鈥橦ara, a poetic account of Irish women domestic servants in New York in the 1890s. From left: Professor Pat Guiry, President of the Royal Irish Academy鈥read moreDean welcomed as Canon Theologian at St Edmundsbury Cathedral
鈥淔or me, theological learning and thinking about our faith together is something every Christian can engage with"The Rev鈥檇 Dr Victoria Johnson, Dean of Chapel at St John鈥檚 College, has been announced as the new Canon Theologian at St Edmundsbury Cathedral. Dr Johnson will be visiting Canon Theologian and a non-executive member of the Cathedral Chapter in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, alongside her role at St John鈥檚. She said: 鈥淚鈥檓 really delighted to be contributing to the life of the Cathedral鈥read moreLecture named in honour of St John鈥檚 Nobel prize-winner to examine 鈥榖eautiful relationship鈥 between maths and physics
Second Penrose Lecture to take place on 19 November 2024Theoretical physicist Professor David Tong will give the 2024 St John鈥檚 College Penrose Biennial Lecture, named in honour of Sir Roger Penrose, the renowned mathematician, physicist and Nobel Laureate. Professor Tong, Professor of Theoretical Physics in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Trinity College, will give鈥read moreSecrets unveiled as College鈥檚 iconic Great Gate is restored to glory
Every 50 years The Great Gate of St John's requires restoration to keep it looking spectacularThe striking Great Gate of St John鈥檚 is an iconic feature of the streetscape of Cambridge and is the backdrop of countless photographs taken by locals, tourists and members of the College. It is decorated with Lady Margaret Beaufort鈥檚 coat of arms and the animals on either side are yales 鈥 mythical beasts with antelopes鈥 bodies, goats鈥 heads and swivelling horns. A statue of St John the鈥read moreCollege academics recognised for helping to create positive research culture
Researchers celebrated for promoting a welcoming and supportive environmentFive academics at St John鈥檚 College have been nominated by their peers for individual contributions to positive research culture at the University of Cambridge. St John鈥檚 Fellows Professor Meredith Crowley, Dr Amy Orben, Professor Ulinka Rublack and Professor Michael De Volder were among 43 academics to be recognised for best practice at the University of Cambridge鈥檚 inaugural Research鈥read moreCultural historian publishes major new book 鈥榯o re-colour the world of dress鈥 of Europe鈥檚 past
鈥淐olour was perceived as a potent power that shaped, as well as expressed, the soul鈥New dyes created one of the most important visual experiences of the Renaissance period, yet their story has been hidden until now, says a St John鈥檚 College academic in a major new book published today (17 October). Theatrical productions and period films uphold broad assumptions that black clothing dominated among elites during the period, while ordinary people wore coarse greys and bleached鈥read moreIsaac Newton Medal 2024 bestowed on pioneering physicist
鈥淭oday鈥檚 world faces many challenges which physics will play an absolutely fundamental part in addressing鈥Professor Sir Richard Friend FRS, Director of Research at the Cavendish Laboratory and Fellow of St John鈥檚 College, has been awarded the 2024 Isaac Newton Medal and Lecture 鈥 the most prestigious prize of the Institute of Physics. The award, which recognises groundbreaking physicists, honours Sir Richard for his pioneering and enduring work on the fundamental electronic properties of鈥read moreAcademic prizes awarded to 鈥榦utstanding鈥 St John鈥檚 蘑菇视频下载安卓
University recognition for current cohort and recent graduatesEight current and recent graduates of St John鈥檚 College have received accolades for their excellent academic work and exam results in 2024. Hannah Kang Wolter, who graduated in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies this summer, has been awarded The Robert M Somers Prize for an outstanding performance in her Chinese Studies part II exam. Fellow recent graduate Alis Francis receives the William鈥read moreStudent classicist plays part in discovery of the biggest black hole jets ever seen
鈥淚 searched the sky for giant radio outflows and their host galaxies. Among them was Porphyrion鈥A St John鈥檚 classicist-turned-astronomer has helped discover and name a gigantic pair of black hole jets 鈥 the largest seen in the universe. Aivin Gast, who has just begun his MPhil in Heritage Studies at St John鈥檚, was part of the international research team that identified and named the gargantuan fountains of plasma and particles shooting from above and below a supermassive black hole.鈥read moreAndrew Chamblin Memorial Lecture 2024
Public talk on 鈥楢dventures with Black Holes: Past, Present and Future鈥The 18th Andrew Chamblin Memorial Lecture, entitled Adventures with Black Holes: Past, Present and Future, will be given in Cambridge, UK, by Professor Andrew Strominger, Gwill E York Professor of Physics at Harvard University. The public talk will take place at 5pm GMT on Tuesday 29 October 2024 at the Centre for Mathematical Sciences in Cambridge and it will also be livestreamed online.鈥read moreClimate Crisis Lecture shows 鈥榗ommitment to meeting the great challenge of our generation鈥
Distinguished economist Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta will speak about the policies and practices humanity needs to adopt to stop destroying natureThe author of a landmark UK report calling for radical change in how we measure economic success to protect our most precious asset, nature, will give the first Climate Crisis Lecture at St John鈥檚 College, Cambridge, on 21 October 2024. The lecture by Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta is titled 鈥楨conomic Possibilities in the Anthropocene鈥 鈥 the Anthropocene being a term to describe the time during鈥read moreMathematician chosen for international statistics award and lecture
Honour 鈥榗ompletely out of the blue鈥 for St John鈥檚 FellowAn academic from St John鈥檚 College has been selected for the 2025 Institute of Mathematical Statistics Grace Wahba Award and Lecture. Professor Richard Samworth, who is College Lecturer in Pure Mathematics, University Professor of Statistical Science, Director of the Statistical Laboratory at the Centre for Mathematical Sciences, and a Fellow of St John鈥檚, is only the fourth recipient of鈥read more鈥榁isionary鈥 Fellow awarded Citation Laureate for research integrating nature and the economy
Annual recognition highlights researchers with Nobel Prize potentialA global scientific organisation has honoured a Fellow of St John鈥檚 College with a Citation Laureate in Economics. Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta, Emeritus Professor, Frank Ramsey Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Cambridge, has been recognised by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) at intelligence firm Clarivate Plc 鈥榝or integrating nature and its resources in the鈥read moreCollege Library receives rare copy of landmark book by horse artist
鈥淚 am delighted to know that it will be in good hands, and have a new life鈥A 258-year-old first edition of a groundbreaking book by animal portraitist George Stubbs is now in the care of the Old Library of St John鈥檚 College thanks to a former veterinary student. The copy of The Anatomy of the Horse, published in 1766, was presented to Tanya Kirk, the College Librarian, by alumnus Philip Paxman, who studied at St John鈥檚 to be a vet in the 1960s. Mr Paxman bought the鈥read moreSt John鈥檚 summer school encourages girls to consider studying maths at Cambridge
鈥淚t鈥檚 incredibly important to us to provide these opportunities to 蘑菇视频下载安卓 from a wide range of backgrounds鈥Teenage girls have taken part in a free residential camp at St John鈥檚 College to find out what it would be like to study Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. The Women in Mathematics programme, which is now in its second year at St John鈥檚, was set up to encourage more female A-Level and equivalent 蘑菇视频下载安卓 to consider applying to Cambridge to read maths. Twenty-four gifted young鈥read moreMother鈥檚 gut microbiome during pregnancy shapes baby鈥檚 brain development
鈥淔uture treatments for fetal growth restriction could focus on altering the gut microbiome through probiotics, rather than offering pharmaceutical treatments鈥A study in mice has found that the bacteria Bifidobacterium breve in the mother鈥檚 gut during pregnancy supports healthy brain development in the fetus. Researchers have compared the development of the fetal brain in mice whose mothers had no bacteria in their gut, to those whose mothers were given Bifidobacterium breve orally during pregnancy, but had no other bacteria in their gut. Nutrient鈥read moreFellow and former Domestic Bursar who swapped the Army for academia dies aged 91
鈥淎s an Army man he knew what a proper community was like and should be, and took to that dimension of College like a duck to water鈥An ex-Army officer and former Domestic Bursar of St John鈥檚 College has died at the age of 91. Colonel Richard Henry Robinson OBE, a Fellow of St John鈥檚, began his uniformed career as a trooper in the British South Africa Police before joining the British Army. After retiring from the military, Col Robinson was appointed Domestic Bursar at St John鈥檚, and for 13 years oversaw the many operational鈥read moreSt John's College Research Fellowships competition 2025
鈥楻ising stars鈥 invited to apply for prestigious research posts before 19 September 2024Our Research Fellowships open doors for rising stars 鈥 Nobel Prize-winners have begun their academic careers at St John鈥檚, one Research Fellow coined the phrase 鈥楤ig Bang鈥, and another was a Bletchley Park code-breaker. The research interests of St John鈥檚 Fellows remain as extensive as ever 鈥 they are working at the forefront of everything from artificial intelligence, and evolutionary鈥read moreFree residential course gives sixth-formers a taste of studying science at university
Students inspired by 鈥榮uperstar鈥 teaching academics doing ground-breaking researchSixth-formers from England and Wales have attended a free two-day residential course at St John鈥檚 College to give them an insight into life at the University of Cambridge. Forty-eight A-level and equivalent 蘑菇视频下载安卓 attended the Natural Sciences Residential on 8 and 9 July that included taster lectures, Q&A sessions, supervisions and workshops with academics and guest speakers at St John鈥檚鈥read moreNew Chaplain appointed by St John鈥檚 College pledges to explore 鈥榝aith and the big questions of life鈥
鈥淗e brings with him a wealth of pastoral and liturgical experience and a commitment to inclusivity and welcome鈥The Assistant Curate at Hampstead Parish Church has been named as the next Chaplain of St John鈥檚 College in Cambridge. The Rev鈥檇 Graham Dunn trained for ministry at Westcott House in Cambridge and took the Cambridge University Bachelor of Theology for Ministry as a member of Gonville & Caius College. He holds a BA (Hons) in English Language and Literature and an MA (Hons) in English鈥read moreNew atlas of proteins reveals inner workings of cells
鈥淲e hope this generates opportunities for researchers and opens up new possibilities for intervention in diseases鈥Cambridge scientists have developed an 鈥榓tlas鈥 describing how proteins act inside human cells that could help in the design of new drugs to treat dementia and many cancers. The AI tool could be used to search for the origins of such diseases that are related to proteins misbehaving. The atlas, which is published today (10/7/2024) in Nature Communications, allows the researchers to find new鈥read moreFellow of St John鈥檚 College named as next Master of Gonville & Caius
鈥淚 am excited to be joining such a diverse community as together we continue the College鈥檚 legacy of impactful, academic excellence鈥Professor Richard Gilbertson, FRS, FMedSci, FRCP, EMBO, a pioneering children鈥檚 cancer specialist and Fellow of St John鈥檚 College, has been announced as the next Master of Gonville & Caius College. Fellows of Gonville & Caius expressed their intention at a meeting yesterday (26 June) to pre-elect Professor Gilbertson as the 44th Master of the College. He is due to take office on 1鈥read moreGeneticist to head up pioneering new research into sustainable crops and ecosystems
鈥淭his will have a transformative impact on our understanding of past ecosystem change and its application to agricultural sustainability鈥St John鈥檚 Fellow Professor Eske Willerslev is leading a major new research project into how ancient environmental DNA can be harnessed to develop climate change-resilient crops. A grant of up to DKK (Danish krone) 585 million 鈥 more 拢66.3 million 鈥 has been awarded to the Ancient Environmental Genomics Initiative for Sustainability (AEGIS) by the Novo Nordisk Foundation and the鈥read moreGreen award sees College go platinum for fourth time
Accreditation 鈥榓 fitting endorsement of the thoughtful long term progress we are making on sustainability across the College鈥St John鈥檚 College has won the highest accolade in the University of Cambridge鈥檚 environmental award scheme for the fourth year in a row. Fellows, staff and 蘑菇视频下载安卓 have been working hard on green initiatives over the past year to make the College community an even more sustainable place to live, study and work. Now St John鈥檚 has been awarded Platinum in this year鈥檚 Green Impact awards, an鈥read more鈥榁isionary鈥 Fellow wins Royal Society prize for pioneering work in solar chemistry
"The Tilden Prize is further recognition of Erwin鈥檚 ground-breaking research and visionary approach鈥Professor Erwin Reisner, a Fellow of St John鈥檚 College, has been awarded the Royal Society of Chemistry Tilden Prize for his ground-breaking work in creating sustainable fuels through solar energy, water and recaptured carbon dioxide. Tilden Prizes are presented for outstanding contributions to chemistry research made by established career scientists. Announced today (12 June 2024), the prize鈥read more