College bulletin: 19 May

There’s many reasons to enjoy being at St John’s but as someone who loves to be right, our Ascension Day tradition strikes a particular chord with me so it is always nice when the date rolls around for the choristers to climb the many steps up the Tower to sing from the top.

Our academics continue to be clever clogs and we have their latest research discoveries and Fellowship news below and we’ve even found a way to feature Swedish actor Alexander Skarsgård in this week’s bulletin.

College news

Driving on sunshine: clean, usable liquid fuels made from solar power

Researchers have developed a solar-powered technology that converts carbon dioxide and water into liquid fuels that can be added directly to a car’s engine as drop-in fuel. 

The researchers harnessed the power of photosynthesis to convert CO2, water and sunlight into multicarbon fuels – ethanol and propanol – in a single step. These fuels have a high energy density and can be easily stored or transported.

“Biofuels like ethanol are a controversial technology, not least because they take up agricultural land that could be used to grow food instead,” said Professor Erwin Reisner, St John’s Fellow, who led the research.

For several years, Prof Reisner’s research group, based in the Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, has been developing sustainable, zero-carbon fuels inspired by photosynthesis – the process by which plants convert sunlight into food – using artificial leaves.

Full story

How far would you go to prove someone wrong?

Back in 1902 Cyril Rootham, our then Director of Music, had a conversation with Sir Joseph Larmor and the physicist insisted that the College choir would not be heard from the ground if they sang from the top of the 163ft Chapel tower.

Rootham was clearly a man motivated by challenge - he was in Cambridge after all - and without telling anyone in College, the Choir ascended the Chapel tower and as the clock finished striking noon, they started to sing an Ascension Day carol. To Rootham's delight, he saw Sir Joseph open his window in the court below to see where the music was coming from. The event proved popular and became an annual tradition - The Choir of St John's College, Cambridge is pictured during yesterday's Ascension Day carol directed by Christopher Gray.

choir on tower
Picture credit: Joe Giddens, Press Association

Academic joins Academy of Medical Sciences Fellowship

St John’s molecular geneticist Professor Eric Miska is among seven Cambridge University researchers to be elected to the Academy of Medical Sciences Fellowship.

The honour is in recognition of their exceptional contributions to the advancement of biomedical and health science, cutting-edge research discoveries and translating developments into benefits for patients and wider society.

Professor Miska is Herchel Smith Chair of Molecular Genetics and Head of Department of Biochemistry, Affiliated Senior Group Leader at the Gurdon Institute, Associate Faculty at the Wellcome Sanger Institute and a Fellow of St John’s.

Full story

Fellow elected to German National Academy of Sciences

Pioneering plant scientist Professor Uta Paszkowski, a Fellow of St John’s College, has been elected a member of the Leopoldina, the German National Academy of Sciences.

Professor Paszkowski is Professor of Plant Molecular Genetics and Head of the Cereal Symbiosis group at the Crop Science Centre.

Full story

St John’s winners in Student-Led Teaching Awards

Two members of St John’s College have won 2023 Student-Led Teaching Awards.

At Tuesday’s prize-giving ceremony at St Barnabas Church, St John’s postgraduate Stefania Costea, who is doing a PhD in Theoretical and Applied Linguistics, was announced winner of the Small-Group Teaching Award (Arts, Humanities & Social Science) and Dr Viviane Carvalho da Annunciação, who recently completed her PhD in Brazilian literature at St John’s, won the Student Support (Non-Academic Staff) category.

Five individuals in total from the College community were shortlisted for this year’s awards, which give students the chance to highlight exceptional contributions to their education across the University and its Colleges.

Read about the finalists from St John’s

All the 2023 winners and runners-up

Swedish actor and academic explain ‘the Answer to Everything’ in NYT film

The New York Times has published visual Opinion piece about Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta’s seminal Economics of Biodiversity review for the UK government about the financial value of nature.

Swedish actor Alexander Skarsgård narrates in this short tongue-in-cheek film made by Tom Mustill, who studied at St John’s from 2002-2005, to simplify the concepts.

Tom said: "We normally make quite serious films, but for this most scary of topics, that most people would avoid, we made it tongue-in-cheek, I hope this helps as a way in."

Watch the film (subscription may be required)

Fake British accent phenomenon explored in news story

People who mimic British accents are drawn to their image of 'sophistication, intelligence and a sense of humour' – according to a St John’s academic.

Dr Calbert Graham, College Research Associate, works on the computational modelling and automatic synthesis of speech. He explained to the Daily Mail that the influx of British TV shows in the US may also have fuelled the social media phenomenon.

Story

Cutlery and crockery amnesty – return these stolen wares

Knives, forks and spoons are being looted from the Buttery at an alarming rate.

Cambridgeshire police would frown upon us if we called 999 to report each incident so the only solution is for stolen cutlery and crockery to be returned as soon as possible. No questions asked.

Second screens in the Library

Three new monitors are now available for use as second screens in the Library.

They are on the Mezzanine Floor (Chapel Wing), First Floor (Garden Wing) and Second Floor (Garden Wing), and can be identified by yellow signs on the desks. HDMI cables are already provided and the Library Issues Desk can loan HDMI to USB-C adaptors if required (during staffed hours only). In this busy Easter Term, please only sit at these desks if you intend to use the monitors.

Chapel

Student Communion – Sunday 21 May, 8.30am

Gather in the small chapel in the Ante-Chapel for a half-hour service of Holy Communion (aka the Eucharist) with sermon, and then go to Hall for cooked breakfast (which is subsidised). This appeals to a real cross-section of the student community.

Organ recital – Sunday 21 May, 6pm

Freddie James, an organist and harpsichordist based in Lucerne, Switzerland, will be performing works by Purcell and Byrd.

Open to all, admission free.

Sunday Evensong with Sermon – Sunday 21 May, 6.30pm

This term’s sermon series – ‘The Disappeared: attending to the unseen’ – has been inspired by the piece of music that the Choir will sing on 2 July, one of James MacMillan’s Cantos Sagrados. In these MacMillan is responding to the horrors of political oppression in Latin America, especially ‘The Disappeared’ in Argentina. This evening The Rev’d Dr Deborah Ford, Associate Priest at St Andrew’s Church, Cherry Hinton, will be preaching on the hidden things of the mind.

For all other regular services, see the Chapel webpage. Follow the Facebook page, SJC Chaplain, for Chapel service updates; and Andrew is on TikTok @thedetoxpriest. The Chapel team is always keen to hear from more volunteers to read in services or assist in other ways: please contact Andrew.

Other events

Student Art and Photography Exhibition 2023 – runs until Thursday 15 June

Library Exhibition Area.

View all the entries in this year’s St John’s College Student Art and Photography Exhibition.

Pub quiz – Monday 22 May, 8.30pm

College Bar.

Open to all, admission free. Follow the St John’s College Catering Instagram page for updates.

Live lunchtime meditation – Tuesdays to Thursdays, 1pm-1.15pm

Via Teams.

Spend 15 mindful minutes relaxing or meditating with the University’s mindfulness practitioner, Dr Elizabeth English, in these weekday sessions, free to students and staff.

Full details and Mindfulness programme

Palaeography for beginners – Tuesday 23 May, 3pm

Zoom.

Weekly ‘have-a-go’ sessions for anyone interested in reading handwriting c1500-c1700, using documents from the College’s institutional archives. Sessions are informal and aimed at beginners, or those with a little experience who wish to practise their skills. Meetings are held online, using photographs of the documents which will be emailed out in advance along with the Zoom link.

Open to all, attendance free. If you would like to join in, please contact the archivist, Dr Lynsey Darby.

Pre-dinner lecture: New approaches in forensic speaker identification – Tuesday 23 May, 6.15pm

Main Lecture Theatre, Old Divinity School.

Dr Calbert Graham, College Research Associate, reports on a series of experiments in which he used deep learning techniques, particularly Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), to process the visual spectrogram of speech samples. The main classification problem was to determine whether English speech samples were spoken by a native speaker of English, Japanese, Dutch, French or Polish.

The lecture will last for about 20-30 minutes and will be followed by questions from the audience and then drinks.

Open to College Fellows and affiliates and their guests. Admission free, no booking required.

The history and development of Cambridge University – Tuesday 23 May, 8pm

Main Lecture Theatre, Old Divinity School.

Richard Partington, St John’s Fellow and Senior Tutor, presents a talk on the history and development of the University.

Open to College postgraduate students, Fellows, Visiting Fellows and their guests as part of this term’s Sans Frontières events programme. Admission free.

Johnian Entrepreneurs Club coffee and chat – Wednesday 24 May, 2pm

College Café.

Meeting weekly, the Johnian Entrepreneurs Club is for College members who are interested in business or entrepreneurship. This could be people who are wanting to start their own business of any kind or network with those who already have startups etc.

The club will have some speakers this term and aims to help people get started on their entrepreneurial journey. There is a WhatsApp group for those who would like to get involved.

Open to all College members. Admission free, no booking required.

Upper Library opening – Wednesday 24 May, 2pm-4pm

Enter via E staircase, Second Court.

Open every Wednesday afternoon during term time, manuscripts and rare printed books from the collections are on display in the 17th-century Upper Library. Next week’s exhibition will feature Coronation manuscripts and related items.

Requests for material to be exhibited can be emailed to Special Collections and they will do their best to accommodate these over the course of the term.

Open to College members and their guests. Admission free, no booking required.

Women’s tennis sessions – Thursday 25 May, 11am

St John’s tennis courts, behind the College playing fields.

Hour-long sessions for women of all ages and abilities with some experience of the sport, this should be a fantastic break from revision to get some fresh air and play some tennis.

There is no need to come with a partner, racquet or tennis balls. Email Emilia Murray if you’re interested in joining or if you need a racquet.

Open to all St John’s female members. Free, no booking required.

St John's College Music Society (SJCMS) lunchtime recital – Thursday 25 May, 1.15pm

New Music Room.

Lea Luka Sikau, mezzo-soprano, and Isaac Sebenius on piano.

Open to all, admission free, no booking required.

Social tennis sessions – Friday 26 May, 5pm

St John’s tennis courts, behind the College playing fields.

Hour-long social tennis sessions run by St John’s Tennis Club, every Friday afternoon during term time. No prior experience is needed, the games are intended for all students of all ages and all abilities. There is no need to come with a partner or tennis balls. Please contact Jonny Fox for more information and if you need a racquet.

Open to all St John’s students. Free, no booking required.

The Dirac Lecture: Learning in a Quantum World – Tuesday 30 May, 2.30pm (please note, not 8pm as previously advertised)

MR2, Centre for Mathematical Sciences, Wilberforce Road.

The Dirac Lecture, established jointly by St John's College and the University of Cambridge's Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, is named after the Nobel Prize-winning physicist, who was a Fellow of St John's. This year’s speaker is Professor John Preskill of the California Institute of Technology.

Open to all, admission free, no booking required.

More details

Urinetown, The Musical – Thursday 1 June to Saturday 10 June, 7.45pm

ADC Theatre.

Dr Matt Lampitt, College Research Fellow in MMLL and ASNC, will be playing the lead role of Bobby Strong in Urinetown, The Musical, presented by Festival Players, Cambridge.

Urinetown is a political satire set in a not-so-distant future where a 20-year drought has crippled a city’s water supplies, leading to a ban on private toilets in an effort to control water consumption. Urinetown is a hilarious tale of greed, corruption, love, and revolution in a time when water is worth its weight in gold.

Open to all, recommended for ages 12 and above.

Further information and to purchase tickets

Postgraduates Dine with Fellows – Wednesday 7 June, 7.30pm

Hall.

Open to College postgraduates. Free of charge, limited places, register via Upay.

St John’s Book Group for postgraduates, English Faculty and College staff – Tuesday 13 June, 5.45pm

Merton Hall Cottage.

Postgraduates, English Faculty and College staff are invited to join Vona Groarke, St John’s Writer-in-Residence, to discuss Denis Johnson's short 2002 novel, Train Dreams, set in the American West. The book was described as, ‘a small masterpiece’ by Anthony Doerr in the New York Times, while the Guardian says of Johnson: “In Train Dreams he stakes his claim as one of the key voices in contemporary American fiction. It is a miniature novel that delineates an epic yet ordinary life in passages of often startling descriptive power.”

If you are interested in joining this or the book group for undergraduates, email Vona.

Tour of the College gardens – Wednesday 14 June, 2pm

Meet in front of the President’s Border, at the front of College, beside the Great Gate.

With a focus on sustainability, David Austrin, Head Gardener, will give a tour of the beautiful and varied grounds of St John’s.

Open to College postgraduate students, Fellows, Visiting Fellows and their guests as part of this term’s Sans Frontières events programme. Free event.

No more than 15 in a group. To reserve a place please contact the Postgraduate Administrator by 30 May. A reserve list will be kept in case there are sufficient people interested to make up a second tour group.

St John’s College May Ball 2023 – Tuesday 20 June

The College’s spectacular annual May Ball will span the length and breadth of the historic courts of St John’s. This lavish event features live music, all-you-can-eat food and drink and a world-class fireworks display, with the theme famously kept secret until the night itself.

The Ball is now sold-out.

Andrew Chamblin Memorial Concert 2023 – Thursday 22 June, 8pm

Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford and online.

The 17th annual Andrew Chamblin Memorial Concert will be given by Thierry Escaich, who will play an hour-long programme of organ works by Bach, Franck, Vierne, Brahms and Widor. The performance will also be livestreamed.

Open to all, admission free, no booking required.

Full details

And finally

We welcomed the Class of 2016 back to College today for their MA graduation along with our latest PhD graduands.

They all processed to the Senate House behind Professor Peter Johnstone and Sean Gladwell, Deputy Head Porter, and returned to College for lunch in Hall with their families. Congratulations everyone!

graduation pic