Fellows Directory
Honorary Fellows of the College
Mr Jef Laga
Mathematics
Number theory
Mr Laga is a pure mathematician working in number theory, a field that goes back to the ancient Greeks and Babylonians and aims to understand properties of the whole numbers, the basic building blocks of mathematics. More specifically, he works in arithmetic statistics, which studies number-theoretic objects (like prime numbers or polynomial equations) in families.
He completed an undergraduate degree at Ghent University (with an exchange semester in Paris) and a Master's degree (Part III) at Cambridge. In his PhD thesis at Cambridge, he showed how Lie theory (which is also used in theoretical physics) can be fruitfully applied to study the arithmetic statistics of Diophantine equations.
While at St John’s Mr Laga will continue investigating number theory through the lens of Lie theory, as well as exploring interactions with neighbouring fields such as algebraic geometry, symplectic geometry and singularity theory.
Full profile
Mathematics
Number theory
Mr Laga is a pure mathematician working in number theory, a field that goes back to the ancient Greeks and Babylonians and aims to understand properties of the whole numbers, the basic building blocks of mathematics. More specifically, he works in arithmetic statistics, which studies number-theoretic objects (like prime numbers or polynomial equations) in families.
He completed an undergraduate degree at Ghent University (with an exchange semester in Paris) and a Master's degree (Part III) at Cambridge. In his PhD thesis at Cambridge, he showed how Lie theory (which is also used in theoretical physics) can be fruitfully applied to study the arithmetic statistics of Diophantine equations.
While at St John’s Mr Laga will continue investigating number theory through the lens of Lie theory, as well as exploring interactions with neighbouring fields such as algebraic geometry, symplectic geometry and singularity theory.
Full profile
Professor Austen Lamacraft
College Lecturer in Physics
Natural Sciences (Physical)
Physics
Full profile
College Lecturer in Physics
Natural Sciences (Physical)
Physics
Full profile
Professor Nic Lane
University Senior Lecturer
Computer Science
Professor Lane studies the design, architecture and algorithms of scalable and robust end-to-end machine learning (ML) systems. His research interests drive towards the development of new forms of ML systems that are revolutionary in how they leverage multi-modal data (e.g. speech, vision, location, inertial information) to infer and reason over complex real-world situations — while simultaneously, maintaining extreme levels of systems flexibility (e.g. distributed execution, adaptation) and efficiency (e.g. compute, memory).
Full profile
University Senior Lecturer
Computer Science
Professor Lane studies the design, architecture and algorithms of scalable and robust end-to-end machine learning (ML) systems. His research interests drive towards the development of new forms of ML systems that are revolutionary in how they leverage multi-modal data (e.g. speech, vision, location, inertial information) to infer and reason over complex real-world situations — while simultaneously, maintaining extreme levels of systems flexibility (e.g. distributed execution, adaptation) and efficiency (e.g. compute, memory).
Full profile
Professor Christel O Lane
College Lecturer in Sociology, Prof of Economic Sociology
Human, Social and Political Sciences (HSPS)
Sociology
Economic Sociology: Varieties of capitalism theory. Transformations of corporate governance systems in Europe. Responses of UK and German companies to globalisation: reconfiguration of the value chain and foreign sourcing.
Full profile
College Lecturer in Sociology, Prof of Economic Sociology
Human, Social and Political Sciences (HSPS)
Sociology
Economic Sociology: Varieties of capitalism theory. Transformations of corporate governance systems in Europe. Responses of UK and German companies to globalisation: reconfiguration of the value chain and foreign sourcing.
Full profile
Dr Tomas H Larsson
Senior Lecturer in the Department of Politics and International Studies, College Lecturer in Politics
History and Politics
Social & Political Science
Comparative Politics and International Relations: Southeast Asia, state formation, economic development.
Full profile
Senior Lecturer in the Department of Politics and International Studies, College Lecturer in Politics
History and Politics
Social & Political Science
Comparative Politics and International Relations: Southeast Asia, state formation, economic development.
Full profile
Professor Ernest D Laue
University Prof of Structural Biology, Formerly College Lecturer in Biochemistry
Natural Science (Biological)
Structural Biology
Understanding how chromatin structure controls gene expression.
Full profile
University Prof of Structural Biology, Formerly College Lecturer in Biochemistry
Natural Science (Biological)
Structural Biology
Understanding how chromatin structure controls gene expression.
Full profile
Dr John A Leake
Formerly President, University Senior Lecturer and College Lecturer in Materials Science
Engineering
Materials Science
X-Ray diffraction for microstructural characterisation, especially of novel materials. Structure-property relations. Development of web-based teaching resources.
Full profile
Formerly President, University Senior Lecturer and College Lecturer in Materials Science
Engineering
Materials Science
X-Ray diffraction for microstructural characterisation, especially of novel materials. Structure-property relations. Development of web-based teaching resources.
Full profile
Professor Janet M Lees
Professor of Civil Engineering, College Lecturer in Engineering
Engineering
Sustainable concrete infrastructure, strength assessment of existing reinforced concrete structures, the use of new materials in construction and the creation of innovative structural solutions.
Full profile
Professor of Civil Engineering, College Lecturer in Engineering
Engineering
Sustainable concrete infrastructure, strength assessment of existing reinforced concrete structures, the use of new materials in construction and the creation of innovative structural solutions.
Full profile
Professor M M G (Manucha) Lisboa
College Lecturer in Portuguese
Modern and Medieval Languages
Portuguese, Brazilian and Lusophone African (Mozambican and Angolan) Literature from the nineteenth century to the present (and some Film).
Portuguese and Brazilian Literature from the nineteenth century to the present. Gender, Nationality, Church and State in literature and art (Catholicism and Fascism, Feminist Theory, Object Relations Theory and New Historicism, Fantasy and the genre of the Fantastic). The art of Paula Rego.
Full profile
College Lecturer in Portuguese
Modern and Medieval Languages
Portuguese, Brazilian and Lusophone African (Mozambican and Angolan) Literature from the nineteenth century to the present (and some Film).
Portuguese and Brazilian Literature from the nineteenth century to the present. Gender, Nationality, Church and State in literature and art (Catholicism and Fascism, Feminist Theory, Object Relations Theory and New Historicism, Fantasy and the genre of the Fantastic). The art of Paula Rego.
Full profile
Professor Po-Ling Loh
College Lecturer in Mathematical Statistics
Mathematics
Theoretical Statistics
High-dimensional statistics, robust statistics, differential privacy and network inference.
Full profile
College Lecturer in Mathematical Statistics
Mathematics
Theoretical Statistics
High-dimensional statistics, robust statistics, differential privacy and network inference.
Full profile
Dr Andrea Luppi
Natural Science (Biological)
General anaesthesia is one of the greatest breakthroughs in the history of medicine, enabling millions of life-saving surgeries each year worldwide. However, we still do not know how anaesthetics influence the delicate functioning of the brain to suppress consciousness. Dr Luppi's doctoral work used anaesthesia as a lens to interrogate brain function to understand how brain architecture orchestrates information processing.
After transitioning from Philosophy to Neuroscience, his PhD combined network science and information theory. He discovered that the interactions between different brain regions are synergistic, carrying more information than the sum of their individual contributions. This neural synergy is diminished when consciousness is lost, whether due to anaesthesia or brain injury. It is also especially prominent in evolutionarily recent regions of the human brain, and greater in humans than in non-human primates.
These discoveries converge on a role of synergy in supporting human cognition, raising the intriguing prospect of using synergy as a guiding principle to develop more human-like artificial intelligence. This is the research that Dr Luppi will conduct during his time as a Fellow of St John’s. He will investigate the role of synergy in supporting cognitive function and dysfunction, both in the human brain and in artificial neural networks.
Full profile
Natural Science (Biological)
General anaesthesia is one of the greatest breakthroughs in the history of medicine, enabling millions of life-saving surgeries each year worldwide. However, we still do not know how anaesthetics influence the delicate functioning of the brain to suppress consciousness. Dr Luppi's doctoral work used anaesthesia as a lens to interrogate brain function to understand how brain architecture orchestrates information processing.
After transitioning from Philosophy to Neuroscience, his PhD combined network science and information theory. He discovered that the interactions between different brain regions are synergistic, carrying more information than the sum of their individual contributions. This neural synergy is diminished when consciousness is lost, whether due to anaesthesia or brain injury. It is also especially prominent in evolutionarily recent regions of the human brain, and greater in humans than in non-human primates.
These discoveries converge on a role of synergy in supporting human cognition, raising the intriguing prospect of using synergy as a guiding principle to develop more human-like artificial intelligence. This is the research that Dr Luppi will conduct during his time as a Fellow of St John’s. He will investigate the role of synergy in supporting cognitive function and dysfunction, both in the human brain and in artificial neural networks.
Full profile
Professor Nathan MacDonald
College Lecturer in Theology, Professor in the Interpretation of the Old Testament
Theology, Religion, and Philosophy of Religion
Old Testament
Pentateuch; Old Testament Theology; History of Israelite Religion; Ritual; Priesthood; Redaction Criticism; Inner-biblical Interpretation.
Full profile
College Lecturer in Theology, Professor in the Interpretation of the Old Testament
Theology, Religion, and Philosophy of Religion
Old Testament
Pentateuch; Old Testament Theology; History of Israelite Religion; Ritual; Priesthood; Redaction Criticism; Inner-biblical Interpretation.
Full profile
Dr Alan J Macfarlane
Formerly College Lecturer in Applied Mathematics, Emeritus University Reader in Mathematical Physics
Mathematics
Applied Mathematics
Symmetries and supersymmetries and applications to integrable models in ordinary and supersymmetric quantum mechanics. Studies of exceptional Lie algebras in such contexts.
Full profile
Formerly College Lecturer in Applied Mathematics, Emeritus University Reader in Mathematical Physics
Mathematics
Applied Mathematics
Symmetries and supersymmetries and applications to integrable models in ordinary and supersymmetric quantum mechanics. Studies of exceptional Lie algebras in such contexts.
Full profile
The Rev'd Dr Andrew A Macintosh
Formerly Dean of Chapel, Tutor, President, College Lecturer in Theology
Theology, Religion, and Philosophy of Religion
Hebrew as a biblical language; its links with its sister language Arabic; the work of the 10th Century Jewish philologist Rabbi Jonah ibn Janah and his dictionary of Hebrew written in Arabic.
Full profile
Formerly Dean of Chapel, Tutor, President, College Lecturer in Theology
Theology, Religion, and Philosophy of Religion
Hebrew as a biblical language; its links with its sister language Arabic; the work of the 10th Century Jewish philologist Rabbi Jonah ibn Janah and his dictionary of Hebrew written in Arabic.
Full profile
Professor Nicholas S Manton
Prof of Mathematical Physics
Mathematics
Applied Mathematics
Theoretical elementary particle physics, topological solitons and their dynamics in two and three dimensions, quantum field theory and supersymmetry.
Full profile
Prof of Mathematical Physics
Mathematics
Applied Mathematics
Theoretical elementary particle physics, topological solitons and their dynamics in two and three dimensions, quantum field theory and supersymmetry.
Full profile
Dr E Keith Matthews
Formerly College Lecturer and Director of Studies in Pharmacology
Pharmacology
Photodynamic pharmacology. Development of laser-activated anti-tumour agents.
Full profile
Formerly College Lecturer and Director of Studies in Pharmacology
Pharmacology
Photodynamic pharmacology. Development of laser-activated anti-tumour agents.
Full profile
Professor Hugh R Matthews
College Lecturer and Director of Studies in Physiology & Organisms, University Professor in Sensory Physiology, Director of Studies in Physiology of Organisms
Medical Science
Physiology
Phototransduction and olfactory transduction. Calcium homeostasis in vertebrate photoreceptors and olfactory receptors, and its role in modulating their electrical responses to stimulation.
Full profile
College Lecturer and Director of Studies in Physiology & Organisms, University Professor in Sensory Physiology, Director of Studies in Physiology of Organisms
Medical Science
Physiology
Phototransduction and olfactory transduction. Calcium homeostasis in vertebrate photoreceptors and olfactory receptors, and its role in modulating their electrical responses to stimulation.
Full profile
Professor Helen McCarthy
College Lecturer in Modern History, Professor in Modern and Contemporary British History
History
The social, cultural and political history of Britain since the late nineteenth century.
Full profile
College Lecturer in Modern History, Professor in Modern and Contemporary British History
History
The social, cultural and political history of Britain since the late nineteenth century.
Full profile
Professor I Nick McCave
College Supervisor in Geological Sciences, Emeritus Woodwardian Prof of Geology, College rep on the Johnian Society Committee
Natural Sciences (Physical)
Geology
Marine geology. Deep-sea sedimentation, geological record of the changing deep-sea circulation under varying climate, mechanics of fine sediment erosion, transport, aggregation and deposition in the deep ocean.
Full profile
College Supervisor in Geological Sciences, Emeritus Woodwardian Prof of Geology, College rep on the Johnian Society Committee
Natural Sciences (Physical)
Geology
Marine geology. Deep-sea sedimentation, geological record of the changing deep-sea circulation under varying climate, mechanics of fine sediment erosion, transport, aggregation and deposition in the deep ocean.
Full profile
Dr R (Dick) E McConnel
College Lecturer in Engineering, Formerly University Lecturer in Structural Engineering
Engineering
Structural Engineering
Composite steel and concrete structures. Light weight domes and large span roofs.
Full profile
College Lecturer in Engineering, Formerly University Lecturer in Structural Engineering
Engineering
Structural Engineering
Composite steel and concrete structures. Light weight domes and large span roofs.
Full profile
Professor Duncan C McFarlane
College Lecturer in Engineering, Professor of Industrial Information Engineering
Engineering
Distributed automation strategies in the industrial supply chain. Determining the impact of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) on industrial decision making. Architectures for reconfigurable manufacturing operations.
Full profile
College Lecturer in Engineering, Professor of Industrial Information Engineering
Engineering
Distributed automation strategies in the industrial supply chain. Determining the impact of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) on industrial decision making. Architectures for reconfigurable manufacturing operations.
Full profile
Professor David L McMullen
Emeritus Prof of Chinese
Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
China
The history of China in the Sui (A.D.589-618), Tang (618-907) and Five Dynasties (907-960) periods. The development of Chinese Studies in the UK.
Full profile
Emeritus Prof of Chinese
Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
China
The history of China in the Sui (A.D.589-618), Tang (618-907) and Five Dynasties (907-960) periods. The development of Chinese Studies in the UK.
Full profile
Dr A (Ricky) C Metaxas
Formerly Tutor
Engineering
The use of high frequencies for industrial processing. Specifically the use of radio frequencies and microwaves for heating, drying, waste reprocessing, tempering of foodstuffs and so on. Computational electromagnetics for processes involving electroheat. Physics or arc/spark instigation and numerical modelling or coronas leading to arc formation.
Full profile
Formerly Tutor
Engineering
The use of high frequencies for industrial processing. Specifically the use of radio frequencies and microwaves for heating, drying, waste reprocessing, tempering of foodstuffs and so on. Computational electromagnetics for processes involving electroheat. Physics or arc/spark instigation and numerical modelling or coronas leading to arc formation.
Full profile
Professor David R Midgley
Emeritus Professor of German Literature and Intellectual History
Modern and Medieval Languages
German
Cultural change in Germany since the unification of 1871. Cultural memory and the literary representation of memory in a German context.
Full profile
Emeritus Professor of German Literature and Intellectual History
Modern and Medieval Languages
German
Cultural change in Germany since the unification of 1871. Cultural memory and the literary representation of memory in a German context.
Full profile
Professor Eric Miska
Director of Studies in Molecular Biology, Herchel Smith Professor of Molecular Genetics
Natural Science (Biological)
Full profile
Director of Studies in Molecular Biology, Herchel Smith Professor of Molecular Genetics
Natural Science (Biological)
Full profile