St John's College News

  1. Honorary Fellow who transformed the study of intellectual history dies at the age of 99

    Professor John G.A. Pocock was a renowned historian of political thought
    A ‘giant of the historical profession’ and Honorary Fellow of St John’s College has died three months before his 100th birthday. Professor John Greville Agard Pocock, Harry C. Black Emeritus Professor of History at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, was a historian of political thought and considered to be one of the most influential in his lifetime. His importance lay in his…read more

  2. Early career academic awarded prestigious Fellowship for her research into mental health risks of social media

    “Research urgently needs to move beyond the current conclusion that ‘it’s complicated’ to inform safeguards for adolescent mental health in the digital age”
    An academic from St John’s College has been named as a Future Leaders Fellow and will receive £1.9 million to boost her research into social media and teenage mental health. Dr Amy Orben is one of 75 new Future Leaders Fellows announced by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to support universities and businesses in developing their most talented early career researchers and innovators, and to…read more

  3. Why reading nursery rhymes and singing to babies may help them to learn language

    “We believe that speech rhythm information is the hidden glue underpinning the development of a well-functioning language system”
    Parents should speak to their babies using sing-song speech, like nursery rhymes, as soon as possible, say researchers. That’s because babies learn languages from rhythmic information, not phonetic information, in their first months. Phonetic information – the smallest sound elements of speech, typically represented by the alphabet – is considered by many linguists to be the foundation of…read more

  4. Prizes awarded to St John’s students for achieving outstanding results

    Accolades given to 11 current students and recent graduates of the College
    Eleven current and recently graduated students from St John's College have been awarded prizes for their excellent work and results across the University of Cambridge. Third-year undergraduate Luke Ashworth has received the Faculty of History Prize of £100 for outstanding performance in Part I of the Historical Tripos. Myra Koh, a second-year undergraduate, has won the Andrew Hall Prize for the…read more

  5. Academic wins French science prize for ‘outstanding’ work in stem cell research

    “This award reflects the essential contributions, insights, and support of my lab members past and present, as well as my many experimental collaborators”
    A Fellow from St John’s has been awarded a prestigious prize worth €20,000 by the French Academy of Sciences for his pioneering research into stem cells and disease. Professor Benjamin Simons has been presented with the 2023 Charles-Léopold Mayer Prize, which is given to researchers who have performed outstanding work in the biological sciences, and especially in the areas of cell or molecular…read more

  6. The Reverend Canon Dr Victoria Johnson appointed as Dean of Chapel at St John’s

    "I am looking forward to working with the world-class musicians at St John’s and creating a space for wonder, love and praise at the heart of College life"
    The Canon Precentor of York Minster has been named as the new Dean of Chapel at St John’s College. The Chapel of St John’s is one of the most recognisable buildings in Cambridge and is home to a lively, welcoming and inclusive community. Dr Johnson will oversee and manage the provision of services and the conduct of divine worship in the College Chapel, the activities of the choirs, and the…read more

  7. Numbers come up for students in Cambridge competition tackling misinformation

    “I am delighted to have had our work recognised as the winning concept”
    A Master’s student at St John’s has won the Cambridge Misinformation Hackathon with two friends - and the trio all did their undergraduate degrees at the same university in South Africa.  Josephine (Josie) Rey and her teammates Gregor Feierabend, from Trinity Hall, and Luca Powell, from Wolfson College, developed a method to address misleading numerical claims in the media for the…read more

  8. Ancient litter reveals history of ordinary people who lived during first Mediterranean ‘superpower’

    “One of the strengths of archaeology is its potential to reveal the lives not just of the people who wrote history but also the silent majority ‘beyond history’”
    The lives of farmers and shepherds who toiled on the land in Italy up to 8,000 years ago have been pieced together for the first time in a new book. The Etruscans ruled Etruria – now the western side of Italy between Rome and Florence – between the eighth and fourth centuries BC when their civilisation was absorbed by the Roman Empire, and their people were the first ‘superpower’ of the…read more

  9. Rising star undergraduate celebrated as one of UK’s ‘Future Black Leaders’

    “All the winners are so inspiring. It is mind-blowing that I’ve been selected”
    A St John’s student has been named as one of this year’s Top 150 UK Future African and African Caribbean Leaders. Annissa La Touche, Co-President of St John’s College Junior Combination Room (JCR) undergraduate committee, has been recognised for her work representing the student body and with Beyond Equality, a UK organisation that challenges gender stereotypes. Annissa attended a ceremony…read more

  10. Using lasers to ‘heat and beat’ 3D-printed steel could help reduce costs

    “If you can control the properties you want in metals, you can leverage the greener aspects of 3D printing”
    Researchers have developed a new method for 3D printing metal that could help reduce costs and make more efficient use of resources. The method, developed by a research team led by an engineering Fellow from St John's College, Cambridge, allows structural modifications to be ‘programmed’ into metal alloys during 3D printing, fine-tuning their properties without the ‘heating and beating’ process…read more

  11. ‘Exceptionally promising’ academics announced as winners of £100,000 prize

    “We are very proud to support these researchers through the next stage of their careers”
    Two Fellows from St John’s have been awarded prestigious Philip Leverhulme Prizes worth £100,000 each to advance their research in philosophy and theoretical statistics. Dr Jessie Munton has been announced a prize-winner by The Leverhulme Trust for her work on philosophy of mind, cognitive science and epistemology (the study of knowledge), and Professor Po-Ling Loh has been named as a recipient…read more

  12. Sustainable fashion ‘Swish’ returns to St John’s

    “The Swish is wins all around – you get rid of stuff you don’t wear, have some coffee and cake, then take home free new clothes”
    St John’s is holding its second ‘Swish’ clothes swap party this term after a successful debut event earlier this year. ‘Swishing’ is a popular sustainable fashion activity that enables you to donate your own good quality, unwanted clothes to swap with others – so you refresh your wardrobe while going easy on the planet. The first St John’s Swish, which was supported by St John’s College…read more

  13. Making the impossible possible

    Can we win the race against time to beat climate change? St John’s scientists debate in the latest Souvient Cambridge podcast
    “Clean technology provides the biggest economic and societal opportunity of the century and the nation that grabs that opportunity will be the one that comes out strongest in the end.” St John’s has launched the fifth episode of its podcast series Souvient, featuring a conversation between host Heather Hancock, Master of John’s, and a trio of experts from the College who all work at the…read more

  14. Honorary Fellow of St John’s named as next Master of Churchill College

    Scientist and former Fellow founded world-leading consortium that helped in fight against Covid-19
    Professor Sharon Peacock CBE FMedSci, Honorary Fellow of St John’s, will be the eighth Master of Churchill College.  The announcement follows Churchill’s selection process that ran this year and her election has now been approved by King Charles III. She will be formally admitted as Master in October 2024, succeeding Professor Dame Athene Donald, whose 10-year term ends in September.…read more

  15. Andrew Chamblin Memorial Lecture 2023

    Public talk on ‘Illuminating the Dark Universe with Gravitational Waves’
    The 17th Andrew Chamblin Memorial Lecture, entitled Illuminating the Dark Universe with Gravitational Waves, will be given in Cambridge by Professor Alessandra Buonanno, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics based in Potsdam, Germany. The public talk will take place on Tuesday 14 November 2023 at the Centre for Mathematical Sciences in Cambridge. For centuries,…read more

  16. Poster competition helps prospective Cambridge students shed light on their academic passions

    “I was delighted with both the number and the quality of entries this year”
    A competition to design an academic poster saw 125 young people from 90 UK schools take up the challenge laid by down by St John’s College on the theme of ‘dark’. Ten sixth-formers have been awarded National Book Tokens as prizes after their research projects impressed the judging panel made up of Fellows, Directors of Studies and other academics, chaired by The Rev’d Dr Mark Oakley, Dean, tutor…read more

  17. Designs of pioneering architect reveal Modernist ideas for rebuilding post-war Germany

    “The main focus of the curatorial process was on identifying the stories the drawings tell, and conceal, and not the tangible reality they shaped” 
    A major exhibition about the architectural drawings from the studio of the ‘Father of Modernism’ has opened in Berlin after being curated by a new Fellow of St John’s College. ‘Alvar Aalto in Germany: Drawing Modernism’ focuses on the German projects of Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (1898-1976), the Finnish pioneer of modern architecture and design whose work included buildings, furniture, textiles,…read more

  18. Dean and ‘voice for the voiceless’ honoured with Doctorate

    “I have been interested over many years in how the arts, and especially poetry, can help us listen, speak, and think less thinly”
    The Rev'd Canon Dr Mark Oakley, Dean of Chapel and Fellow at St John’s College, has today been awarded an honorary degree from the University of Chester in recognition of his championing of education and human rights. Dr Oakley received an Honorary Doctor of Education during a day of graduations featuring more than 150 graduands from the University Centre Shrewsbury who descended on St Chad’s…read more

  19. Two new portraits join College Hall of fame

    “The most successful portraits are not just about the likenesses but they actually say something about the subject themselves”
    For hundreds of years students and Fellows of St John’s have enjoyed communal dining in Hall seated beneath portraits of distinguished members of College. Now an official portrait of Heather Hancock, the first female Master of St John’s College, has joined the gallery adorning the wood-panelled walls along with a new painting of Professor Jane Heal, philosopher and St John’s Fellow who served as…read more

  20. Don’t panic! New exhibition gives peek into the improbable world of Douglas Adams

    “We don’t know how much time Adams spent in the Library at St John’s but we’re delighted that his papers made their way to us”
    The historic Old Library of St John’s is hosting a special exhibition about the life and genius of Douglas Adams, College alumnus and late author of cult sci-fi comedy franchise The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. ‘Improbabilities: A Douglas Adams Exhibition’ takes place on 15 and 16 September as part of this year’s free Open Cambridge festival of history and culture. Curated by Dr Adam…read more

  21. The Ancient Greek philosopher who can still surprise after 2,400 years

    “However many times you’ve read one of Plato’s texts, you always notice things you didn’t spot before”
    Plato’s ingenious ability as a writer is the focus of a new book by a world-renowned academic of ancient philosophy. Known as the father of Western philosophy, Plato (427-347 BCE) was a student of Socrates and teacher of Aristotle in Athens, Ancient Greece. There he founded the Academy, the first ‘school’ of philosophy, where vigorous discussion of all manner of topics took place. Plato’s most…read more

  22. Girls talented in maths spend summer school at St John’s College

    Camp aims to encourage more women to consider studying Mathematics at Cambridge
    A group of teenage girls from the UK and across the world have discovered what it is like to study Mathematics at Cambridge during a free residential summer camp at St John’s College. The 16 to 18-year-olds took part in Women in Mathematics, which was held to encourage more women to consider applying to study maths at Cambridge. Featuring lectures and workshops run by Cambridge academics,…read more

  23. Fellows’ Butler rocks silver service at St John’s College

    “It’s an unusual job and a traditional role but I love it as every day is different”
    John O’Sullivan is just as at home behind a keyboard as he is behind a serving platter in a career at St John’s spanning 25 years. When not supervising Fellows’ lunches in the historic St John’s Combination Room or polishing the College silver, the Irish-born Fellows’ Butler – who marks his silver anniversary at St John’s on 27 July – is keyboard player in local rock band Common Ground. The…read more

  24. Unborn babies use ‘greedy’ gene from dads to ‘remote-control’ mums into feeding them extra food

    “It’s the first direct evidence that a gene inherited from the father is signalling to the mother to divert nutrients to the fetus”
    Fetuses use a copy of a gene inherited from their dad to force their mum to release as much nutrients as possible during pregnancy, Cambridge scientists have discovered. The unborn baby ‘remote controls’ its mother’s metabolism so the two are in a nutritional tug of war. The mother’s body wants the baby to survive but needs to keep enough glucose and fats circulating in her system for her own…read more

  25. Painting of Lady Margaret Beaufort smuggled to Cambridge to protect it from King Henry VIII’s henchmen unveiled

    Lady Margaret’s original facial expression in the portrait had been painted over and changed to be made more ‘pious and sombre’
    A painting of Lady Margaret Beaufort, matriarch of the Tudor dynasty and grandmother of King Henry VIII, has gone on display at the newly reopened National Portrait Gallery after a painstaking restoration project.  The ‘extremely rare’ 16th-century painting, owned by St John’s College, is the earliest large-scale portrait of an English woman and one of the earliest large-scale portraits of…read more