St John’s College Review of the Year 2022

Looking back at 2022

As we say goodbye to 2022, we look back on 12 months in the life of St John’s. From the discovery of two-million-year-old DNA to the story of a trapped cygnet that made national news, it's been a busy and colourful year.

December

A grammatical problem that has defeated Sanskrit scholars since the 5th century BC is finally solved by Rishi Rajpopat, an Indian PhD student at St John’s:

Ancient grammatical puzzle solved after 2,500 years

Two-million-year-old DNA is identified for the first time – opening a ‘game-changing’ new chapter in the history of evolution. The discovery was made in Greenland by a team of scientists led by Professor Eske Willerslev, a Fellow of St John’s, and colleague Professor Kurt H. Kjær at the University of Copenhagen:

Discovery of world’s oldest DNA breaks record by one million years

The Rev’d Dr Mark Oakley, Dean of Chapel, pays tribute to Andrew Nethsingha, Director of Music of The Choir of St John’s, at his final Evensong as he heads to Westminster Abbey to take up his new role as Organist and Master of Choristers:

Thank you for the music

Andrew Nethsingha smiling and leaping in the air in the Chapel
Credit: Richard Cannon.

St John’s is to hold its first ‘Swish’ clothes swap party to encourage sustainable fashion habits among the College community while supporting local charities, it is announced:

‘Swish’ pop-up clothes swap event comes to St John’s College

DNA testing finds that a tulip unearthed in Central Asia is a new species of the flower. St John’s postgraduate Brett Wilson is a member of the expedition team who made the discovery:

New species of tulip discovered in Asia by Cambridge student

St John’s Catering department launches an initiative to upcycle unused candle stubs into scented candles. Their fragrance is reminiscent of the magical dining experience at St John’s – port, dark wood and aged leather.

The stubs of the 100 per cent clean burning candles are collected by bike and returned by The Candle Company Cambridge packaged and ready to sell. Jack Glossop (pictured), Deputy Fellows’ Butler, came up with the idea:

Jack Glossop with candles

The St John’s 2023 Charity Calendar, featuring photos by the College community, goes on sale to raise funds for the Royal National Institute of Blind People.

November

St John’s Fellow Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta is named as a United Nations ‘Champion of the Earth’ for his ‘transformative’ work to halt ecosystem damage:

UN’s highest environmental honour awarded to St John’s economist

Seven new graduates of St John’s are honoured with 2022 Larmor Awards for ‘outstanding’ academic work and contributions to the life of the College:

Exceptional students dedicated to helping others receive prestigious College prizes

Director of Music Andrew Nethsingha’s final Advent broadcast from the Chapel of St John’s is aired on BBC Radio 3:

Listen to the service on BBC Sounds until the end of December 2022

A Life Fellow at St John’s is the focus of a short series on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire. Dr A.C. (Ricky) Metaxas is interviewed about his life and his novel, The Young Alexandrians and the discussion is broadcast in regular evening slot The Autobiography:

Listen to the series on BBC Sounds

A new exhibition curated by an architectural historian from St John’s opens in Vicenza, Veneto, Italy. Acqua, Terra, Fuoco (‘Water, Earth, Fire’): Industrial Architecture of the Renaissance in the Veneto, is curated by Professor Deborah Howard, Fellow:

Academic’s exhibition on 16th-century industrial heritage of the Veneto has lessons for today’s innovators

As a year of events marking the 40th anniversary of women first being admitted as members of the College draws to an end, eagle-eyed students at Formal Hall notice something unusual about the complement of Fellows.

Heather Hancock, Master of St John’s, and 34 female Fellows from the College dined together, making a record number of women at High Table. The Master said: “We thought it would be fun to end the 40th anniversary year with a female Fellows’ flashmob at High Table, a lovely moment for us to celebrate and reflect.”

Formal hall dinner

Analysis of the oldest charred food remains ever found reveals some of the cooking tricks used by early modern human and Neanderthal chefs to make their meals more palatable. The research is by a team of archaeologists including St John's Fellow Professor Graeme Barker and External Director of Studies and alumna Dr Emma Pomeroy:

Prehistoric chefs’ culinary skills revealed after discovery of ancient charred food

St John’s launches new podcast series Souvient to intrigue, inform and inspire listeners.

In each episode host Heather Hancock, Master of St John’s, is joined by a notable person from the St John’s community for a lively and thought-provoking conversation about their life and work. To mark the 40th anniversary of the admission of women as members of St John’s, Olympic rower Annemarie Phelps is first out of the starter blocks:

Introducing ‘Souvient’ – a new Cambridge podcast series inspired by Lady Margaret Beaufort

‘Exceptional musician’ Christopher Gray is named as the new leader of The Choir of St John’s. Currently Director of Music at Truro Cathedral, Gray will conduct the world-famous choir, which is renowned for launching the careers of many musicians:

St John’s College announces Christopher Gray as its new Director of Music

Cambridge scientists use synthetic biology to create artificial enzymes to target the genetic code of SARS-CoV-2 and destroy the virus, an approach that could be used to develop a new generation of antiviral drugs. Dr Alex Taylor, a Sir Henry Dale Fellow and Affiliated Researcher at St John’s, and his team successfully ‘killed’ live SARS-CoV-2 virus in their research:

Synthetic biology meets medicine: ‘programmable molecular scissors’ could help fight Covid-19 infection

Dr Vincent Fortuin, a Fellow of St John’s, is selected for The Branco Weiss Fellowship, a programme for outstanding postdoctoral researchers hosted by ETH Zurich:

Academic awarded prestigious fellowship

Environmental campaigner Mya-Rose Craig, a second-year undergraduate in Human, Social and Political Sciences, appears at Cambridge Literary Festival to discuss her book, Birdgirl, and passion for the natural world.

Watch Mya-Rose talk about what young people can do about climate change

Dr Marie Chabbert, Early-Career Researcher in French Studies and a Fellow of St John’s, appears at the 9th Global Forum of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) in Morocco: Towards an Alliance of Peace: Living Together as One Humanity.

Three postgraduate students are awarded prizes by UK and international bodies to recognise and support their research in the fields of English, Law and Politics.

Postgraduates awarded research prizes

Grade I-Listed gate piers of eagles at St John’s are relocated to recreate an impressive vista as part of the College’s new Buttery, Bar and Café works.

The 18th-century stone gate piers, topped with stone eagles by renowned mason Robert Grumbold, were carefully deconstructed for the recent works. In their new home in front of the Buttery, they can once again be viewed as an integral part of a sequential vista, along with the bridge’s gate piers of stone yales, also by Grumbold.

Paula Mejia-Wright, of architects MCW, said: “This vista was lost back in the 1970s when the previous dining room was constructed and the eagle piers were relocated further apart.”

Stone eagles

A book blending poetry, prose and history written by Vona Groarke, St John’s Writer in Residence, is published. Hereafter: The Telling Life of Ellen O’Hara is based on the life of the Vona’s Irish great-grandmother who immigrated to New York in the late 19th century and worked as a domestic servant:

Read up on the book from the publisher

A leading historian of China and Fellow of St John’s known for his ‘intellectual energy’ and kindness is remembered with great affection after his death. Dr Joseph (‘Joe’) P. McDermott died on 30 October, days before his 77th birthday, after being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour in May. He had been a Fellow at St John’s for 32 years:

Tributes pour in for historian with generous spirit who loved St John’s

Joe

‘Innovative and important’ research being done by 10 PhD students at St John’s College is given the chance to shine at the St John’s Postgraduate Research Symposium. Presentations are given across a wide range of topics, from tiger conservation to green technologies:

Spotlight on postgraduate research

The JCR undergraduate student committee and Chapel start a joint venture to collect items for Cambridge City Foodbank. All members of the College community are encouraged to make a regular weekly donation to the foodbank via three new collection points in College:

Latest list of donations needed

Ninety-eight students are admitted as Scholars of St John’s in a ceremony that dates back more than 500 years. The honour goes to those who have shown academic excellence by achieving First Class results in their University exams.

Scholars
Photo credit: Professor Mete Atatüre.

Lady Margaret Boat Club first men and women’s boats are victorious in the annual Uni IV’s race, making it through multiple rounds to win their divisions.

rowers

October

A series of concerts featuring exceptional alumnae musicians from St John’s launch to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the admission of women to the College. Several alumnae returned to College to present a snapshot of the musical careers they have forged since graduating from St John’s. The performers include Julia Hwang, Laura van der Heijden, Lara Weaver, Stephanie Childress, Victoria Pham, Katrina Toner and Ghislaine McMullin.

Third-year geography undergraduate Rayyaan Hector swaps fieldwork for mountain effort when he climbs Snowdonia in Wales in aid of charity, helping to raise a staggering £12,349 as part of the annual Islamic Relief UK Charity Week:

Undergraduate takes Snowdon by storm for Charity Week

A swan hits the news after nestling into a narrow drainpipe on the side of The Old Library at St John’s College and promptly getting itself stuck.

Although the cygnet got inself in a flap, the College Porters, RSPCA and Cambridgeshire Fire Brigade kept their cool during the rescue from the grounds of the Masters’ Lodge Garden:

Trapped cygnet avoids swan song after firefighter rescue

swan rescue

St John’s welcomes a new Writer in Residence, Vona Groarke, who tells us about the value of creative writing, Covid’s impact on language and why her news role captures the imagination:

A telling life: an interview with Vona Groarke, Writer in Residence

The UK will need to step up research and deployment of new offshore carbon storage wells if it is to achieve the capacity required to deliver its net zero emissions plans, according to a working group of Cambridge researchers led by Professor Andy Woods, Fellow of St John’s:

UK offshore carbons storage deployment and research needs to scale up, says report

An hour-long vigil is held in the College Chapel to show solidarity with the people of Iran affected by the protests that engulfed the country following the death of Mahsa Amini.

Sneha Parmar, a second-year PhD student at St John’s, raises £200 for Cambridge Rape Crisis Centre by joining in the charity’s ‘Eighties Firewalk’ challenge to mark its 40th anniversary this year:

Donate to Sneha’s JustGiving page

A workshop on ultrasound tongue imaging organised by Dr Calbert Graham, College Research Associate at St John’s, brings together phoneticians, computer scientists, neuroscientists and speech and language therapists from across the University:

Cambridge Language Sciences supports ultrasound tongue imaging workshop

Six new Fellows are welcomed to St John’s College, bringing a wealth of experience and expertise in subjects ranging from Computer Science to Philosophy. 

Dr Jodi Gardner, a Fellow in Law at St John’s, is recognised in the Vice-Chancellor’s Awards for Research Impact and Engagement 2022 for improving understanding of high-cost credit and the cost-of-living crisis:

Academic finalist in Vice-Chancellor’s Awards

It is announced that Professor Stephen Darlington MBE – one of the UK’s leading choral conductors – will temporarily direct The Choir of St John’s in Lent Term 2023 when Andrew Nethsingha leaves the College to be Organist and Master of Choristers at Westminster Abbey.

Interim Director of Music to lead The Choir of St John’s

Composer Jonathan Dove writes a new service for The Choir of St John's in memory of the College's late Master, Professor Sir Christopher Dobson, who died in 2019:

Three world premieres to take place at St John's

September

Tributes are paid to Peter Noble, a popular former member of College staff, after his death at the age of 62. Peter, a Building Services Labourer in the Maintenance Department at St John’s, retired from the College in April after 17 years’ employment:

Tributes paid to stalwart of College community

Peter

An international team of researchers led by St John’s Fellow Professor Neil Arnold, from Cambridge’s Scott Polar Institute, reveal they have found new evidence for the possible existence of liquid water beneath the south polar ice cap of Mars:

New evidence for liquid water beneath the south polar ice cap of Mars

Cambridge scientists discover that cancer cells ‘hijack’ a process used by healthy cells to spread around the body, completing changing current ways of thinking about cancer metastasis. Professor Richard Gilbertson, Director of the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute and a Fellow of St John’s, was Group Leader for the study:

Breakthrough in understanding of how cancer spreads could lead to better treatments

Heather Hancock, Master of St John’s, pays tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II following her death on 8 September, and an Act of Remembrance is given in the College Chapel:

Master of St John’s pays tribute to The Queen

Act of Remembrance at St John's College for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

August

On A-Level results day, we spoke to some of the students who will be starting as undergraduates at St John’s in Michaelmas Term to hear their stories:

The bagpipe-playing asylum seeker who is going to Cambridge

Researchers from the lab of Professor Erwin Reisner, a Fellow at St John’s, develop floating ‘artificial leaves’ that generate clean fuels from sunlight and water. Dr Virgil Andrei, co-lead author of the paper and Research Fellow at St John’s, tested the device on the River Cam in front of the Bridge of Sighs and other Cambridge landmarks:

Floating ‘artificial leaves’ ride the wave of clean fuel production

Virgil

A new book by College Law Fellow Dr Jodi Gardner is published, warning Britain is seeing an explosion in the number of people falling into a ‘debt spiral’ and using illegal loan sharks as the cost of living crisis bites:

Desperate British householders turning to loan sharks to make ends meet, says new study

July

The first ancient herpes genomes to be sequenced suggests that the virus flourished in the Bronze Age due to migrations into Europe and possibly the emergence of kissing, according to an international team of scientists including Dr Christiana Scheib, Research Fellow at St John’s and Head of the Ancient DNA lab at Tartu University:

Prehistoric roots of ‘cold sore’ virus traced through ancient herpes DNA

A new study finds that a diet high in sugar and fat such as burgers, fries and fizzy drinks can negatively affect a new mother’s breast milk and baby’s health even before the child is conceived. The findings involve scientists from the Sferruzzi-Perri Lab, led by Professor Amanda Sferruzzi-Perri, Fellow of St John’s:

Fast food diet before pregnancy can impact breast milk and baby’s health, say scientists

Some of the women who made history as the College’s first female students reveal what it was like to be a pioneer:

‘Coming to St John’s was like walking into a fairytale’ – the women who made history as our first female students

Seventeen current and recently graduated students from St John’s are awarded University and Departmental Prizes for achieving exceptional results in the 2021-2022 academic year:

St John’s students scoop University accolades for outstanding academic performance

June

A plaque is placed in the President’s Garden in memory of Professor Robert Hinde, a Fellow and former Master of St John's, who died in 2016 at the age of 93.

Tree plaque
Professor Hinde's widow Joan Stevenson-Hinde and three of his children, Camilla, Jonathan and Kate, at the plaque ceremony with Heather Hancock, Master of St John’s, and David Austrin, Head Gardener.

Professor Sir Roger Penrose, an alumnus and Honorary Fellow of St John’s and a joint winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics, is awarded an honorary degree from the University of Cambridge:

Cambridge confers honorary degrees

Making Boat Race history scoops St John’s undergraduate Gemma King and her 2022 Women’s Lightweight Blue Boat crew mates the University of Cambridge Sports Awards Sporting Moment of the Year title:

Full event and winners’ summary

Two horse riders from St John’s come first in the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) Equestrian Championships with their team from Cambridge University Riding Club.

Maaike Hooijmeijer-Brown and Chloe Fairston – both studying Veterinary Medicine – and fellow equestrians in the Cambridge 1st team finished in first position at the championships and were crowned overall BUCS Team Champions. They also won the team show jumping finals and came third in the team dressage.

horseriders

The first-ever St John’s Giving Day in aid of Dobson Free Places, the College’s ground-breaking initiative to secure world-class, means-tested student support in perpetuity, raises more than £540,000 from the Johnian community:

Giving Day thanks

Dr Anthony Freeling, the incoming Acting Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge and an alumnus of St John’s, is elected to an Honorary Fellowship:

New Acting Vice-Chancellor announced as Honorary Fellow at St John’s

Three St John’s researchers are awarded top academic prizes for excellence in their PhD studies:

Postgraduates recognised for outstanding work in fields of Computer Science, Education and Physics

Postgraduate Niyi Adelakun tells how he left his successful music career behind 10 years ago to study at St John’s:

From rap star to student

Niyi
Photo credit: Nordin Ćatić.

Final-year St John's student doctor Adil Lakha, who is an RAF Officer Cadet with Cambridge University Air Squadron, opens up about what it is like being a medic and a pilot:

The medical student who is a real high-flyer

Award-winning pathologist Professor Andrew Wyllie dies after a long illness. The father-of-three, a Fellow of St John’s, was part of a team of researchers at the University of Aberdeen who discovered ‘apoptosis’ – the process of cell death:

Tributes paid to Professor of Pathology who discovered that cells die

St John’s achieves the highest environmental award in the University of Cambridge Green Challenge for the second year in a row:

St John’s awarded Platinum accolade for green initiatives

Second-year undergraduate Andrew Smith’s family ties to the discovery of Neanderthal remains more than half a century ago add another layer to the archaeological research of two St John’s academics, Professor Graeme Barker and Dr Emma Pomeroy:

All in the bones

Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta, a Fellow of St John’s, receives the Freedom of the City of London in recognition of his world-leading research calling for transformational change in our economic approach to nature:

St John’s economist joins 800-year-old tradition that has recognised some of the world’s foremost thinkers, leaders, and traders

It is announced that Artificial Intelligence (AI) expert Professor Zoubin Ghahramani, a Fellow of St John's, is to lead a government review into how the UK can use advanced computing to power technologies of the future:

Project on the ‘critical’ future of advanced computing in the UK headed up by St John’s academic

The St John’s May Ball – once described as the seventh-best party in the world – does not disappoint when it returns after a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic.

Ball

New artists’ impressions of the College’s new Buttery, Bar and Café are revealed:

New artist’s impressions released of community hub

Birdgirl, the memoir of Mya-Rose Craig, a first-year BA student, is published. The 20-year-old birder, environmentalist and diversity campaigner, who is studying Human, Social and Political Sciences, has seen more than 5,500 different types of bird – half the world’s species – since she began birdwatching with her family as a child.

May

Devices made of readily available oxide and carbon-based materials can produce clean hydrogen from water over weeks, it is claimed. The findings, co-led by Dr Virgil Andrei, Research Fellow, could help overcome one of the key issues in solar fuel production:

Earth-abundant solar pixels found to produce hydrogen for weeks

The Choir of St John’s sing from the rooftop of the College Chapel to mark Ascension Day – for the first time including girls who were admitted to the choir in April.

Ascension Day celebrates the Christian belief in the ascension of Jesus into Heaven, 40 days after his resurrection at Easter, and the rooftop tradition dates back to 1902 at St John’s.

Every year members of the Choir climb the 163ft spiral staircase of the tower to sing the Ascension Day carol at the top – bar the pandemic, although a pared down version was held last year. A crowd of students, Fellows, staff and members of the public gathered in First Court to listen to the singing.

PA choir photo
Photo credit: PA/PA Wire.

Professor Stefan Reif, a Fellow of St John’s, receives his OBE in an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle hosted by HRH The Duke of Cambridge.

Professor Reif was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to scholarship in the 2020 Queen Birthday Honours and attended the official ceremony at the royal residence to be awarded his Gong by Prince William, an Honorary Fellow of St John’s.

George Herbert, Herbert Howells Organ Scholar at St John’s, appears in the second episode of Secrets of Size: Atoms to Supergalaxies on BBC Four, illustrating the sound of space on the Chapel organ.

The programme, presented by theoretical physicist Jim Al-Khalili, explores the universe at its largest, from our solar system up to giant networks of interconnected galaxies. The section featuring St John’s starts at 30:43 and can be viewed on BBC iPlayer:

Watch the episode

Dr Anna Florin, a Research Fellow at St John’s and the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research in Cambridge, reveals what food scraps left behind by Aboriginal people at Madjedbebe rock shelter on Mirarr Country, in the Kakadu region of Northern Australia, reveal:

65,000 years of food scraps found at Kakadu tell a story of resilience amid changing climate, sea levels and vegetation

Second Court was bustling with graduands again as St John’s hosted the largest graduation celebration in College since 2019. A total of 105 students received PhDs, MAs, MPhils, an MB and an MBA. The graduates and their guests dined together in Hall after the ceremony in the Senate House.  

Professor Richard Gilbertson, a Fellow of St John’s, is awarded The Society of Memorial Sloan Kettering Prize, a prestigious recognition that is awarded annually to a researcher, physician, or team lead who has made a positive and lasting impact in the fight against paediatric cancer:

Top international prize for St John’s academic for his work fighting childhood cancers

Student fundraisers travel to Warsaw in Poland to buy and deliver hundreds of supplies for Ukrainian refugees with money collected from the St John’s Help Ukraine Gig.

Held on 21 March, the music festival at the Old Divinity School raised £1,034 in support of humanitarian aid for Ukraine. St John’s PhD students Leon Zaporski and João Fonseca De Araujo travel to Warsaw to stock up on essential items for the refugee centre there.

The Help Ukraine Gig was organised and supported by Jambridge – the live music and jam sessions society set up by Leon and João – and Cambridge University’s Portuguese, Ukrainian and Polish Societies, music shop PMT, and St John’s.

Ukraine

More than 60 animal species are identified in the grounds of St John’s during a College ‘BioBlitz’ for members and their families, organised by Tom White, PhD student in Zoology, and Ed Lucas, JCR Environment and Ethical Affairs Officer and second-year Natural Sciences undergraduate:

St John's BioBlitz

The St John’s postgraduate SBR Football Team beats The University Contractors 7-0 to lift the MCR Cup for the first time, in the final match of the series at Comberton Village College.

football team

A scientist who identified the origins of common childhood brain tumours and a biologist whose research focuses on the early stages of pregnancy are both selected as Fellows of The Royal Society. Professor Richard Gilbertson and Professor Graham Burton are selected for their ‘exceptional contributions to science’:

Two St John’s scientists among the new Fellows announced by The Royal Society

Fellow Dr Jodi Gardner and Library Assistant Rebecca Le Marchand win awards from Cambridge University students for 'going the extra mile' to provide exceptional support that helps them ‘realise their dreams’:

'Treasured' College members honoured by students at awards ceremony

Undergraduate Connor Bennett makes St John’s history when he wins two prizes for his significant contribution to College sport at the Annual General Athletics Club Colours Dinner.

The ‘Colours Dinner’ is usually held every year – bar global pandemics – and recognises exceptional achievements and good character in the sports men and women of St John’s.

Connor, a fourth-year mathematician and former captain of the College hockey team, is the first person in the history of the awards to win both the Bob Fuller trophy – selected by his peers – and the Jim Williams trophy, awarded by Keith Ellis, Head Groundsman.

Colours dinner

April

The Choir of St John’s makes history by admitting girls and women for the first time – making it the only Oxbridge choir to have both male and female members among the children and the students:

First female choristers welcomed as members of The Choir of St John’s

Two St John’s Fellows win funding from the European Research Council to invest in their pioneering work in the field of green energy. Professor Erwin Reisner is awarded an Advanced Grant and Dr Laura Torrente Murciano wins a Consolidator Grant:

European grants awarded to academics supporting world’s transition to a carbon-free society

An ‘intellectually brilliant’ postgraduate student is remembered with great affection after his death at the age of 35. Jonathan Gilmour, who had the progressive muscle-weakening and wasting condition Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, was a well-known member of the St John’s community having first come to St John’s as an undergraduate in 2005:

Tributes paid to ‘shining light’ of College community

Jonathan Gilmour

Finding out the sex of a baby during pregnancy could lead to better life chances, a new Cambridge study led by Professor Amanda Sferruzzi-Perri, a Fellow of St John’s, discovers:

Boys are more demanding than girls before they are born – according to scientists

Poetry springs back to life at St John’s after a two-year hiatus with the launch of a free festival featuring prize-winning poets. Poetry Spring is organised by Sasha Dugdale, St John’s Writer in Residence, and Dr Mina Gorji, a Fellow at Pembroke College:

Festival of poetry returns to St John’s College this spring

Animals play a central role in many peoples’ lives, and the lifting of veterinary regulations to allow them to be moved to safety during the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine is unprecedented. St John's PhD student Dorien Braam argues for this approach to be replicated across other refugee contexts:

Protection of refugee animals is vital to support livelihoods and health

A new study by PhD student Thomas White finds that costs of conservation projects are rarely reported, making it difficult for others to make decisions on the most cost-effective interventions at a time when funding for biodiversity conservation is severely limited:

Lack of transparency over cost of conservation projects hampers ability to prioritise funds to protect nature

March

Fourth-year St John’s undergraduates Gemma King and Harry Fieldhouse help the Cambridge University Boat Club Lightweight women’s and men’s crews to victory against Oxford in the 2022 Interactive Investor Lightweight Boat Races.

The Lightweight Boat Race was founded in 1975 by Richard Bates of St John’s College for smaller, lighter rowers to have a fairer chance to compete.

Gemma King and Harry Fieldhouse
Photo credits: Nordin Ćatić.

A ‘cyber-leaf’ designed and assembled using robots could help the world transition more quickly from climate change-inducing fossil fuels to green renewables, according to a new Cambridge study co-authored by a Research Fellow and an alumna of St John’s:

Robots could produce solar fuels to speed up global shift to renewable energy

Four distinguished experts in the fields of public health, conservation, climate change and law are made Honorary Fellows of St John’s in recognition of their exceptional work:

Experts on Covid-19, conservation, climate change and law elected as Honorary Fellows of St John’s

Sally Raudon, a social anthropologist and PhD student at St John’s, reveals her research into what happens to the dead of New York City – especially the poor. Her story covers mass burials, rituals of grief, and more:

The lost souls of Hart Island

Musicians from St John’s help to raise £25,514 for The British Red Cross Society Ukraine Crisis Appeal, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February. 

Watch a recording of the concert

A memorial service is held in St John's College Chapel for the renowned historian, Dr Peter Linehan. Dr Linehan, who died in July 2020, was a Fellow of St John's for more than half a century and ‘enriched countless lives’. A fund was launched in his memory in 2021.

A team from St John’s, including eagle mascot Maggie, battles against Reading University for a place in the semi-finals of BBC’s University Challenge but end their bid for glory:

Watch the programme

Runners from across the St John’s community take to the streets of Cambridge for the city’s half-marathon. Participants include Susannah Rose, Head of Alumni Relations – seen below (centre) with friend and Johnian Suzy Ashworth on the left – and undergraduates Felix Haynes and Paula Espada Blanco.

Runner Susannah and friend

Felix and Paula

Researchers from the University of Cambridge develop an efficient concept to turn carbon dioxide into clean, sustainable fuels, without any unwanted by-products or waste.

Professor Erwin Reisner, who is Professor of Energy and Sustainability and a Fellow of St John’s and led the research, says: “Instead of capturing and storing CO2, which is incredibly energy-intensive, we have demonstrated a new concept to capture carbon and make something useful from it in an energy-efficient way.”

New, nature-inspired concepts for turning C02 into clean fuels

The inaugural Penrose Lecture is given by Nobel Laureate Professor Sir Roger Penrose, alumnus and Honorary Fellow of St John’s:

Nobel prize-winner Sir Roger Penrose delivers talk at St John’s

Leaving home to go to University was a bigger challenge than for most for second-year undergraduate Mia Myers, who has Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). She talks about what makes her tick, smashing stereotypes and educating others:

Educating Mia

The Bridge of Sighs is illuminated in the Ukrainian national colours to show support for the nation following the Russian invasion. Events and lighting companies The Crane Event and We Are Pink Lamp donate their fees to Ukrainian charity, The Voices of Children.

Bridge in lights for Ukraine

February

Researchers from the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge, with colleagues from UT Sydney in Australia, identify two-dimensional material, hexagonal boron nitride, which can emit single photons from atomic-scale defects in its structure at room temperature. Professor Mete Atature, Fellow at St John’s, supervises the work:

Two-dimensional material could store quantum information at room temperature

Three undergraduates invent an app that aims to take the hassle out of arranging meetups with family and friends. Third years Towhid Ahmed, who is studying Land Economy, Engineer Oscar Saharoy and Chemical Engineer Jack Burt have created the free online tool, called Groupi.me, with two other university pals:

We’ll be there for you, say friends who have invented new tool for meetups

Dr Marie Chabbert, Junior Research Fellow, travels to the United Nations in New York to showcase the results of a year-long interfaith initiative to fight hate speech, fake news and the stoking of interreligious violence online:

Academic to head to United Nations in USA to showcase interfaith work in fighting hate speech online

Three medics are recognised in a University awards scheme for their ‘incredible’ efforts to support student peers during the pandemic. 

College medical students honoured in University education awards

A documentary exploring the Irish roots of the Brontë family, including Patrick Brontë’s time as a student at St John’s, aired on the BBC.

‘Patrick Branty’, father of the latterly famous Brontë sisters, moved to England from Ireland in 1802 to study Theology at St John’s under a scholarship for poor boys and the programme, The Brontës: An Irish Tale, features scenes filmed at the College in Michaelmas Term.

Watch The Brontës: An Irish Tale

January

A photo from a pinhole solar camera that was attached to St John’s College Chapel Tower for six months is finally revealed – and shows the Sun’s movement across the skyline of Cambridge, from the summer solstice to the winter solstice:

Chapel Tower pinhole camera records Sun’s arc over Cambridge sky

solar camera pic
Photo credit: Dr Matt Bothwell.

Tributes are paid to Sir David Roxbee Cox, a pioneering British statistician, Honorary Fellow and alumnus of St John’s College, after his death at the age of 97.

'Genius' statistician and Honorary Fellow dies aged 97

The St John’s Ultimate Frisbee team secures promotion after several years playing in division two of the College League:

Successful season sees Ultimate Frisbee team fly into first division

frisbee team

Postgraduate student Arlie McCarthy is first author of a new study that has found marine life hitching a ride on ocean-crossing ships poses a threat to Antarctica’s pristine ecosystems:

Invasive species ‘hitchhiking’ on tourist and research ships threaten Antarctica’s unique ecosystems

An Emeritus Professor of Greek and Latin, a green energy champion and the Director of Music at St Paul’s Cathedral join the ranks of the College members of St John’s to have been recognised in the Queen’s New Year Honours:

St John’s alumni recognised in New Year Honours 2022

After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the feast of the Epiphany is celebrated in the College Chapel with two candlelit carol services and music by The Choir of St John’s.

Eiphany

Published 20/12/2022

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