A fleet of driverless cars working together to keep traffic moving smoothly can improve overall traffic flow by at least 35 percent, researchers have shown. The researchers from the University of Cambridge including Michael He, a second year Mathematics undergraduate from St John's, programmed a small fleet of miniature robotic cars to drive on a multi-lane track and observed how the traffic…

The Raspberry Pi computer and a synthetic bone-graft are among the feats of engineering from the past 50 years being celebrated by the Royal Mail in a new set of stamps. The 10 stamps feature ‘marvels of modern life’ created by British engineers and highlight inventions in medicine, travel, and infrastructure. Dr Dame Sue Ion, British engineer and judge for the Royal Academy of Engineering…

A play set in Northern Ireland during the Troubles and written by an alumnus of St John’s has been nominated for nine of America’s most important theatre awards. Jez Butterworth’s critically acclaimed Broadway play The Ferryman has picked up nominations for Best Play for Butterworth, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for Paddy Considine and Best Direction for Sam Mendes. The family…

Celebrations have begun to mark the 150th birthday of the famous Victorian Chapel of St John’s College - an iconic feature of the Cambridge skyline. Designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, the great Gothic Revival architect, the building replaced a relatively modest Tudor chapel which was itself a rebuilding of that of the 13th century Hospital of St John which predated the College’s foundation in…

The annual Dirac Lecture 2019, entitled From fractional quantum Hall effect to field-theoretic dualities, will be given by Professor Dam Thanh Son, University of Chicago. The lecture will take place on Tuesday 14 May at the Centre for Mathematical Sciences, Cambridge. The Dirac Lecture, established jointly by St John's College and the University of Cambridge's Department of Applied…

Academics at The Centre for Misfolding Diseases have been honoured with a Royal Society of Chemistry prize to celebrate their ‘inspirational’ scientific collaboration. The Royal Society of Chemistry’s annual prizes and awards recognise achievements by individuals, teams and organisations in advancing the chemical sciences and supporting chemical scientists. Professor Tuomas Knowles, Sir…

A campaign to make it easier for students with severe allergies to have access to lifesaving Epipens is being supported by the on-site nurse at St John’s College. Emma Dellar is fundraising for The Anaphylaxis Campaign which is lobbying for legal changes which would allow Higher Education medical staff to store Epipens and other adrenaline auto injector devices (AAIs) onsite. Staff at UK Higher…

A team of researchers including Dr Eric Miska, Fellow at St John’s, have discovered that honey bees are able to share immunity with other bees and to their offspring in a hive by transmitting RNA ‘vaccines’ through royal jelly and worker jelly. The jelly is the bee equivalent of mother’s milk: a secretion used to provide nutrition to worker and queen bee larvae. The findings suggest new ways to…

St John’s students Charlie Smith and Zengani Nyirenda were honoured with prizes for their significant contributions to College sport at this year’s Annual General Athletics Club Colours Dinner (known as the Colours Dinner). Smith, who captains the men’s rugby team, was presented with the Bob Fuller trophy and Nyirenda, captain of the women’s hockey team, was awarded the Jim Williams trophy by Dr…

Choral classics from the past two centuries will feature on the new album from the Choir of St John’s to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the College Chapel. The construction of a new Chapel at St John’s in 1869 was intended to reflect the College’s royal status as a foundation of Lady Margaret Beaufort, philanthropist and mother of King Henry VII. The grand Victorian building was designed…

From left: John-Clark Levin, Rosie McKeown, James Devine-Stoneman and Matt Hazel in the 2018 University Challenge finalIt’s that time of year again – the nation is gearing up to watch the hotly contested University Challenge final. This time last year University Challenge fever was running high in College as the St John’s team were gearing up for their first ever appearance in a final. They…

The silver screen adaptation of a novel written by a graduate of St John’s and partly filmed at St John’s is released in cinemas on Friday. Red Joan puts a fictional spin on the true story of Melita Norwood, a woman unmasked as the KGB’s longest-serving British spy when she was 87-years-old. Parisa Taghizadeh © Trademark (Red Joan) Ltd 2018

How women tried to overcome sexual difficulties at a pivotal moment in Britain's sex history has been studied by Dr Caroline Rusterholz, Historian and College Research Associate at St John’s. She examined incredibly rare audio recordings of Britain’s earliest sexual counselling sessions for the first time. In these recordings women confided painful secrets about their physical discomfort, fears…

An incoming Research Fellow at St John’s has been named as one of the 20 members of the 2019 class of Schmidt Science Fellows. Kadi Liis Saar was elected as one of our five new Research Fellows that will join St John’s in October 2019. Saar studied Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology via Natural Sciences at Trinity College, Cambridge, before progressing to an MEng (Hons) in Chemical…

Five members of the St John’s community have been shortlisted for the 2019 Cambridge University Students’ Union awards for their commitment to teaching and student support. The annual Cambridge University Students’ Union (CUSU) teaching awards are presented in recognition of outstanding lecturers, supervisors, tutors, and Directors of Studies at the University of Cambridge. Two members of the…

Nine academically outstanding postgraduate students will be joining the St John’s community later this year as part of the Gates Cambridge Scholars programme. The nine future Johnians were selected by the Gates Cambridge Scholarship Programme from a highly competitive pool of applicants for their academic achievements and their strong commitment to improving the lives of others. They will be…

St John’s alumna Emma Corrin has been cast as Princess Diana in season four of The Crown. The critically acclaimed Netflix drama follows the political rivalries and royal scandals of the reign of The Queen. It has received more than 15 international awards for the cast and crew including the Golden Globe for Best Television Series. Each season of the drama covers several years of the Queen’s…

St John's College has elected five exceptional new Research Fellows to join our vibrant academic community. The Research Fellowships provide the opportunity for outstanding researchers early in their careers to carry out independent study in a stimulating and supportive environment. The areas of study of the new academics range from analysing the work of Latin satirists Horace and Persius to…

Researchers have ‘fine-tuned’ a major cell signalling mechanism by rewriting DNA inside yeast cells to control how they respond to their environment. The study, which was published today by Cell, has immediate biotechnology uses but could also have wider implications for healthcare research. It is hoped being able to alter how cells react will help scientists understand how diseased cells…

A portrait of Lady Margaret Beaufort has been named as the first piece of work identified as being painted by 16th century Dutch artist Meynnart Wewyck – solving a 500-year-old mystery. Wewyck was an active member of King Henry VII’s court during his reign and became his preferred painter. But until now the absence of a signed or documented work has made it impossible to attribute paintings to…

Dr Mary Dobson has been made a member of St John’s College. The historian of medicine has wide ranging interests in global health.  She read Geography at St. Hugh’s College, University of Oxford, and was awarded a BA with First Class honours in 1976 and a DPhil at Nuffield College, Oxford, in 1982. She is the author of numerous publications ranging from academic articles and monographs to…

A team of international scientists will analyse the DNA of thousands of ancient human remains to map the genetic origins of neuropsychiatric diseases. Professor Eske Willerslev, a Fellow at St John’s College, University of Cambridge, and his team of international researchers will build one of the largest genomic datasets ever created by sequencing the DNA from bones and teeth with some of the…

The Reverend Canon Mark Oakley, Dean of Chapel at St John’s, has been shortlisted for the Michael Ramsey Prize for the 'most promising contemporary theological writing from the global Church'. Canon Oakley’s book The Splash of Words: Believing in poetry has been named along with the authors of five other books including Rachel Mann and Keith Eyeons. The Splash of Words argues that belief in…

A retired racing greyhound named Jim has taken up residence at St John’s after being adopted by the Master of the College.  Four-year-old Jim, whose racing name is Kairi Jem, raced at Henlow Greyhound Stadium and won six races during his career. Since retiring from the track, Jim’s trainer Kelli Windebank has been searching for the perfect home for his retirement and is delighted to have now…

The bones of men and women buried at a medieval cemetery found underneath the Old Divinity School will feature in a free exhibition held in College as part of the Cambridge Science Festival. Skeletons in the Closet at St John’s will explore the fascination we have had for centuries with human, animal and even insect skeletons. On display will be 15th century manuscripts including College founder…