St John's College News
Pole-vaulter, playwright, and music society president awarded prizes for ‘intellectual and practical activities’
Five graduates celebrated for their outstanding academic work and contributions to College lifeA pole-vaulting architect and an engineer who set up an orchestra are among the winners of prestigious 2024 Larmor Awards for their achievements as undergraduates at St John’s. The awards began in the 1940s and are named after Sir Joseph Larmor, a 20th-century physician and mathematician who was a student and later a Fellow at St John’s. Each year at least four undergraduates ‘adjudged to be…read moreFellow awarded literary prize for ‘captivating’ biography of Renaissance artist
Historian ‘deeply honoured’ to receive Einhard Prize 2025 for her book on Albrecht DürerA St John’s historian has won a prize for her book about Albrecht Dürer, Germany’s eminent Renaissance painter, printmaker and theorist. The Einhard Foundation in Germany has awarded the 2025 Einhard Prize to Professor Ulinka Rublack, Professor of Early Modern European History and a Fellow of St John’s, for her book, Dürer’s Lost Masterpiece: Art and Society at the Dawn of a Global World (Oxford…read moreTributes paid to giant of modern archaeology who has died aged 87
Professor Lord Colin Renfrew’s work ‘profoundly shaped the modern discipline’An ‘archaeological colossus’ and Honorary Fellow of St John’s has been remembered after his death at the age of 87. Professor Lord Renfrew of Kaimsthorn (Andrew Colin Renfrew) FBA FSA was an alumnus of St John’s, former Master of Jesus College, and founding Director of the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research at the University of Cambridge. One of archaeology’s most…read moreScientist explores awe and mystery of connection between maths and physics
Professor David Tong gives Penrose Biennial Lecture 2024: ‘Maths vs Physics: The Smackdown’Theoretical physicist Professor David Tong has followed in the footsteps of his ‘hero’ Sir Roger Penrose by giving the 2024 St John’s College Penrose Biennial Lecture, named in honour of the renowned mathematician, physicist and Nobel Laureate. An audio recording is now available of the lecture, titled Maths vs Physics: The Smackdown, which was presented at St John’s…read moreInternational science prize awarded to St John’s Research Fellow for work on understanding the brain
“This prize represents a vote of confidence from the international scientific community that this is the right path"A neuroscientist from St John’s College has won a global prize for young scientists for his research on how different parts of the brain work together. Dr Andrea Luppi, a Research Fellow at St John’s, was awarded the 2024 Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN) Prize in the category of Formal Sciences at the organisation’s ninth international congress in Bulgaria this week…read morePast and present College rowers make a splash at Head of the Charles Regatta 2024
“This is the first time Cambridge women sent student eights to the race in recent history, it was exciting to compete against top international crews”A student from St John’s joined two alumni – including an Olympian – to race in one of the biggest events in the global rowing, The Head of the Charles Regatta (HOCR) in Boston, Massachusetts. Gemma King, a former St John’s undergraduate and now PhD student in stem cell biology, and alumni Guy Pooley and Kirsten Van Fossen competed for Cambridge University Boat Club (CUBC) at the event.…read moreWriter in Residence wins literary prize for her book on Irish women emigrants
“The honour of the Michel Déon Prize will draw attention to the challenges, resilience and quite remarkable achievements of these Irish emigrant women’s lives”A St John's poet, essayist, reviewer, and editor has been awarded the 2024 Royal Irish Academy Michel Déon Prize for non-fiction. Vona Groarke, the College's Writer in Residence, won the award for her book, Hereafter: the Telling Life of Ellen O’Hara, a poetic account of Irish women domestic servants in New York in the 1890s. From left: Professor Pat Guiry, President of the Royal Irish Academy…read moreDean welcomed as Canon Theologian at St Edmundsbury Cathedral
“For me, theological learning and thinking about our faith together is something every Christian can engage with"The Rev’d Dr Victoria Johnson, Dean of Chapel at St John’s College, has been announced as the new Canon Theologian at St Edmundsbury Cathedral. Dr Johnson will be visiting Canon Theologian and a non-executive member of the Cathedral Chapter in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, alongside her role at St John’s. She said: “I’m really delighted to be contributing to the life of the Cathedral…read moreLecture named in honour of St John’s Nobel prize-winner to examine ‘beautiful relationship’ between maths and physics
Second Penrose Lecture to take place on 19 November 2024Theoretical physicist Professor David Tong will give the 2024 St John’s College Penrose Biennial Lecture, named in honour of Sir Roger Penrose, the renowned mathematician, physicist and Nobel Laureate. Professor Tong, Professor of Theoretical Physics in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Trinity College, will give…read moreSecrets unveiled as College’s iconic Great Gate is restored to glory
Every 50 years The Great Gate of St John's requires restoration to keep it looking spectacularThe striking Great Gate of St John’s is an iconic feature of the streetscape of Cambridge and is the backdrop of countless photographs taken by locals, tourists and members of the College. It is decorated with Lady Margaret Beaufort’s coat of arms and the animals on either side are yales – mythical beasts with antelopes’ bodies, goats’ heads and swivelling horns. A statue of St John the…read moreCollege academics recognised for helping to create positive research culture
Researchers celebrated for promoting a welcoming and supportive environmentFive academics at St John’s College have been nominated by their peers for individual contributions to positive research culture at the University of Cambridge. St John’s Fellows Professor Meredith Crowley, Dr Amy Orben, Professor Ulinka Rublack and Professor Michael De Volder were among 43 academics to be recognised for best practice at the University of Cambridge’s inaugural Research…read moreCultural historian publishes major new book ‘to re-colour the world of dress’ of Europe’s past
“Colour was perceived as a potent power that shaped, as well as expressed, the soul”New dyes created one of the most important visual experiences of the Renaissance period, yet their story has been hidden until now, says a St John’s College academic in a major new book published today (17 October). Theatrical productions and period films uphold broad assumptions that black clothing dominated among elites during the period, while ordinary people wore coarse greys and bleached…read moreIsaac Newton Medal 2024 bestowed on pioneering physicist
“Today’s world faces many challenges which physics will play an absolutely fundamental part in addressing”Professor Sir Richard Friend FRS, Director of Research at the Cavendish Laboratory and Fellow of St John’s College, has been awarded the 2024 Isaac Newton Medal and Lecture – the most prestigious prize of the Institute of Physics. The award, which recognises groundbreaking physicists, honours Sir Richard for his pioneering and enduring work on the fundamental electronic properties of…read moreAcademic prizes awarded to ‘outstanding’ St John’s students
University recognition for current cohort and recent graduatesEight current and recent graduates of St John’s College have received accolades for their excellent academic work and exam results in 2024. Hannah Kang Wolter, who graduated in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies this summer, has been awarded The Robert M Somers Prize for an outstanding performance in her Chinese Studies part II exam. Fellow recent graduate Alis Francis receives the William…read moreStudent classicist plays part in discovery of the biggest black hole jets ever seen
“I searched the sky for giant radio outflows and their host galaxies. Among them was Porphyrion”A St John’s classicist-turned-astronomer has helped discover and name a gigantic pair of black hole jets – the largest seen in the universe. Aivin Gast, who has just begun his MPhil in Heritage Studies at St John’s, was part of the international research team that identified and named the gargantuan fountains of plasma and particles shooting from above and below a supermassive black hole.…read moreAndrew Chamblin Memorial Lecture 2024
Public talk on ‘Adventures with Black Holes: Past, Present and Future’The 18th Andrew Chamblin Memorial Lecture, entitled Adventures with Black Holes: Past, Present and Future, will be given in Cambridge, UK, by Professor Andrew Strominger, Gwill E York Professor of Physics at Harvard University. The public talk will take place at 5pm GMT on Tuesday 29 October 2024 at the Centre for Mathematical Sciences in Cambridge and it will also be livestreamed online.…read moreClimate Crisis Lecture shows ‘commitment to meeting the great challenge of our generation’
Distinguished economist Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta will speak about the policies and practices humanity needs to adopt to stop destroying natureThe author of a landmark UK report calling for radical change in how we measure economic success to protect our most precious asset, nature, will give the first Climate Crisis Lecture at St John’s College, Cambridge, on 21 October 2024. The lecture by Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta is titled ‘Economic Possibilities in the Anthropocene’ – the Anthropocene being a term to describe the time during…read moreMathematician chosen for international statistics award and lecture
Honour ‘completely out of the blue’ for St John’s FellowAn academic from St John’s College has been selected for the 2025 Institute of Mathematical Statistics Grace Wahba Award and Lecture. Professor Richard Samworth, who is College Lecturer in Pure Mathematics, University Professor of Statistical Science, Director of the Statistical Laboratory at the Centre for Mathematical Sciences, and a Fellow of St John’s, is only the fourth recipient of…read more‘Visionary’ Fellow awarded Citation Laureate for research integrating nature and the economy
Annual recognition highlights researchers with Nobel Prize potentialA global scientific organisation has honoured a Fellow of St John’s College with a Citation Laureate in Economics. Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta, Emeritus Professor, Frank Ramsey Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Cambridge, has been recognised by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) at intelligence firm Clarivate Plc ‘for integrating nature and its resources in the…read moreCollege Library receives rare copy of landmark book by horse artist
“I am delighted to know that it will be in good hands, and have a new life”A 258-year-old first edition of a groundbreaking book by animal portraitist George Stubbs is now in the care of the Old Library of St John’s College thanks to a former veterinary student. The copy of The Anatomy of the Horse, published in 1766, was presented to Tanya Kirk, the College Librarian, by alumnus Philip Paxman, who studied at St John’s to be a vet in the 1960s. Mr Paxman bought the…read moreSt John’s summer school encourages girls to consider studying maths at Cambridge
“It’s incredibly important to us to provide these opportunities to students from a wide range of backgrounds”Teenage girls have taken part in a free residential camp at St John’s College to find out what it would be like to study Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. The Women in Mathematics programme, which is now in its second year at St John’s, was set up to encourage more female A-Level and equivalent students to consider applying to Cambridge to read maths. Twenty-four gifted young…read moreMother’s gut microbiome during pregnancy shapes baby’s brain development
“Future treatments for fetal growth restriction could focus on altering the gut microbiome through probiotics, rather than offering pharmaceutical treatments”A study in mice has found that the bacteria Bifidobacterium breve in the mother’s gut during pregnancy supports healthy brain development in the fetus. Researchers have compared the development of the fetal brain in mice whose mothers had no bacteria in their gut, to those whose mothers were given Bifidobacterium breve orally during pregnancy, but had no other bacteria in their gut. Nutrient…read moreFellow and former Domestic Bursar who swapped the Army for academia dies aged 91
“As an Army man he knew what a proper community was like and should be, and took to that dimension of College like a duck to water”An ex-Army officer and former Domestic Bursar of St John’s College has died at the age of 91. Colonel Richard Henry Robinson OBE, a Fellow of St John’s, began his uniformed career as a trooper in the British South Africa Police before joining the British Army. After retiring from the military, Col Robinson was appointed Domestic Bursar at St John’s, and for 13 years oversaw the many operational…read moreSt John's College Research Fellowships competition 2025
‘Rising stars’ invited to apply for prestigious research posts before 19 September 2024Our Research Fellowships open doors for rising stars – Nobel Prize-winners have begun their academic careers at St John’s, one Research Fellow coined the phrase ‘Big Bang’, and another was a Bletchley Park code-breaker. The research interests of St John’s Fellows remain as extensive as ever – they are working at the forefront of everything from artificial intelligence, and evolutionary…read moreFree residential course gives sixth-formers a taste of studying science at university
Students inspired by ‘superstar’ teaching academics doing ground-breaking researchSixth-formers from England and Wales have attended a free two-day residential course at St John’s College to give them an insight into life at the University of Cambridge. Forty-eight A-level and equivalent students attended the Natural Sciences Residential on 8 and 9 July that included taster lectures, Q&A sessions, supervisions and workshops with academics and guest speakers at St John’s…read more