St John's College News

  1. Andrew Chamblin Memorial Concert 2022

    27/04/2022
    An hour-long programme of organ works
    The sixteenth annual Andrew Chamblin Memorial Concert will be given by Stephen Farr FRCO ARCM at 8pm in Christ Church Cathedral on Thursday 23rd June 2022 and will also be livestreamed online. Mr Farr will play an hour-long programme of organ works by Couperin, Byrd, Muffat, Guilain, Sweelinck, Krebs and Bach. The concert is free. There are no tickets required for in person attendance in the…read more

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

    26/04/2022
    “Designing individual treatment plans and encouraging pregnant women to make lifestyle changes based upon the sex of their unborn babies could have lifelong health benefits for their children”
    Finding out the sex of a baby during pregnancy could lead to better life chances, a new Cambridge study has discovered. Male baby pregnancies are more likely to result in complications, possibly because they grow faster in the womb and require more nutrients and oxygen than supplied by the mother through the placenta – the temporary organ that attaches to the wall of the uterus during pregnancy…read more

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

    25/04/2022
    The Penrose Lectures will address the interplay between mathematics and other disciplines which have been such a distinctive feature of Sir Roger’s research life
    The inaugural Penrose Lecture was given by Nobel Laureate Professor Sir Roger Penrose, alumnus and Honorary Fellow of St John’s College. A sold-out audience of Fellows, students and staff gathered for the first talk in this new biennial lecture series, which was given by Sir Roger in the College’s Palmerston Room on 9 March 2022. Sir Roger won one half of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics for the…read more

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

    05/04/2022
    “Seeing poetry read in person by great poets is a really special thing. It’s meaningful and it creates connections”
    Poetry is springing back to life after a two-year hiatus at St John’s College with the launch of a free festival featuring prize-winning poets from Britain, Ireland and around the world. Poetry Spring has been organised by poets Sasha Dugdale, St John’s writer-in-residence, and Dr Mina Gorji, a Fellow at Pembroke College, and will be a day of discussions, readings and a workshop in the Old…read more

  5. Protection of refugee animals is vital to support livelihoods and health

    04/04/2022
    “The inconsistencies on how to deal with animal displacement uncover gaps in jurisdictions and expertise of humanitarian responders in complex emergencies”
    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 current humanitarian crisis in Ukraine is unprecedented. St John's PhD student Dorien Braam argues for this approach to be replicated across other refugee contexts. A month into the Russian invasion in Ukraine, several journalists covering the refugee…read more

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

    23/03/2022
    “If we’re serious about addressing biodiversity loss, knowing the financial costs of interventions is as important as knowing their effectiveness”
    A new study has found 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. A review of 1,987 published reports of conservation interventions has found that only 8.8% reported the total cost of the intervention, and many of these…read more

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

    18/03/2022
    “Artificial intelligence could be the key to reducing our dependence on fossil fuels”
    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. Fossil fuels – including coal, oil, and natural gas – have been powering economies for more than 150 years, and currently supply about 80 percent of the world’s energy. In a paper published in Nature…read more

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

    18/03/2022
    Prestigious awards bestowed upon eminent former scholars and Fellows
    Four distinguished experts in the fields of public health, conservation, climate change and law have been made Honorary Fellows of St John’s College in recognition of their exceptional work. Professor Sharon Peacock CBE, Executive Director of Public Health England and Chair of the Covid-19 Genomics UK consortium; Professor Bhaskar Vira, currently Head of the Department of Geography, University…read more

  9. ‘Early coffeehouses brought people and ideas together – the Community Hub will do the same for St John’s’

    18/03/2022
    “We have ensured the building designs are sustainable and have a minimal environmental impact”
    Before tea eclipsed coffee as the nation’s favourite hot beverage, the exotic Turkish drink was exported to England and coffeehouses spread across London and beyond. Jo Tynan looks at the St John’s connection with the bean that powers so many of us through our day – extra hot latte anyone? Back in the 18th-century, students and Fellows of St John’s were likely to have whiled away some of their…read more

  10. Memorial service to be held for Professor Roger Griffin

    15/03/2022
    Fellow to be remembered in St John’s College Chapel on 14 May 2022
    A memorial service for Professor Roger Francis Griffin, BA, PhD, ScD, Fellow of St John’s College and Emeritus Professor of Observational Astronomy, will be held in St John’s College Chapel on Saturday 14 May 2022 at noon.  Photo credit: Richard Griffin.Professor Griffin, who died on 12 February 2021 aged 85, was an award-winning astronomer who spent his career studying starlight. College…read more

  11. The lost souls of Hart Island

    14/03/2022
    “To not know where your loved one is buried can be very painful”
    Sally Raudon is a social anthropologist and PhD student at St John’s whose research into what happens to the dead of New York City – especially the poor – saw her doing fieldwork in the pandemic. She told Karen Clare about mass burials, rituals of grief, and more. More than a million New Yorkers – from stillborn babies to the victims of AIDS, the homeless and Covid dead – are buried in trenches…read more

  12. Educating Mia

    04/03/2022
    “I’ll start a casual conversation and instantly try to squash any stereotypes”
    Leaving home to go to University was a bigger challenge than for most for second-year St John’s undergraduate Mia Myers, who has Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). She tells Karen Clare about what makes her tick, smashing stereotypes and educating others. “I remember saying to someone once, if you gave me a pill right now, and said, if you take this, you can be completely SMA-free, I don't know if I…read more

  13. Literary event showcases work of creative writing award-winner

    21/02/2022
    “It will be wonderful to bring this aspect of the College’s cultural activity back to life”
    Poet and author Madeleine Pulman-Jones, current holder of the Harper-Wood Creative Writing and Travel Award at St John’s College, will be reading some of her new work at a special literary event in March. Held for one year, the Harper-Wood Award is intended primarily for creative writers who are in the initial stages of their careers. It is to encourage a project of creative writing by making it…read more

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

    14/02/2022
    “We want our app to be the most aesthetic process, with the lowest path of resistance”
    Three undergraduates from St John’s have created a new 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: Queens’ College student Zac Tiller, and Vicky Veselichka, a…read more

  15. Up and coming creative writers invited to apply for Harper-Wood Award 2022-2023

    08/02/2022
    Funding up to £15,500 available for successful candidate to study and research outside UK
    St John’s College, Cambridge is offering emerging authors and poets the chance to turn to the next page of their career with the launch of this year’s Harper-Wood Creative Writing and Travel Award for English Poetry and Literature. Applications open on Wednesday 23 February for the award, which was established by the College in 1949 to inspire an undertaking of creative writing by making it…read more

  16. College medical students honoured in University education awards

    04/02/2022
    “The Cambridge University Surgical Society received a number of nominations for their incredible efforts to support their peers during the disruption of the 2020-2021 academic year”
    Three St John’s medics have been recognised in a University-wide awards scheme for their ‘incredible’ efforts to support student peers during the pandemic. Cambridge University Surgical Society has been named as a winner in the 2021 Outstanding Student Contribution to Education Awards (OSCEA) – with St John’s students Kiran Joshi, Daphne Chia and Alex Fung jointly nominated for their efforts…read more

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

    28/01/2022
    “These young people are already contesting terrorist ideologies on these new communication platforms and sharing messages of peace”
    A Junior Research Fellow at St John’s is due to travel to the United Nations in New York in February to showcase the results of a year-long interfaith initiative to fight hate speech, fake news and the stoking of interreligious violence online. In January last year, Dr Marie Chabbert was chosen as an Interfaith Ambassador for the United Nation’s Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United…read more

  18. Memorial service to be held for Dr Peter Linehan

    25/01/2022
    “His hospitality was legendary and his loyal friendship, often extending over decades, enriched countless lives”
    A memorial service will be held in St John’s College Chapel this spring for the renowned historian, Dr Peter Linehan. Dr Peter Anthony Linehan, MA, PhD, FBA was a Fellow for 54 years and former Dean of St John’s who first came to the College as an undergraduate to study History in 1961. He died peacefully in Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, in July 2020 at the age of 76 after several months…read more

  19. Newell Classical Event 2022

    24/01/2022
    The Black Sappho
    The Newell Classical Event 2022, celebrating the classical world, will take place at 7.15 pm on Thursday 10 March, when Prof Emily Greenwood will give a talk entitled The Black Sappho. The Event will take place simultaneously in the Main Lecture Theatre in the Old Divinity School at St John's College, and online (accessed via Zoom). All are very welcome, and no knowledge of ancient literature or…read more

  20. Professor Sheena Radford to give Linacre Lecture 2022

    24/01/2022
    Honorary Fellow will talk on her research into cracking the code of folding proteins in a bid to combat devastating diseases
    The annual Linacre Lecture will be given by research scientist Professor Sheena Radford, OBE, FRS, FMedSci at St John's College on Tuesday 15 February. Professor Radford is Astbury Professor of Biophysics and Royal Society Research Professor at the Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology at the University of Leeds, and an Honorary Fellow and alumna of St John's. The annual Linacre…read more

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

    21/01/2022
    “The result is an incredible record of the Sun’s progress”
    In summer 2021, Dr Matt Bothwell, Public Astronomer at the Institute of Astronomy at the University of Cambridge, attached a pinhole solar camera to the St John’s College Chapel Tower and left it there for six months. The resulting photo, which was captured on a camera that looks like a tin can, shows the Sun’s movement across the skyline of Cambridge from the summer solstice to the winter…read more

  22. 'Genius' statistician and Honorary Fellow dies aged 97

    20/01/2022
    “Sir David will be remembered for his hugely significant contribution towards statistical research and his unfailing support of future generations of mathematicians”
    Tributes have been paid to Sir David Roxbee Cox MA FRS FBA (Hon) FRSE, a pioneering British statistician, Honorary Fellow and alumnus of St John’s College, who has died at the age of 97. Sir David was an internationally renowned statistician who made outstanding contributions to research in the fields of statistics and applied probability, including the development of the Cox Model, which is…read more

  23. Successful season sees Ultimate Frisbee team fly into first division

    19/01/2022
    “Getting promoted feels amazing and is a dream come true”
    The St John’s Ultimate Frisbee team has secured promotion after several years playing in division two of the College League. The mixed team lost every league game in the 2020-2021 academic year but last season saw them win four games out of six, flinging them into the top division. The team at St John’s has been running since 2008 and last won the league in 2016 before a decline saw them slide…read more

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

    10/01/2022
    “Invasive, non-native species are one of the biggest threats to Antarctica’s biodiversity - its native species have been isolated for the last 15-30 million years”
    Marine life hitching a ride on ocean-crossing ships poses a threat to Antarctica’s pristine ecosystems, with the potential for invasive species to arrive from almost anywhere across the globe, say the authors of a new study. New research by the University of Cambridge and the British Antarctic Survey has traced the global movements of all ships entering Antarctic waters. It reveals that…read more

  25. St John’s alumni recognised in New Year Honours 2022

    10/01/2022
    Trio awarded for their extraordinary service and achievements
    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.  Professor of Greek and Latin at the University of Cambridge from 1995 until he retired in 2011, Emeritus Professor James Diggle receives the CBE (Commander of the Order of…read more