St John's College News
David James Scott (1800-1861): the last Scholars' Cook
David James Scott (1800-1861): the last Scholars' CookUntil David Scott's death in 1861, the College employed two cooks as part of a large and relatively unruly body of catering staff. During this mid-century period Owen J. Jones held the position of College Cook and Scott worked alongside him as the Scholars' or Junior Cook.The Junior Bursar's accounts in the College Archives (there were three stand-out Junior Bursars in Scott's time: Basil…read moreListen again to the College Choir's live broadcast
Listen again to the College Choir's live broadcastOn Wednesday 30 April at 3.30pm the College Choir's Choral Evensong service was broadcast live from the Chapel on BBC Radio 3.Unfortunately during the service there was a technical fault. However, the entire service has been recovered and is now available on BBC iPlayer for the next seven days.The programme featured the first performance of a new piece of music specially composed for…read moreBiology Taster Day videos now available online
Biology Taster Day videos now available onlineIf you have ever considered studying Biology at Cambridge, you can now see what to expect as a student by viewing sample lectures from a recent Biology Taster Day held at St John’s. The Taster Day, held in March, was organised by the Admissions Office at St John’s in order to bring sixth-form students from schools and colleges around the country together to experience Cambridge life and learn…read moreMark Wells joins College as new Domestic Bursar
Mark Wells joins College as new Domestic BursarThe College's new Domestic Bursar, Mark Wells, takes up his post today, succeeding Commodore John Harris who has held the role for the last 14 years. The Domestic Bursar is responsible for the internal administration of the College and is in charge of a wide range of facilities and services. In this role he oversees activities such as building projects, housekeeping, catering, tourism, and…read moreFormer visiting Fellow sheds new light on Gandhi
Former visiting Fellow sheds new light on GandhiThe previously untold story of one of Mahatma Gandhi’s closest friends and early influences, Dr Pranjivan Mehta, has been brought to light by a former international visiting academic at St John’s College. The Mahatma and the Doctor, written by Indian historian Sri Ram Mehrotra, is a newly-published book based on a collection of letters exchanged between Gandhi and Mehta that Professor Mehrotra…read moreLinacre Lecture 2014
Linacre Lecture 2014The annual Linacre Lecture will take place on Monday 5 May in the Divinity School, St John’s College, and is entitled “Molecular Chaperones – Guardians of the Proteome”. The lecture will be given by Professor Dr Franz-Ulrich Hartl, Managing Director of the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Martinsried, Germany.Frank-Ulrich Hartl has received several awards for his research, including the Shaw…read moreSt John's student to take part in masterclass with world-renowned pianist
St John's student to take part in masterclass with world-renowned pianistSecond-year history student and cellist Ghislaine McMullin is to take part in a musical masterclass along with distinguished pianist Angela Hewitt on 25 April, in the West Road Concert Hall. Angela Hewitt, one of the world’s leading pianists, is the 2014 Humanitas Visiting Professor of Chamber Music for the University. In a series of recitals and lectures, she is set to tackle one of Bach’s most…read moreNew accessions: March 2014
New accessions: March 2014New in Anthropology: GN 285.W9 How to think like a neandertal / Thomas Wynn and Frederick L. Coolidge. Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2013.AgricultureS 934.M28.S28 Conservation and environmental management in Madagascar/ edited by Ivan R. Scales. London : Routledge, 2014.AnthropologyGN 285.W9 How to think like a neandertal/ Thomas Wynn and Frederick L. Coolidge. Oxford : Oxford University…read moreSutherland students visit St John's
Sutherland students visit St John'sStudents from Sutherland Co-Operative Academy got to experience life at Cambridge University on a recent two-day visit to St John's College, designed to inform them about the application process and the opportunites Cambridge can offer. The group of year 10 students came to St John's to learn more about Cambridge and what they might expect from student life when they come to make their…read moreSixth-form students take part in English Taster Day
Sixth-form students take part in English Taster DayStudents from schools and colleges around the country came together at St John's on 18 March for an English Taster Day, giving them a chance to experience work and life at Cambidge. The event was organised by the Admissions Office and designed specifically for sixth-formers interested in studying English at Cambridge when they make their university choices. As part of their taster day, the…read moreDirac Lecture 2014
Dirac Lecture 2014The annual Dirac Lecture, entitled Paul Dirac and the Development of Quantum Theory, will take place on 30 April in the Centre for Mathematical Sciences, University of Cambridge.The Dirac Lecture, established jointly by St John's College and the University of Cambridge's Faculty of Mathematics, is part of the Dirac Lecture series and will be given by Professor Peter Goddard, Institute for…read moreSt John's Top 5: Rules for Living
St John's Top 5: Rules for LivingFor men who had just come up to Cambridge in the 19th century life could be daunting. These undergraduate handbooks from the 19th century show just how much they had to know to 'fit-into' College life.Click on an image to make it larger.Rules relating to residence (1876)Examination rules (1876)Details supplied by Tutors for the information of students. (1870s)Details supplied by Tutors for the…read moreBlackburn students experience life at St John's
Blackburn students experience life at St John'sStudents from St Wilfrid’s Church of England Academy in Blackburn got to experience University life on a two-day visit to St John’s College, designed to encourage local sixth-formers to consider applying to Cambridge when they make their university choices. A class of year 12 students from St Wilfrid’s came to St John’s to learn about how to apply to Cambridge and what to expect from…read moreUniversity and Departmental Prizes: March 2014
University and Departmental Prizes: March 2014The following students are among those whose excellent work has been recognised by the University, or external organisations and academic institutions, during March 2014.Miss Mekhola Mallik, Surgery graduate, was awarded the Medawar Medal for best scientific paper at the 17th British Transplantation Society Annual Congress, with her paper entitled “Regulatory B Cell Therapy in Transplantation”.Dr…read moreProfessor Sharon Peacock elected to Fellowship in American Academy of Microbiology
Professor Sharon Peacock elected to Fellowship in American Academy of MicrobiologyProfessor Sharon Peacock, Fellow of St John's College and Professor of Clinical Microbiology in the Department of Medicine, has been elected as a Fellow to the American Academy of Microbiology.Professor Peacock was elected to Fellowship in the Academy following a highly-selective peer-review process, based on scientific achievements and original contributions that have advanced microbiology. Her…read moreDivinity School wins Cambridge Design Award
Divinity School wins Cambridge Design AwardThe architects Annand and Mustoe have won the Cambridge Design and Construction Award for conservation of an existing building, for their work on restoring the Divinity School at St John's College.The award was organised by Cambridge News in conjunction with Cambridge City Council and Cambridge Forum for the Construction Industry. Nearly thirty buildings were shortlisted, with winners in each…read moreDr Jian Yang awarded Fok Ying Tung Foundation Prize
Dr Jian Yang awarded Fok Ying Tung Foundation PrizeDr Jian Yang, a visiting Chinese scholar at St John’s College, has been awarded the First Prize of the Fok Ying Tung Education Foundation for Outstanding Young Teachers of Higher Education, one of the most recognised prizes for young scholars in China.The prize, awarded every two years, is normally presented to outstanding young teachers engaged in research in science and technology; however, on…read moreProfessor Stefan Reif awarded honorary doctorate from University of Haifa
Professor Stefan Reif awarded honorary doctorate from University of HaifaProfessor Stefan Reif, Fellow of St John’s College and University Professor of Medieval Hebrew Studies, has been awarded an honorary doctorate of philosophy from the University of Haifa.The award will be presented to Professor Reif at the end of May in recognition of his outstanding academic achievements, including his work in establishing and preserving the Cairo Genizah Collection, and for…read moreNorfolk students on pathway to success at St John's
Norfolk students on pathway to success at St John'sStudents from three Norfolk schools got to experience life at Cambridge University for a day as part of the Pathways to Success initiative, which aims to encourage applications from young people of all backgrounds. A group of thirty GCSE students from Long Stratton, Archbishop Sancroft and Diss High Schools visited St John’s College to learn about the University, and to experience student life…read moreProfessor James Cowan elected Corresponding Fellow of RSE
Professor James Cowan elected Corresponding Fellow of RSEProfesssor James Cowan, who undertook his PhD studies at St John's, has been elected Corresponding Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE).Professor Cowan studied for his PhD in Chemistry at the College between 1983 and 1986, and currently holds the position of Professor in the Department of Chemistry in The Ohio State University. His current research interests include understanding the…read more2007: Eric Stark Maskin (1950-)
2007: Eric Stark Maskin (1950-)The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2007 (jointly with Leonid Hurwicz and Roger B Myerson)"for having laid the foundations of mechanism design theory".Born in New York and raised in New Jersey, Eric Maskin went on to Harvard to study Mathematics, gaining his AB in 1972, AM in 1974 and PhD in 1976. After this he came to Cambridge to take up a yearlong…read more1979: Abdus Salam (1926-1996)
1979: Abdus Salam (1926-1996)Nobel Prize in Physics 1979 (jointly with Sheldon Lee Glashow and Steven Weinberg)"for their contributions to the theory of the unified weak and electromagnetic interaction between elementary particles, including, inter alia, the prediction of the weak neutral current"Abdus Salam came to St John’s in 1946 to study Physics, gaining his BA in 1948 and PhD 1952, having previously studied at the…read more1979: Allan MacLeod Cormack (1924-1998)
1979: Allan MacLeod Cormack (1924-1998)Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1979 (jointly with Godfrey N Hounsfield)"for the development of computer assisted tomography"Born and raised in South Africa, Allan Cormack came to St John’s in 1947 to read for a PhD after obtaining his BSc and MSc degrees from the University of Cape Town (1944 & 1945 respectively). He did not complete his doctoral studies however, and left Cambridge in…read more1977: Nevill Francis Mott (1905-1996)
1977: Nevill Francis Mott (1905-1996)Nobel Prize in Physics 1977 (jointly with Philip Warren Anderson and John Hasbrouck van Vleck)"for their fundamental theoretical investigations of the electronic structure of magnetic and disordered systems"Nevill Mott came to St John’s as an undergraduate in 1924 and took his BA in Mathematics in 1927. After a period of research, including a year as Lecturer at the University of Manchester, he…read more1962: Maurice Hugh Frederick Wilkins (1916-2004)
1962: Maurice Hugh Frederick Wilkins (1916-2004)The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1962 (jointly with Francis Harry Compton Crick and James Dewey Watson)"for their discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nucleic acids and its significance for information transfer in living material"Maurice Wilkins came up to St John’s in 1935 to read Physics, achieving his BA in 1938. He then moved to the Physics Department at Birmingham…read more