St John's College News
The College Choir performs live on BBC Radio 3's In Tune
The College Choir performs live on BBC Radio 3's In TuneOn Monday 18 November the Choral Students and Director of Music, Andrew Nethsingha, headed to BBC Broadcasting House in London. They arrived in plenty of time to rehearse before appearing live on BBC Radio 3's’s In Tune programme at 4.30pm.The Director of Music, Andrew Nethsingha, was interviewed in connection with the recent release of the Choir's John Sheppard CD and spoke about his thoughts on…read moreNew accessions: October 2013
New accessions: October 2013Added to Science: QC 793.2.T49 Modern particle physics/ Mark Thompson, 2013.Audio-VisualDVD ITA.tre.bav Black sabbath/ Mario Bava. [s.l.] : Arrow Video, 2013.DVD ITA.ald.ful Beyond [DVD]/ Lucio Fulci. [s.l.] : Arrow Video, 2011.DVD ITA.sus.arg Suspiria [DVD]/ directed by Dario Argento. [s.l.] : Nouveaux Pictures, 1977.DVD ITA.edi.pas Oedipus rex [DVD]/ Pier Paolo Pasolini. [s.l.] : Eureka, 1967.…read moreNew accessions: October 2013
New accessions: October 2013Audio-VisualDVD ITA.tre.bav Black sabbath/ Mario Bava. [s.l.] : Arrow Video, 2013.DVD ITA.ald.ful Beyond [DVD]/ Lucio Fulci. [s.l.] : Arrow Video, 2011.DVD ITA.sus.arg Suspiria [DVD]/ directed by Dario Argento. [s.l.] : Nouveaux Pictures, 1977.DVD ITA.edi.pas Oedipus rex [DVD]/ Pier Paolo Pasolini. [s.l.] : Eureka, 1967.DVD ENG.tas.ric Taste of honey/ directed by Tony Richardson. [s.l.] : MGM,…read moreAdmission of Scholars 2013
Admission of Scholars 2013On Saturday 2 November 2013, students were admitted to their Scholarships at a ceremony held in Chapel. By doing so they have now become members of the foundation of the College, which consists of the Master, the Fellows, and the Scholars. Being a Scholar means being part of the Foundation of almost 500 years of excellence and tradition.For more information about our academic awards, please see…read moreLuisa Respondek - Architecture
Luisa Respondek - Architecture'I chose to study Architecture because I was fascinated by the fusion of artistic and analytic aspects which allowed me to study a broad range of stimulating subtopics. Shaping and reflecting on not only the way we live but also on our cultures and identities, architecture can really have a profound impact on us which has been significant to me while growing up in various countries around the…read moreThe Unbuilt Houses of Parliament
The Unbuilt Houses of ParliamentDr Frank Salmon (Department of History of Art) has recently completed a substantial piece research into the early Georgian architect William Kent's public architecture, including his plans for new Houses of Parliament of the 1730s, which he believes could have left us today with a great classical riverside legislative building. As Kent's designs were unbuilt, Parliament continued to occupy…read moreEdward Allen - Chinese Studies
Edward Allen - Chinese Studies'I came to St John's in 2007 having studied for the International Baccalaureate in Sixth Form instead of A-Levels. I had started to learn about Chinese language and history during my final three years at school, and was eager to continue my studies at University. St John's provided the perfect environment to make friends with people who were pursuing their own passions in a variety of exciting…read moreSt John's Top 5: Designs for high table & combination room chairs (1865)
St John's Top 5: Designs for high table & combination room chairs (1865)In 1864 the College began a two-year building project to extend the Hall and replace the Old Combination Room at the junction of the east and north ranges of Second Court. The Archive holds a number of architectural drawings and plans from this period. This month we look at designs for dining chairs intended for the High Table and the Combination Room.Click on an image to make it larger.Front…read moreJudy Kahan, Hebrew and Arabic
Judy Kahan, Hebrew and Arabic'I originally applied to St John's to study Land Economy, a unique course combining a range of different topics including Economics, Accountancy and Law. After a few weeks I decided it wasn't quite the right fit for me and asked to change course to Middle Eastern Studies. The support I received from the College in this decision and then in my subsequent decision to take some time out before re-…read moreGeorge Urdang Medal
George Urdang MedalProfessor Efraim Lev has been awarded the George Urdang Medal from the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy for his book "Practical Materia Medica of the Medieval Eastern Mediterranean According to the Cairo Genizah."The research and publications that led to the medal were largely carried out during Professor Lev's time spent at St John's as an Overseas Visiting Scholar between 2003 and…read moreDr Andrew Arsan
Dr Andrew ArsanAndrew Arsan is a political, cultural, and intellectual historian of the modern Middle East and of French and British imperialism, and University Lecturer in Modern Middle Eastern History in the Faculty of History. Born in Beirut, he lived in Paris and London, where he studied at the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle, before coming up to St John's to study for a BA in History. After a circuitous…read moreNobel Prize in Physics 2013
Nobel Prize in Physics 2013Professor François Englert has received a Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the theory of the Higgs boson. This award is shared jointly with Professor Peter W. Higgs. In May, Professor Englert, of the Université Libre de Bruxelles, gave the 2013 Dirac Lecture, established jointly by St John's College and the University of Cambridge's Faculty of Mathematics. The lecture, entitled 'The Brout-…read moreBritish Academy Medal
British Academy MedalProfessor Tim Shallice FRS FBA (1958) Emeritus Professor of Neuropsychology, University College London and Senior Professor, SISSA, Trieste, has been awarded (jointly with Dr Richard Cooper, Reader in Cognitive Science, Birkbeck, University of London) one of the three inaugural British Academy Medals, for The Organisation of Mind (Oxford University Press, 2011).The Medal has been established to…read moreNew accessions: September 2013
New accessions: September 2013See selected September titles on LibraryThing (external site)AnthropologyGN 657.R4.R5.1982 Chisungu : a girl's initiation ceremony among the Bemba of Zambia/ Audrey I. Richards. Second edition. London : Routledge, 1982.GN 282.C3 Human lineage/ Matt Cartmill, Boston University, Fred. H. Smith, Illinois State University. Hoboken, New Jersey : Wiley-Blackwell, John Wiley & Sons, 2009.General…read moreJohnian Bakerian Lecturers of the Royal Society
Johnian Bakerian Lecturers of the Royal SocietyJohnian Bakerian Lecturers of the Royal SocietyThe Bakerian Lecture is the Royal Society’s foremost lecture in the physical sciences, and was established by way of a £100 bequest from the prominent naturalist, Henry Baker. The first lecture was given in 1775, the year after his death.John Frederick William Herschel (1823). On certain Motions produced in Fluid Conductors when transmitting the…read moreCarl-Fredrik Eriksson - Japanese Studies
Carl-Fredrik Eriksson - Japanese Studies'Before coming to St John's I studied at an international school in Stockholm where I completed the IB diploma. When I left school in 2011 I went straight into a gap year that involved a combination of work and travelling in Europe. At the beginning I was looking at studying in Japan, and it was really a coincidence that I discovered the amazing AMES course at Cambridge.'The best thing about…read moreAleksander Makal - Hebrew and Persian
Aleksander Makal - Hebrew and Persian'Before coming to St John's in October 2009, I took the International Baccalaureate at XXXIII Nicolaus Copernicus High School in Warsaw, Poland. I have to admit that, despite my school having a good record of students going on to study at British universities, I was concerned that my academic and linguistic background may compromise my chances of getting into Cambridge - however, I need not have…read moreJoshua Mustill - Economics
Joshua Mustill - Economics'I commenced my studies at St John’s in 2012. The best part of studying Economics, for me, is the broad range of topics which are compulsory to study in Part I. Whilst this may initially sound daunting, it was a fantastic experience because it enabled me to study aspects such as Economic History and the political side of Economics, which I had not previously considered.'Now in my second year, I…read moreGregor McMillan - Chinese Studies
Gregor McMillan - Chinese Studies'I'm from Scotland, which means I wear a skirt to social gatherings. I went to a small state comprehensive outside of Edinburgh, where I studied Maths, French, Italian and History at Advanced Higher. In my spare time I worked in a chip shop, where I learnt the difference between 'White Pudding' and 'Black Pudding' and experienced the 'Deep Fried Mars Bar'.'Following school, I took a year out and…read moreFreddie James awarded W T Best Memorial Scholarship 2014-16
Freddie James awarded W T Best Memorial Scholarship 2014-16Following on from his success in the Royal College of Organist examinations, Freddie James (Organ Scholar 2010-13) has been awarded the prestigious WT Best Memorial Scholarship by The Worshipful Company of Musicians.The WT Best Memorial Scholarship was first awarded in 1957, to individuals looking to pursue a career in either the practice or study of the Organ. Past winners have included former…read moreDr Erwin Reisner on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire
Dr Erwin Reisner on BBC Radio CambridgeshireDr Erwin Reisner was interviewed by Paul Stainton of BBC Radio Cambridgeshire on 15 October to talk about his work on artificial phosynthetic systems that could turn air and water into a solar fuel, a sustainable fuel derived from solar energy.Listen to the interview by clicking on the link below (140 minutes in).read moreHinsley Memorial Lecture 2013
Hinsley Memorial Lecture 2013The Thirteenth Hinsley Memorial Lecture, ‘Follies and Fiascos: Why US Foreign Policy Keeps Failing’, will be held on Wednesday 13 November 2013. This year’s lecturer is Professor Stephen M Walt, Robert and Renee Belfer Professor of International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School.The lecture will take place at St John’s College at 6 pm in the Main Lecture Theatre in the Divinity School and…read moreMatriculation 2013
Matriculation 2013The fresh cohort of 1st year undergraduate and graduate Johnians gathered for the Matriculation photograph on Tuesday 8 October 2013, a first of many interesting formal events held in College.To see an image gallery of the event, please click on the link below.read moreChris Born - History of Art
Chris Born - History of ArtChris Born grew up in Twickenham, South West London, where he attended a local grammar school, Tiffin School 2005-2012. He completed A-levels in History, French, Theatre Studies and English Literature.‘I chose to do History of Art at the University of Cambridge because of the opportunities to incorporate serious philosophical thought into my work, something which seemed (and is, to my information…read moreThe Pythagoras Prize 2013
The Pythagoras Prize 2013Every year St John’s College proudly awards the Pythagoras Prize worth £9000 to an undergraduate student coming to study Mathematics. Now in its third year of existence, the Pythagoras Prize was awarded on 4th October 2013 to two exceptional students, Maria Lan Tang and Martin Tang (of no relation). Due to this year’s two prize winners, each of the students received a one off prize of £5000. The…read more