̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - Peter Sewell

Exceptional scientists elected as Fellows of the Royal Society 2023

lw355 — Wed, 10 May 2023 10:52:57 +0000

̽��ֱ��Royal Society is a self-governing Fellowship of many of the world’s most distinguished scientists drawn from all areas of science, engineering and medicine.

̽��ֱ��Society’s fundamental purpose, as it has been since its foundation in 1660, is to recognise, promote and support excellence in science and to encourage the development and use of science for the benefit of humanity.

This year, a total of 80 researchers, innovators and communicators from around the world have been elected as Fellows of the Royal Society for their substantial contribution to the advancement of science. These include 59 Fellows, 19 Foreign Members and two Honorary Fellows.

Sir Adrian Smith, President of the Royal Society said: “I am delighted to welcome our newest cohort of Fellows. These individuals have pushed forward the boundaries of their respective fields and had a beneficial influence on the world beyond. This year’s intake have already achieved incredible things, and I have no doubt that they will continue to do so. I look forward to meeting them and following their contributions in future.”

̽��ֱ��Fellows and Foreign Members join the ranks of Stephen Hawking, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Lise Meitner, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar and Dorothy Hodgkin.

̽��ֱ��Cambridge Fellows are:

Professor Cathie Clarke FRS

Professor of Theoretical Astrophysics, Institute of Astronomy, and Fellow of Clare College

Clarke studies astrophysical fluid dynamics, including accretion and protoplanetary discs and stellar winds. She was the first to demonstrate how protoplanetary disc formation around low-mass young stars is determined by their radiation field. In 2017 she became the first woman to be awarded the Eddington Medal by the Royal Astronomical Society and in 2022 she became director of the Institute of Astronomy.

She said: “It's a great honour to join the many Cambridge astrophysicists who have held this title. I would like to particularly pay tribute to the many junior colleagues, PhD students and postdocs who have contributed to my research.”

Professor Christopher Jiggins FRS

Professor of Evolutionary Biology (2014), Department of Zoology, and Fellow of St John's College

Jiggins studies adaption and speciation in the Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths). In particular he is interested in studying how species converge due to mimicry as a model for understanding the predictability of evolution and the genetic and ecological causes of speciation. He demonstrated the importance of hybridisation and movement of genes between species in generating novel adaptations. He also works on the agricultural pest cotton bollworm and carries out genomic studies of the insect bioconversion species, black soldier fly.

He said: “I am amazed and delighted to receive this honour, and would thank all the amazing students, and postdocs that I have been lucky enough to work with over the years.”

Dr Philip Jones FRS

Senior Group Leader, Wellcome Sanger Institute and Professor of Cancer Development, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, and Fellow of Clare College

Jones studies how normal cell behaviour is altered by mutation in aging and the earliest stages of cancer development. He focuses on normal skin and oesophagus, which become a patchwork of mutant cells by middle age. He has found that different mutations can either promote or inhibit cancer development giving hope of new ways to prevent cancer in the future. He is also a Consultant in Medical Oncology at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge.

He said: “I am delighted to be elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society. This honour is a tribute to the dedication of my research team and collaborators and support of my mentors and scientific colleagues over many years.”

Dr Lori Passmore FRS

Group Leader, Structural Studies Division, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, and Fellow of Clare Hall

Passmore a cryo-electron microscopist and structural biologist who works at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Molecular Biology and at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge. She is known for her work on multiprotein complexes involved in gene expression and the development of new supports for cryo-EM studies. She also studies the molecular mechanisms underlying Fanconi anemia, a rare genetic disease resulting in an impaired response to DNA damage.

She said: “I am so honoured to be recognised alongside such an exceptional group of scientists. I am grateful to all the trainees, collaborators and colleagues whom I have worked with over the past years - science is truly collaborative and this is a recognition of all the courageous work of many people.”

Professor Peter Sewell FRS

Professor of Computer Science, Department of Computer Science and Technology, and Fellow of Wolfson College

Sewell’s research aims to put the engineering of the real-world computer systems that we all depend on onto better foundations, developing techniques to make systems that are better-understood, more robust and more secure. He and his group are best known for their work on the subtle relaxed-memory concurrency behaviour and detailed sequential semantics of processors and programming languages. He co-leads the CHERI cybersecurity project, for which his team have established mathematically-proven security properties of Arm's Morello industrial prototype architecture.

He said: “This honour is a testament to the work of many excellent colleagues over the years, without whom none of this would have been possible.”

Professor Ivan Smith FRS

Professor of Geometry, Centre for Mathematical Sciences, and Fellow of Caius College

Smith is a mathematician who deals with symplectic manifolds and their interaction with algebraic geometry, low-dimensional topology and dynamics. In 2007, he received the Whitehead Prize for his work in symplectic topology, highlighting the breadth of applied techniques from algebraic geometry and topology, and in 2013 the Adams Prize.

He said: “I am surprised, delighted and hugely honoured to be elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. I’ve been very fortunate to work in a rapidly advancing field, learning it alongside many inspirational and generous collaborators, who should definitely share this recognition.”

Professor William Sutherland CBE FRS

Miriam Rothschild Chair of Conservation Biology, Department of Zoology and Professorial Fellow of St Catharine’s College

Sutherland is a conservation scientist who is interested in improving the processes by which decisions are made. This has involved horizon scanning to identify future issues to reduce the surprises of future developments. His main work has been the industrial-scale collation of evidence to determine which interventions are effective and which are not and then establishing processes for embedding evidence in decision making. He has developed a free, online resource, Conservation Evidence, summarising evidence for the effectiveness of conservation actions to support anyone making decisions about how to maintain and restore biodiversity and an open access book Transforming Conservation: a practical guide to evidence and decision making.

He said: “I am delighted that our work on the means of improving decision making in conservation and elsewhere has been recognised in this way and thank my numerous collaborators.”

Seven outstanding Cambridge researchers have been elected as Fellows of the Royal Society, the UK’s national academy of sciences and the oldest science academy in continuous existence.

These individuals have pushed forward the boundaries of their respective fields and had a beneficial influence on the world beyond

Sir Adrian Smith, President of the Royal Society

Courtesy of ̽��ֱ��Royal Society

̽��ֱ��Royal Society, London

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Four Cambridge researchers awarded European Research Council Advanced Grants

jg533 — Fri, 31 Mar 2023 09:43:20 +0000

̽��ֱ��European Research Council (ERC) has announced the award of 218 Advanced Grants to outstanding research leaders across Europe, as part of the Horizon Europe programme.

̽��ֱ��grants, totalling €544 million, support cutting-edge research in a wide range of fields from medicine and physics to social sciences and humanities.

̽��ֱ��ERC is the premier European funding organisation for excellent frontier research. ̽��ֱ��ERC Advanced Grant funding is amongst the most prestigious and competitive EU funding schemes, providing researchers with the opportunity to pursue ambitious, curiosity-driven projects that could lead to major scientific breakthroughs. Grants are awarded to established, leading researchers with a proven track record of significant research achievements over the past decade.

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge’s grant awardees are:

Anna Korhonen, Professor of Natural Language Processing in the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics, for her project Towards Globally Equitable Language Technologies.

Richard Nickl, Professor of Mathematical Statistics in the Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics, for his project Statistical aspects of non-linear inverse problems.

Peter Sewell, Professor of Computer Science at the Computer Laboratory, for his project Secure Foundations: Verified Systems Software Above Full-Scale Integrated Semantics.

Sujit Sivasundaram, Professor of World History at the Faculty of History, for his project Colombo: Layered Histories in the Global South City.

'Many many congratulations to Anna, Richard, Peter and Sujit on their success. It is fantastic to see the highly innovative work of our researchers being recognised in international competition in this way. We are once again reminded of the commitment of the ERC to cutting edge research across all disciplines and we continue to urge government to swiftly secure association to Horizon Europe,' said Professor Anne Ferguson-Smith, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge.

"This funding puts our 218 research leaders, together with their teams of postdoctoral fellows, PhD students and research staff, in pole position to push back the boundaries of our knowledge, break new ground and build foundations for future growth and prosperity in Europe,” said Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth.

"These new ERC Advanced Grantees are a testament to the outstanding quality of research carried out across Europe. I am especially pleased to see such a high number of female researchers in this competition and that they are increasingly successful in securing funding. We look forward to seeing the results of the new projects in the years to come, with many likely to lead to breakthroughs and new advances,” said Maria Leptin, ERC President.

̽��ֱ��laureates of this grant competition will carry out their projects at universities and research centres in 20 countries in Europe, with the highest number of projects in Germany (37), the UK (35), France (32) and Spain (16). ̽��ֱ��winners come from all over the world, with 27 nationalities represented, notably Germans (36 researchers), French (32), Italians (21), British (19).

This call for proposals attracted nearly 1,650 applications, which were reviewed by panels of renowned researchers. ̽��ֱ��overall success rate was 13.2%. Female researchers account for 23% of all applications, their highest participation rate in Advanced Grant calls up to now.

In addition to strengthening Europe's knowledge base, the grants are expected to create more than 2,000 jobs for postdoctoral fellows, PhD students, and other staff at the host institutions. Past recipients have included Nobel laureates and other leading scientists who have gone on to make major contributions to their respective fields..

Adapted from a press release by the ERC.

̽��ֱ��funding will enable these researchers to explore their most innovative and ambitious ideas.

It is fantastic to see the highly innovative work of our researchers being recognised in international competition in this way.

Anne Ferguson-Smith

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Making the digital world a safer place

skbf2 — Wed, 25 May 2022 09:49:36 +0000

New technology developed by Cambridge researchers and Arm to make our computers more secure is being put through its paces by tech companies in the UK and around the world.

Architecting the future

skbf2 — Tue, 08 Dec 2020 16:17:50 +0000

Arm is working with Cambridge researchers to make our phones and computers more secure, more efficient and ready for the digital revolution.