Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge

Two alumni of Gonville & Caius College with matriculation years more than 50 years apart tell their stories about receiving bursaries, highlighting the lifelong impact of giving. They share how supporting current or future generations of Caius students is transformative. Peter Redfern (Electrical Sciences 1969) and Lauren Collins (Law 2021) benefitted from philanthropy while students at Caius. Peter’s generosity of spirit is replicated by his giving, contributing to bursaries for engineers and scientists. Lauren, who graduated in July 2024, received College support and intends to give to Caius in time. She has already given back by being a Telephone Campaign caller and access ambassador while a student. Some alumni will have heard Lauren give speeches at the Edmund Gonville legators’ lunch or at the May Week Party. Their motivations are altruistic; to help others after they themselves have benefitted in the same way. They each hesitated to share their stories, but know by doing so others will learn about the support, and the opportunity to give back, available at Caius. For the full story, visit the College website: https://lnkd.in/eZPPSafx For the full video, watch on the College website or YouTube: https://lnkd.in/ekRNdimJ

When Anna Townend (History 2022) told her friends and family she was training to be a boxer, the reaction was mixed. “My mum hated it; my dad was like ‘whatever’. My friends thought it was cool,” Anna says. “People are sometimes a little surprised. Not many women do boxing.” Anna’s boxing journey began at Cambridge. First she took part of the Student Fight Night, during her first year at Gonville & Caius College. The fight is preceded by a term-long training regime and coaching, and Anna earned the nickname ‘Annaconda’ and caught the boxing bug. Anna, who has also boxed in the city’s Albion Boxing Gym, joined Cambridge University Amateur Boxing Club in her second year and in 2024-25 she is the Women’s Captain. She took part in Town v Gown contest earlier in Lent Term, but has had to prioritise her final year academic work over Varsity, which she will enjoy from outside of the ring. The annual Cambridge-Oxford event takes place on Friday 14 March in Oxford Town Hall. Learning technique and sparring in five or six sessions a week has provided structure and an outlet for Anna. “It’s great for channelling any anger or stress you have,” she says. Full story on the College website. 📷: Hassan Raja: https://lnkd.in/eNfVGR9f https://lnkd.in/e3PmgHBy

The privilege of small-group teaching provides motivation for Dr Adam Morgan, who joined Gonville & Caius College as The Jan Saxl Lecturer in Mathematics earlier this academic year. The post is named in honour of the late Professor Jan Saxl, who was a Fellow of the College from 1986 until 2020. The teaching need in Mathematics was met through annual appointments in recent years. Welcoming a Mathematics Fellow for the longer term ensures continuity in the teaching of our students and allows Adam to fully invest in the College community. Generous support from alumni made the post possible, strengthening the mathematical offering at Caius. Adam says: “One of the things that I'm very lucky to do is to work one-on-one or one on two with the students, really get to know them and give them a lot of individual feedback and tailor exactly what I am teaching them – to revisit concepts, or to go deeper into topics. “Wider support from the community enables small group teaching to be possible and it is something which Cambridge is uniquely good at. I’m touched by the generosity of the alumni for allowing me to do this job and for providing to the community of mathematicians at Caius and more generally to undergraduate and postgraduate students.” Holding a Fellowship named after Professor Jan Saxl is “a massive honour”, Adam says. https://lnkd.in/ebxZS8jM

May Ching Lai (Materials Science PhD 2020) is presenting her research at the UK Parliament on Tuesday. May Ching is appearing at STEM for Britain, presenting a poster on how compression affects battery performance using 3D imaging techniques via advanced electron microscopy. STEM for Britain invited applications from early-career research scientists, engineers, technologists and mathematicians to exhibit in one of five areas. She was shortlisted from hundreds of applicants to appear in Parliament, presenting to politicians and expert judges. https://lnkd.in/eSzc-BBR

The Master of Gonville & Caius College continued a 451-year-old tradition on Friday with an audit at the Parker Library, Corpus Christi College Cambridge. Professor Pippa Rogerson took the short walk along King’s Parade for the annual Parker Library audit, a tradition which dates from 1574. The audit is a requirement under the terms of an indenture by which Matthew Parker donated his books to the library. Each year, the contents of the library are checked at random by a member of Trinity Hall or Gonville & Caius College, in alternating years. Professor Philippa Hoskin, Donnelley Fellow Librarian and Director of the Parker Library, hosted Professor Rogerson and Mr Franco Basso, Caius’ Fellow Librarian, for the audit. Full story on the Caius website. https://lnkd.in/eTsnFRjX

Replacing gas boilers with Air Source Heat Pumps at a Gonville & Caius College student house has reduced the property’s carbon footprint by 80% and significantly lowered energy bills, initial data shows. Two ASHPs were installed at 4 Gresham Road in summer 2024 and initial figures are very promising. To date the system is returning an average Coefficient of Performance of 300%, Estates Manager Andrew Gair reports. A saving of £5,000 on energy bills is expected. An annual gas bill was circa £12,800 previously, and the electrical bill is estimated to be circa £7,800 for space and hot water heating only (for a direct comparison). The estimated cost is because a full heating season is still to be completed. The data informs decisions on the College’s decarbonisation project, which continues with improvements scheduled for the College’s historic Old Courts site, plus outside properties. Full story on the College website. https://lnkd.in/gHjP4Caf

Geometry, artillery and fireworks are the focus of The Art of Gunnery, this term’s Featured Book from the Library of Gonville & Caius College. Each term a member of the Library staff selects a text from Gonville & Caius College Library’s historic collections. Chosen by Assistant Librarian (Bibliographic Support) Hannah Thompsett, The Art of Gunnery was published in 1648, almost 400 years ago, and 300 years since the College’s foundation as Gonville Hall. Written by Nathaniel Nye, a mathematician and astronomer, The Art of Gunnery is a detailed guide which stressed the importance of geometry to the successful deployment of artillery, with large parts of the book focused on fireworks. Hannah says: “We displayed this book in our Open Afternoon on November 5, 2024, simply because it discussed fireworks, but whilst writing the caption for that I realised there was a lot more that could be said about it. “The book balances beautiful engravings and chemical calculations with a talent for understatement which is (perhaps unintentionally) humorous, and makes it easy to read even as he discusses mathematical principles. “Nye’s hard work and commitment to experimentation deserve recognition, as he regularly put his life on the line for his art (and after all, how else would we know that hand grenades are ‘somwhat dangerous’?)!” https://lnkd.in/eSxHiZQ8

Thank you to everyone who donated to Caius Giving Day. In total over £238,000 was raised to support Clinical Medicine students at Caius. We are extremely grateful to the 250 donors who made this year's Giving Day a success. Donations can still be made to the College here: https://lnkd.in/e5PBCs_3

We’re now 24 hours into our Giving Day and so far 160 donors have raised £127,685. Thank you for all your generosity so far – let’s keep it up! Head to caius.givingday.co.uk to support our clinical medics today. Your gift. Their training. Our health.

We’re 12 hours into our Giving Day and we have raised £117,668 so far. Thank you to everyone who has got involved so far, your generosity will be hugely beneficial in helping our clinical medics and our college. Let’s keep it going! Make sure to share caius.givingday.co.uk with your community and encourage them to support us! Every gift matters. Every action counts. This is our chance to come together and do something extraordinary.