Magdalene Matters the Newsletter of Magdalene College Cambridge MAGDALENE MAT TERS
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May 2012 | issue 35 MAGDALENE MATTERS the newsletter of Magdalene College Cambridge MAGDALENE MAT TERS When Proteins CONTENTS May 2012 | issue 35 Get Sticky.... PAGE 6 From the Choir 3 Fellows’ News 4 When Proteins Get Sticky.... 6 Magdalene in the Olympic and Magdalene in the Olympic Paralympic Games and Paralympic Games 8 PAGE 8 The Human Cost of Economic Reality 10 The Transformation of King’s Cross Station 12 The Transformation Magdalene Memories 14 of King’s Cross Station Forthcoming Events & Reunions 16 PAGE 12 COMMENT from the Development Director Dear Member, Magdalene Dinners both here and abroad. They will both be attending the Family Day in the Fellows’ Garden in After the historic events of last term during which the July, the Annual Donors’ Day and the two Reunions in Governing Body elected the 35th Master of Magdalene, September. Further details of Magdalene alumni events can The Most Reverend and Right Honourable Dr Rowan be found on the back page. Williams PC, FBA, FRS, we are looking forward to welcoming him and his wife Jane in January 2013. Finally, I am delighted to report that this year’s In the meantime, I hope that many of you will come back Telephone Campaign to Magdalene for a final opportunity to meet the Master, raised a wonderful Duncan Robinson CBE FSA, DL once more before he £275,000 in cash steps down after ten successful years. We have been and pledges. The 16 fortunate in benefiting from his outstanding leadership, Magdalene students during which time the academic standing of the College involved did a fantastic job representing the College and has been greatly enhanced; Cripps Court, providing over 60% of Members called made a gift. A very big thank twenty-first century facilities for our students, has been you to all of you who were inspired to make a donation to built and substantial efforts have been made to promote the College, your support is greatly appreciated by all of us. access. Most importantly perhaps, the Master and his wife, Lisa, have contributed greatly to the friendly, familial CORINNE LLOYD (2010) feel of Magdalene, entertaining students, Fellows and EDITOR AND DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Members alike in the Master’s Lodge and hosting numerous [email protected] NEWS From THE CHoir by jonathan hellyer-jones (2002), director of music This year the Choir is planning a domestic Summer Tour in Yorkshire – or God’s Own County, if you happen to be born or live in England’s largest county. As a multum in parvo Choir Tour, For those who are unfamiliar with (writing as one who has school the workings of choirs, it may be Choir Tour Dates connections with Rutland, by of interest to know that all College contrast England’s smallest county), choirs now expect to tour at some we shall give four concerts in four point of the year. Some of the more SATURDAY 30 JUNE days, requiring only three night’s adventurous (and better resourced) 4 pm, Selby Abbey accommodation; this is about as choirs travel to the Antipodes, Far East short a tour as one can imagine. or to the USA. Magdalene’s smaller SUNDAY 1 JULY Programmes are expected to be choir, by contrast, has in recent 3 pm, Fountains Abbey principally unaccompanied music from years concentrated on tours within our repertoire with a small amount Europe. In our view, wherever a choir MONDAY 2 JULY of secular repertoire in addition. We tours, the experience is very much 7.30 pm St Wilfrid’s Church, usually like to include some pieces the same – namely to sing and share Harrogate with organ accompaniment to give in the undertaking together. Annual our Organ Scholars an opportunity to tours have become very much part TUESDAY 3 JULY perform on other instruments. of the experience of being a member 11 am, York Minster of a College choir and, although This year’s Choir Tour planning has Magdalene’s is smaller than that of been much assisted by the generous other Colleges, we believe that touring offers of two of our number who live and performing is part and parcel of a Please support us by coming to a in Harrogate. George Pickard, our 4th successful Cambridge choir. performance; we look forward to year Senior Organ Scholar and Sophie seeing Magdalene Members at one of Fennerty, our Alto who is a 3rd year We welcome offers of assistance, our Summer Tour concerts. Music student from Murray Edwards including accommodation, for future – both have offered to accommodate tours from our members – please Choir’s website: members of the Choir at their homes. contact the Alumni & Development www.magdalenechoir.org.uk This will lower the costs of the tour, Office if you are willing to help in which are shared between choristers. this way. 3 MAGDALENE COLLEGE CAMBRIDGE FELLOWS’ NEWS PROFEssOR has edited four volumes of documents for distinguished research in the field EAMON DUFFY on the Labour Government 1945– of biomedical materials, particularly (1979) Professor 51. He then completed a similar with respect to biomaterial innovation of the History collection dealing with the Macmillan which has produced benefits for of Christianity, Government 1957–63. He has written patients and/or contributed to was elected an several books and was awarded a associated opportunities for industry. Honorary Member of the Royal Irish Doctorate of Letters in 1993. He Academy on 16 March 2012. most recently edited a 2nd edition of PROFEssOR SARAH SPRINGMAN ‘Magdalene Described’, a guide to the (1988) OBE has been appointed to a PROFEssOR SIR buildings of the College. CBE in the New Year’s Honours List, JOHN GURDON for services to triathlon. Professor (Master from THE RIGHT Springman was previously appointed 1995–2002) HONOURABLE to an OBE in 1997 for services received an IGOR, BARON to sport. Honorary JUDGE OF Fellowship of the UK Academy of DRAYCOTE DR PHILIPPA Medical Sciences on 24 November (1959) Lord STEELE (2010) 2011 and received a Doctorate Honoris Chief Justice of England and Henry Lumley Causa from the Universidad Andres Wales and President of the Selden Research Fellow Bello, Santiago, on 10th Jan 2012. Society, has been nominated for an in Classics, has honorary degree of Doctor of Law won the Hare DR STEFAN HALPER (2001) by the University of Cambridge at a Prize for her PhD thesis entitled Donner Senior Research Fellow in congregation to be held on 20 June A Linguistic History of Cyprus: International Studies, has been asked 2012. Lord Judge read History and The Non-Greek Languages, and by the US Secretary of Defence to Law at Magdalene. He was elected an their Relations with Greek, c.1600– direct an analysis of US, Japanese and Honorary Fellow in 2008. 300 BC. She will also be giving the Chinese interests in the South China Evans-Pritchard lectures in 2013–14 Sea region. Dr Halper has assembled PROFEssOR at All Souls, Oxford. This is a series a Cambridge-Washington team to GED MARTIN of five public lectures (in honour of conduct the study, which will focus on (1964) Research Sir Edward Evans-Pritchard, the Chinese policy, priorities and military Fellow 1970– famous social anthropologist), which assets in the region, and US and global 1972), has will be published in book form – her interests in the Maritime Commons. been elected an theme will be ‘Society and Writing Honorary Fellow of Hughes Hall, for in Ancient Cyprus’. DR RONALD whom he has published its history, HYAM (1960) Hughes Hall Cambridge 1885–2010 PROFEssOR JAMES RAVEN (1990) Emeritus Reader (Third Millennium Books 2012). It is former Fellow and Director of Studies in British of course an extremely rare honour in History, Professor of Modern Imperial History, for a Magdalene alumnus to be History at Essex University, has will be celebrating elected an Honorary Fellow of another received the higher degree of LittD 50 years as a Fellow of Magdalene this Cambridge College – the last was from the University of Cambridge. July! A College Lecturer from 1960 to Henry Chadwick, KBE. He joins Professor Nick Boyle, 2000, he was College Librarian 1963– Professor Helen Cooper and Dr 1993, Admissions Tutor 1980–1982, PROFEssOR NEIL RUSHTON (1984) Ronald Hyam as the fourth LittD in and President 1996–1998. He served Emeritus Professor of Orthopaedics, the current Magdalene Fellowship. as an Editor for the British Documents has been awarded the Chapman Medal on the End of Empire Project based by the Institute of Materials, Minerals at the Institute of Commonwealth and Mining (of which he is a Fellow). Studies in London, and for whom he The Chapman Medal is presented 4 MAGDALENE MATTERS WHen Proteins get sticKY... by dr. alexander buell (2008) Everybody has heard about proteins, probably most commonly in the context of their role as an essential nutrient that we need to eat in order to build up muscles. However, proteins are extremely versatile molecules and perform a multitude of different essential functions in every organism. Think of a living cell as a tiny test tube of about a millionth of a millionth of a litre (10-12 l) that contains thousands of different chemical substances, most of them proteins, that simultaneously carry out a comparable number of very specific chemical reactions. Together these molecules, which are in constant motion, and Parkinson’s disease. This was a very unexpected fill about half the volume of the cell (the other half being finding, as the particular protein that had accidentally been water) and each protein will encounter many others before transformed into a gel had never been before associated with it meets its appropriate reaction partners.