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A Reminder to Vote for Wyn Evans as Chancellor of Cambridge University
Here’s a message for Alumni of Cambridge University!
Tomorrow (18th July) is the last day registered electors can vote online for Prof. Wyn Evans as Chancellor of the University. If you’ve registered then please don’t forget to vote! You have until 5pm tomorrow.
Here’s a post outlining the reasons why you should vote for Wyn.
https://telescoper.blog/2025/04/14/wyn-evans-for-the-chancellorship-of-cambridge-university/
In-person voting in Cambridge has already closed.
The word on the street in Cambridge is that the election will be won by Lord Browne. The Masters of many of the richest Colleges (Trinity, St Johns) have come out in his favour despite his tarnished reputation. The likelihood that the post of Chancellor of the University of Cambridge will be filled by someone so eminently unsuitable has prompted an open letter by academics (any academic can sign, not just Cambridge).
Why anyone would think that Lord Browne is an appropriate choice is completely beyond me. The letter clearly identifies the main reason why he would be a terrible choice; he is one of the key individuals associated with ushering in the present funding regime, which has led to students graduating with huge debts and many UK universities currently facing financial ruin.
Update: Unfortunately, Wyn didn’t win. Lord Browne didn’t either. The new Chancellor of Cambridge University is Chris Smith (currently Master of Pembroke College, Cambridge). It seems the electorate went with the tradition of electing a political has-been.
In the Dark · Wyn Evans for Chancellor of Cambridge University!
More from 
In the Dark
In the latest post on the Cambridge University Libraries Digital Preservation blog, we explore the unique challenges and considerations involved in preserving Minecraft Cambridge.
We'd love to hear how others are tackling the preservation of community-led digital culture. Are you archiving born-digital campus life?
#DigitalPreservation #BornDigital #Minecraft #Archives #HigherEd #CambridgeUniversity #DigitalHeritage #Library
Digital Preservation at Cambridge University Libraries · Archiving a Pixelated Pandemic: Part 2 — Minecraft at Cambridge University Libraries
Non-Disclosure Agreements in the UK
About a year ago, I posted an item about a change to Employment Law in Ireland that effectively bans the use of Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) in situations involving allegations of discrimination, victimisation, harassment and sexual harassment. When I posted this, the change had not come into force, but it has now. I think this is a very good move.
There aren’t many reasons to praise the current UK Government, but it seems they are proposing something similar, through an Amendment to the Employment Rights Bill, although the change has not yet come into effect and will not do so until the Bill becomes an Act.
The legislation will state that an employer shall not enter an NDA with an employee where the employee has made allegations of discrimination, harassment or sexual harassment. In my experience, NDAs are currently the default in such cases. I know of many examples in the UK where such legal instruments have been used to prevent victims of harassment from speaking publicly about their experiences, thus enabling harassers to move elsewhere without anyone knowing what they had done. This ploy is also seen by Management as a way of preventing reputational damage, although it does not seem to me to be a good way of doing that, as the truth has a way of coming out anyway and the effect of hiding the misconduct when it does causes more reputational damage than the harassment itself.
This reminds me of things I wrote a while ago in connection with a case at Leiden University where the Management decided not to name a professor involved in such a case (who was subsequently identified as Tim de Zeeuw). I thought this was a nonsense, for at least two reasons. The first is that I think people who have behaved in such a way should be named as a matter of principle, so that potential collaborators and future employers know what they have done. In previous posts on this topic I had defended confidentiality (e.g. here) during an investigation, but I still think that once it has been decided that a disciplinary offences have been committed there should be full disclosure.
The second is that failing to identify the individual concerned led to a proliferation of rumours inside and outside Leiden (none of which I am prepared to repeat here). As a result, the finger of suspicion was pointed at the wrong people until the name of the abusive Professor was revealed. That made for a very difficult working environment for everyone concerned.
Of course the new law, when passed, will only apply to cases in the United Kingdom. In Astronomy, as in many other parts of academia, there is a great deal of international mobility. The new legislation would not prevent someone who has engaged in such misconduct in, for example, The Netherlands, applying for a job in the UK without this coming to light. One could hope that other countries follow suit, but the wheels of the legislature are not known to turn quickly in any country that I know of.
I can sense many Human Resources departments getting very nervous, as the proposed change will render a major component of their modus operandi unlawful. Who knows, it may even encourage them to start tackling the culture of harassment that they have so far been content to hide.
Finally, I think it’s an important question whether or not this legislation is retroactive. If it is, and past NDAs are declared null and void then it will blow open many cases. I can imagine rather a lot of institutions and individuals getting rather nervous at the prospect of their previously concealed misconduct coming out in the open.
P.S. In related news, online voting for the Chancellorship of Cambridge University opened last week. It’s a transferable vote system. I put my first choice for Wyn Evans.
In the Dark · Banning Non-Disclosure Agreements in Sexual Harassment Cases
More from In the Dark
Just voted for Sandi Toksvig as the next chancellor of #CambridgeUniversity and I have rarely been as proud of my vote #GirtonCollege
‘Space Ice’ Experiments Pour Cold Water on Panspermia Origin of Life Theories
Scientists studying “space ice” say the amorphous, low-density material’s structure is less similar to water than previous research…
#Europe #Space #amorphousice #CambridgeUniversity #originoflife #panspermia #space #spaceice #UniversityCollegeLondon
https://www.europesays.com/2227934/
40 Years a Graduate
The summer examinations at Maynooth being over and the finalists having received their degree results I was reminded that I’d missed the anniversary of my own graduation. The main reason for that is that I couldn’t remember the date. I thought it was in July, actually, but rummaging through my files reminded me that it was on Saturday 22nd June 1985. Maynooth graduands will have to wait until September at the earliest for their conferring ceremony.
The degree certificate, incidentally, is not at all fancy. The only thing that surprised me about it was that it’s not in Latin!
The Stiff Ticket for my DegreeThe one I got when I collected my DPhil from Sussex University is far more elaborate. It’s also worth mentioning that although I did Natural Sciences (specialising in Theoretical Physics), the degree I got was Bachelor of Arts.
I don’t remember much about the Cambridge graduation, perhaps because the previous evening (Friday 21st June) we were plied with alcohol at the MacFarlarne-Grieve Dinner (a special event for graduands), then finished up in The Pickerel, the closest pub to the College. Our ceremony started at 9.15am and I wasn’t the only person graduating with a hangover.
The whole ceremony was dpme in Latin (or was when I graduated) and involved each graduand holding a finger held out by their College’s Praelector and then kneeling down in front of the presiding dignitary, i.e. either the Vice-Chancellor or Deputy Vice-Chancellor. I can’t remember which. The magic formula that turns a graduand into a graduate is:
Auctoritate mihi commissa admitto te ad gradum Baccalaurei in Artibus, in nomine Patris et Filii at Spiritus Sanctii
Other than that, and the fact that the graduands had to walk to the Senate House from their College through the streets of Cambridge, I don’t remember much about the actual ceremony.
After the ceremony we returned to Magdalene College for a garden party. I found this quite stressful, because my parents had divorced some years before and my Mum had re-married. My Dad wouldn’t speak to her or her second husband. At the garden party, the two parts of my family occupied positions at opposite corners of the lawn and I scuttled between them trying to keep everyone happy. It was like that for the rest of the day and I was glad when it was all over.
Anyway, the following October I started as a research student at the University of Sussex doing a Doctorate in Philosophy. I finished my thesis in 1988. Those three years were hard work but, on the whole, very enjoyable. I have a similar length of time in front of me before I retire. By the end I’ll have had 40 years in higher education (29 in the UK and 11 in Ireland). Hopefully, by then I’ll have figured out what to do when I leave University.
Continued thread
..... and so became the first person in history to artificially split the atom. 2/2 #Ireland #IrishHistory #ErnestWalton #JohnCockcroft #Physics #Dungarvan #Waterford #CambridgeUniversity #NobelPrizeInPhysics #OnThisDay
Ernest Walton died on 25 June 1995 in Belfast. Born in Dungarvan, Co Waterford, he was a physicist and Nobel laureate for his work with John Cockcroft with “atom-smashing” experiments done at Cambridge University in the early 1930s, and so became the first person in history to artificially split the atom.
Crikey! I didn't get involved in the nominating process for Chancellor of Cambridge University, but well done to everyone who did, because that is one astonishingly strong field of candidates.
<https://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/reporter/2024-25/weekly/6785/section1.shtml#heading2-1>
www.admin.cam.ac.ukNotices - Cambridge University Reporter 6785
I found this quote in a 1923 book from Cambridge University, with the rather ambitious title A History of Chinese Literature:
"In the Golden Age they had the two famous calendar trees, representations of which have come down to us in sculpture, dating from about A.D. 150. One of these trees put forth a leaf every day for fifteen days, after which a leaf fell off daily for fifteen more days. The other put forth a leaf once a month for half a year, after which a leaf fell off monthly for a similar period. With these trees growing in the courtyard, it was possible to say at a glance what was the day of the month, and what was the month of the year. But civilisation proved unfavourable to their growth, and the species became extinct."
It sounds like something Pablo Neruda would come up with! Accurate or not, this is why I love reading history.
“This comes over a month after the High Court granted the University an injunction to prevent protests on parts of its campus for four months, until 26 July, in order to prevent disruption at the 12 graduation ceremonies taking place this year. Under this injunction, the protester is liable to criminal damages if the University chooses to pursue them.”
Man, Trump’s America really has turned full fascist hasn’t it? Oh, wait…
https://www.varsity.co.uk/news/29587
#israel #genocide #Palestine #Gaza #WestBank #UK #complicity #Cambridge #CambridgeUniversity https://partyon.xyz/@nando161/114451673875535174
Varsity OnlineGraduating Cambridge student interrupts ceremony with pro-Palestine speechUnder the current injunction, the protester is liable for criminal damages if the University chooses to pursue them
Wyn Evans for Chancellor of Cambridge University!
I thought I’d post a quick follow-up to this post about the campaign by Prof. Wyn Evans to be the next Chancellor of Cambridge University. When I posted that item, Wyn was seeking enough nominations to stand for election. I’m very glad to pass on the news that he got over 100 nominations, more than twice the number required to stand for election. He is therefore an official candidate for the election that will take place in July. I am a graduate of Cambridge University and have registered to vote in the forthcoming election.
P.S. This all reminds me that a mere 40 years ago I was preparing for my finals at Cambridge. I still have the papers I sat then and will share them on the anniversary for old times’ sake. The first papers were on Wednesday 22nd May 1985.
In the Dark · Wyn Evans for the Chancellorship of Cambridge University!
More from In the Dark
The Illuminated Gospel of St John
https://www.cambridge.org/universitypress/bibles/illuminated-gospel-of-st-john
#NikkuMadhusudhan
#IITBHU alumnus
#Professor #Astrophysics #ExoplanetaryScience #CambridgeUniversity
Behind Discovery Of Strongest Signs Of #Life Beyond Earth
K2-18b #SuperEarth
The only super-Earth exoplanet known to host both water and temperatures that could support life.
Researchers at Cambridge and Cardiff Universities have detected signs of molecules which on Earth are only produced by simple organisms on a planet called K2-18b. "This is the strongest evidence yet there is possibly life out there".
While not 100% conclusive, the research suggests K2-18b could have an ocean which could be potentially full of life.
Using the James Web Space Telescope researchers found that K2-18b's atmosphere seems to contain the chemical signature of at least one of two molecules that are associated with life: dimethyl sulphide (DMS) and dimethyl disulphide (DMDS). https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c39jj9vkr34o #Lifeinspace #space #K2a8b #planets #JWST #universe #science #cambridgeuniversity #dimethylsulphide #dimethyldisulphide
#K218b #Space #Astronomy #Life #Earth #ExtraTerrestrialLife #JWST #Telescope #SpaceTelescope #CambridgeUniversity #NASA #Planets #Planets #SpaceTravel #Science
I always tend to read multiple articles on different websites if a topic like this comes up. Sky News has a take on it too…
https://news.sky.com/story/strongest-evidence-of-life-yet-found-on-planet-beyond-solar-system-scientists-say-13350295
Sky · Strongest evidence of life yet found on planet beyond solar system, scientists say
#K218b #Space #Astronomy #Life #Earth #ExtraTerrestrialLife #JWST #Telescope #SpaceTelescope #CambridgeUniversity #NASA #Planets #Planets #SpaceTravel #Science
Just a follow up on the article from the BBC I posted earlier today. It contains a few small updates regarding current and imminent space missions, and our ongoing search for extraterrestrial life. “Dragonfly” sounds very interesting, as do the missions to Europa…
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp8jwj90ejno
BBC NewsThe truth about life on other planets and what it means for EarthCould discoveries of alien life ever change the human psyche in how we view ourselves and each other?
#K218b #Space #Astronomy #Life #Earth #ExtraTerrestrialLife #JWST #Telescope #SpaceTelescope #CambridgeUniversity #NASA #Planets #Planets #SpaceTravel #Science
Very interesting, but don’t build your hopes up we’ll ever get there. The fastest thing we’ve currently built is the Parker Solar Probe, which travels around 430,000mph. To travel 700 trillion miles at the same speed, we’re talking around 186,000 years…
Telescope finds promising hints of life on distant planet https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c39jj9vkr34o
www.bbc.comScientists find promising hints of life on distant planet K2-18bScientists find new but tentative evidence that a faraway world orbiting another star may be home to life.