News
Latest College News
Stay up to date with the latest from Magdalene, including College announcements, academic achievements, alumni updates, feature articles, and highlights from recent events.
Gold for the New Library
The New Library at Magdalene College has won the Gold Award and the Education & Public Sector award at the 2021 Wood Awards, recognising exceptional timber design and craftsmanship.
Dr Adrian Baez-Ortega wins global Science Prize
Dr Adrian Baez-Ortega, Magdalene Research Fellow, has won the prestigious Science & SciLifeLab Prize for Young Scientists for his research on cell evolution and the history of contagious cancer in dogs.
James Stearn, the Head Porter who died of grief
James Stearn, Head Porter at Magdalene College, died in 1918 after losing his son, Sydney, during WWI. His death highlights the emotional toll of the war on those at home, despite his service to the College.
Mary Astell's Books
We have recently discovered that Mary Astell (1666-1731), a philosopher, author and advocate of women’s education, was the donor of several books to the Old Library.
Peter Peckard Prize Winner 2021
The College is pleased to announce that the winner of the Peter Peckard Memorial Prize 2021 is Miss Alice Mee, an undergraduate at Queens' College, for her essay on forced prison labour in Ukraine.
Discovering the Hole in The Ozone Layer
Dr Jonathan Shanklin (1973) recounts Magdalene's role in the discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole. His 1985 Nature paper revealed the impact of CFCs, aiding the Montreal Protocol’s success.
From Fuel Droplets in Jet Engines to Pathogen-carrying Droplets in the Air
Dr Pedro Magalhães de Oliveira (2015) discusses how his research on aerosols and COVID-19 transmission led to the development of a global tool to assess infection risk in indoor spaces.
Rhythms for Life
Reverend Sarah Atkins, College Chaplain, reflects on the pandemic’s impact, highlighting how Magdalene’s community kept spirit alive through creative initiatives and maintained hope in challenging times.
Magdalene Matters: Issue 51
Magdalene Matters is the College's alumni newsletter, covering news, features, and upcoming events. This issue highlights the Mary Astell book collection, Covid-19 research, and more.
Cymric items in the Pepys Library
Welsh language and culture appear throughout the Pepys Library, from grammar books to rare ballads, revealing Pepys’s linguistic curiosity and interest in Welsh print history.
Thomas Becket
Magdalene’s collections reveal Becket’s enduring influence, from defaced medieval chants to Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral in global translations from the Valerie Eliot bequest.
Book Owners Online
Magdalene’s Old Library book owners now feature in Book Owners Online, revealing new links, lives, and stories behind seventeenth- and eighteenth-century provenance records.