We are delighted to announce the launch of the Hawking-Crick Society. Named in celebration of two of the most renowned scientists in Caius’ history, this new society will be open to all Caius undergraduates and postgraduates and will represent the academic branch of the Natural Sciences community at Caius.

The new Hawking-Crick Society will be supported by the Gonville & Caius Natural Sciences Society, from the fund set up by the former Master and distinguished scientist Professor Sir Alan Fersht to support undergraduate and postgraduate Natural Scientists at Caius.

Sir Alan’s support for the new society was fuelled from his own scientific career. He said, “I have had a wonderful life being a scientist and having worked with and been encouraged by some very great scientists, I would like to see our students having the opportunity of meeting inspiring scientists in College, both informally and at lectures.”

At the heart of this new society lies the Hawking-Crick Lecture Series, which will bring world-leading scientific experts direct to our Bateman Auditorium. This series will be inaugurated with a lecture from Sir Gregory Winter, the former Master of Trinity College Cambridge, on Tuesday 25 February, which will be followed by the opportunity for questions, discussions, and, of course, refreshments.

In a career spanning research and industry, Sir Winter has amassed numerous significant honours and awards, including the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on phage displays for humanising antibodies for therapeutic uses. Sir Winter will deliver a lecture titled “Harnessing evolution to make new medicines”.

Caius has a large vibrant community of Natural Scientists, with two existing networks; the student-led Natural Sciences Society, and the Caius Science Network (CSN) that is coordinated by Bye-Fellow Dr Raphael (Rafi) Blumenfeld. In addition to these established networks, the new Hawking-Crick Society lectures “will provide a fantastic chance for students at Caius to engage and interact with the lives and work of the leading scientists that we have on our doorstep” according to Mollie McKeon, President of the Natural Sciences Society. “As the Caius NatSci Society, we very much look forward to working closely with Sir Alan and Dr Blumenfeld to invigorate and forge new connections within our community of scientists. With this exciting new lecture series on the horizon, along with the Hawking-Crick Society’s support for student research projects, we feel this is a truly brilliant time to be a NatSci at Caius.”

Caius Students, Fellows and Staff can find out more information about the lecture on the College's intranet, The Venn. ​