Dr. John Jumper, an alumnus of St Edmund’s College, Cambridge, completed an MPhil in theoretical condensed matter physics at Cambridge’s renowned Cavendish Laboratory in 2011. He later earned his PhD in Chemistry from the University of Chicago. Speaking as Director of Google DeepMind, Jumper recently commented on the transformative impact of computational biology, saying:
“Computational biology has long held tremendous promise for creating practical insights that could be put to use in real-world experiments. AlphaFold delivered on this promise. Ahead of us are a universe of new insights and scientific discoveries made possible by the use of AI as a scientific tool.”
Professor Deborah Prentice, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, also celebrated this achievement. She remarked:
“I’d like to congratulate Demis Hassabis and John Jumper, who, alongside Geoffrey Hinton yesterday, are all alumni of our University. Together, their pioneering work in the development and application of machine learning is transforming our understanding of the world around us. They join an illustrious line-up of Cambridge people to have received Nobel Prizes – now totalling 124 individuals – for which we can be very proud.”
I, too, spent a year from 1981 to 1982 at St Edmund’s College, Cambridge, studying for the Part III Mathematical Tripos, and was attached to the Department of Applied Mathematics & Theoretical Physics. It gives me immense pride to join Professor Deborah Prentice in extending my heartiest congratulations to both Demis Hassabis and John Jumper. Their contributions, especially as alumni of the University of Cambridge, are groundbreaking. The fact that John Jumper is also a fellow St Edmund’s College alumnus makes me doubly proud.