Eight members of the University of Cambridge have been named in the 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours list, which was announced on Friday (11/06).

Sir John Aston, Harding Professor of Statistics in Public Life at the Department of Pure Maths and Mathematical Statistics, has been knighted for services to Statistics and Public Policymaking. 

In his role as Home Office Chief Scientific Adviser, Aston promoted the use of statistics and quantitative evidence in government, and during the Covid-19 pandemic he worked to ensure that the Home Secretary was briefed on the latest scientific advice.

Sir Andy Hopper, Professor of Computer Technology in the Department of Computer Science and Technology,  has received a  knighthood for his work in computer systems and architectures. 

“The University of Cambridge and the Cambridge Cluster have provided a wonderfully collaborative and flexible framework within which I have had the good fortune to work for 47 years,” Hopper said.

Professor William Sutherland, the Miriam Rothschild Professor of Conservation Biology in the Department of Zoology, and Professorial Fellow at St Catharine’s College, has been awarded a CBE for his work in Evidence-based Conservation.

Sutherland is a leading conservation scientist, researching ecological processes, predicting the impacts of environmental change, and advising government and conservation organisations, such as Natural England and the National Trust.

Professor James Wood, Head of the Department of Veterinary Medicine, Alborada Professor of Equine and Farm Animal Science, and Fellow of Wolfson College, has received an OBE for his research into diseases that are transmissible from animals to humans.

Wood has studied bovine tuberculosis in the UK, Ethiopia and India, and its impact on milk-producing cattle and buffalo, as well as wildlife-associated emerging viral infections in sub-Saharan Africa.

Dr Shaun Fitzgerald, Director at the Centre for Climate Repair and Cambridge, and Fellow of Girton College, has been awarded an OBE for services to the COVID-19 response.

Fitzgerald advised the SAGE Environmental Modelling Group on ventilation in indoor spaces, as well as serving in the inter-departmental Events Research Programme, and on Public Health England’s Aerosol Generating Procedures panel.

Dr Arif Ahmed, University Reader in Philosophy, and Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, received an MBE for services to Education.

Ahmed is recognised for his pivotal role in the new Statement on Freedom of Speech adopted by the University in December 2020, authoring amendments pledging a commitment to “tolerance” as opposed to “respect” for different views that were passed by 75% of voting academics.

Aimee Durning, a Teaching Assistant at the University of Cambridge Primary School, received an MBE for services to Education.

Aimee has created a network in the East of England for teaching assistants to share best practices and develop their skills, particularly in helping vulnerable children. During the pandemic, she also adapted a book club she had previously set up to provide support and teaching resources to young people and their families.

Amika George, an undergraduate studying History at Murray Edwards College, also received an MBE for services to Education.