Gonville & Caius College

Caius is particularly strong in Computer Science and Caians whose academic careers have involved work at the forefront of Computer Science include, amongst others, Professor Mike Gordon FRS and Professor Peter Kirstein CBE. More recently, Whitfield Diffie spent a year as a visiting Fellow at Caius. Here are some profiles of a few recent graduates.

Paul Cunningham came to Caius from the British School in Brussels where he took A-levels in Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Art. He graduated in 1998 and stayed in Cambridge to work for a PhD in the Computer Laboratory with Peter Robinson. In 2002 he co-founded a software company, Azuro, with a colleague from the Computer Laboratory, which secured 2.5 million pounds of venture capital funding in May 2003.

"The atmosphere and community at Caius is unique, I always used to bump into someone I knew whenever I wandered into the college bar."

Commenting on his rise from novice rower to record holding Boat Race victory in 1998, Paul added: "It all stemmed from my enjoyment rowing for Caius. The college boatclub is by far the best in Cambridge."

John Hall came to Caius from Winstanley Sixth Form College where he took A-levels in Maths, Further Maths, Physics and German. He graduated in 1999, spent a year as a student worker with a local church and still lives in Cambridge working for a small computer consultancy.

"Caius was a good choice because of its size - reasonably large, but not too so, so there was a definite sense of community. Being so central was also a very good thing. I enjoyed the variety of the course, from the highly theoretical to the more practical. It's been cool to directly apply things I learnt in my current job. I still feel the benefit now."

Isabel Kingsmill applied to Caius to study Natural Sciences with A-levels in Maths, Physics and Chemistry and AS-levels in Biology and Spanish from Lady Eleanor Holles School. She took the 25% Computer Science option in the first year and then continued with Computer Science full time for a further two years. She graduated in 2001 and joined Detica in Guildford where she has worked on the development of bespoke data and signal processing systems for government clients.

"I really enjoyed my time at Caius, both because of the atmosphere of the college and the fantastic friends I made there. I found the material covered in the Computer Science course interesting and stimulating, and this encouraged me to take the full time course for my final two years. This has enabled me to pursue a technical and challenging career where I can enjoy applying some of the theory that I took away with me from Cambridge. I now look forward each year to revisiting Caius for the annual Compsci dinner."

Andrew Naish arrived at Caius via the admissions pool with A-levels in Maths, Further Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Music from Reading School. He graduated in 2003 and is staying in Cambridge to work towards a PhD in the Computer Laboratory.

"Although Caius was not my first choice of College, the three years spent here have been enormously enjoyable. In retrospect, I am very glad that I was pooled. The atmosphere is genuinely welcoming, and with the wealth of extra-curricular activities available it's hard not to become closely involved with the undergraduate community. I soon found a rôle in the College film society, and more recently wrote articles for Caiustone, our student newspaper. As a keen pianist, it was a delight to practise on the College Steinway, new in 2002.

I didn't make the same mistake twice: Caius was naturally my first choice College for post-graduate study!"

Sonali Tandon came to Caius after studying for A-levels in Maths, Physics and Chemistry at the British School in New Delhi. She graduated in 2003 and joined Citigroup's Technology (Infrastructure) Division in London.

"I thoroughly enjoyed the challenges of studying Computer Science among the other friendly ‘Compscis’ at Caius. Within a friendly atmosphere it was good to have a lot of friends to discuss problems and bounce ideas off. When not working, I managed to have an active social life too. I was a member of the Caius Film Society, Caius College Rag and Secretary of the Caius May Ball Committee, which organised a very successful Ball in 2002. I even found time to learn Ballroom and tap dancing too! The past 3 years have definitely been an exciting stepping stone in my life."

Peter Robinson
pr@cai.cam.ac.uk

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