St John’s Fellows recognised in 2026 Recognition of Distinction awards
Robert Hoye becomes Professor of Materials Chemistry, Armin Lak becomes Professor of Neuroscience, Ranjit Lall becomes Professor of International Political Economy, and Ian Williams becomes Professor of Legal History.
Professor Robert Hoye is a Tutorial Fellow in Chemistry. His research focuses on optoelectronic materials, which convert energy between light and electricity. These materials are essential for facilitating the energy transition to carbon neutrality but are also important for improving the quality of medical imaging and optical communications. Professor Hoye’s research group aims to develop a new generation of optoelectronic materials that can be produced in a cost-effective and scalable fashion, whilst performing efficiently and tolerating defects in the crystal structure. Read more about the research done by the Hoye Group here.
Professor Armin Lak is a Tutorial Fellow in Neuroscience and Pre-Clinical Medicine. His research explores the neuronal mechanisms that underpin learning and decision making. The Lak Lab are interested in how the brain integrates external sensory signals with internal reward and motivational signals for making decisions, and how the brain learns to make decisions under uncertainty. Further information about Professor Lak’s research is available here.
Professor Ranjit Lall is a Tutorial Fellow in Politics. He studies the political economy of technological change, international cooperation, and economic development. His most recent book, Making Institutions Work: The Politics of Performance (Cambridge University Press, 2023), examines why some international institutions perform better than others, drawing on the most comprehensive dataset on the topic. Professor Lall also has methodological interests in machine learning and the analysis of missing data. Read more about his research here.
Professor Ian Williams is a Tutorial Fellow in Law and the Fellow for Statutes at St John’s. His research focuses on sixteenth- and seventeenth-century English law, and examines the interaction between legal practice and more theoretical ideas of law and norms, as well as the communication of law (mostly, but not only, through printed and manuscript texts). His current research is focused on the court of Star Chamber. Learn more about his research here.
Clockwise from top left: Professor Robert Hoye, Professor Armin Lak, Professor Ian Williams, Professor Ranjit Lall
There are three criteria for the conferment of the title of full professor: research, teaching, and good citizenship. Awards are made to those who demonstrate
- An ongoing research record which is characterised by a significant influence on the field of study and is of a high order of excellence and of international standing, and the quality of which in terms of research distinction is at least equal to that expected of those appointed to full professorships at other leading international research universities.
- An ongoing record of effective teaching for the University and for colleges, concomitant with the duties of the University post and the college fellowship (where one is held).
- An ongoing record of involvement in University and/or college administration concomitant with the duties of the University post and the college fellowship (where one is held), and demonstrable competence in such administration.