Name Colin Humphreys Role Professor | Employer University of Cambridge | |
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Full Name Colin John Humphreys Born May 24, 1941 (age 82) ( 1941-05-24 ) Alma mater Imperial College
(B.Sc., Physics) Occupation Goldsmiths’ Professor of Materials Science Books The Mystery of the Last Supper: Reconstructing the Final Days of Jesus | ||
Education Imperial College London | ||
Sir prof colin humphreys phenom sem in materials science
Sir Colin John Humphreys, CBE FREng (born 24 May 1941) is a British physicist. He is the former Goldsmiths' Professor of Materials Science and a current Director of Research at Cambridge University, Professor of Experimental Physics at the Royal Institution in London and a Fellow of Selwyn College, Cambridge. He was President of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining in 2002 and 2003. His research interests include "all aspects of electron microscopy and analysis, semiconductors (particularly gallium nitride), ultra-high temperature aerospace materials and superconductors."
Contents
- Sir prof colin humphreys phenom sem in materials science
- Prof Colin Humphreys Faith Humans and Robots
- Honours
- Biblical study and publications
- Other activities
- Books
- References
Humphreys also "studies the Bible when not pursuing his day-job as a materials scientist."
Prof. Colin Humphreys - Faith, Humans and Robots
Honours
Humphreys was awarded the A. A. Griffith Medal and Prize in 2001 and a CBE in 2003 for services to science as a researcher and communicator. He was knighted in the 2010 Birthday Honours and in 2011 elected a Fellow of the Royal Society He is also mentioned in Debrett's People of Today. He was elected in 1996 as a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering
Biblical study and publications
In 2011 Humphreys claimed in his book The Mystery of the Last Supper that the Last Supper took place on Wednesday (Holy Wednesday), not as traditionally thought Thursday (Maundy Thursday), and that the apparent timing discrepancies (Nisan 15 or 14) between the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke versus John are rooted in the use of different calendars by the writers. Mark, Matthew and Luke appear to use an older, Egyptian-style Jewish calendar (still used today by the Samaritans) while John appears to refer to the newer, Babylonian-style Jewish calendar (still in use by modern Jews). The Last Supper being on Wednesday would allow more time for interrogation and presentation to Pilate prior to the crucifixion on Friday than given in the traditional view. Humphreys proposed the actual date for the Last Supper to be 1 April 33.
In a review of Humphreys' book, theologian William R Telford points out that the non-astronomical parts of his argument are based on the assumption that the chronologies described in the New Testament are historical and based on eyewitness testimony, accepting unquestioned statements such as the "three different Passovers in John" and Matthew's statement that Jesus died at the ninth hour. He also notes that Humphreys uses some very dubious sources. In doing so, Telford says, Humphreys has built an argument upon unsound premises which "does violence to the nature of the biblical texts, whose mixture of fact and fiction, tradition and redaction, history and myth all make the rigid application of the scientific tool of astronomy to their putative data a misconstrued enterprise."
Other activities
Humphreys is a member of the John Templeton Foundation. and a member of the Advisory Council for the Campaign for Science and Engineering.