Professor Sir Colin John Humphreys, CBE

Order of the British Empire

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

 (born 24 May 1941) is a British physicist

Physics

Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...

. He is the former Goldsmiths’ Professor of Materials Science and current Director of Research at Cambridge University, Professor of Experimental Physics at the Royal Institution

Royal Institution

The Royal Institution of Great Britain is an organization devoted to scientific education and research, based in London.-Overview:...

 in London and a Fellow of Selwyn College, Cambridge

Selwyn College, Cambridge

Selwyn College is a constituent college in the University of Cambridge in England, United Kingdom.The college was founded by the Selwyn Memorial Committee in memory of the Rt Reverend George Selwyn , who rowed on the Cambridge crew in the first Varsity Boat Race in 1829, and went on to become the...

. He was President of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining

Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining

The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining is a major UK engineering institution whose activities encompass the whole materials cycle, from exploration and extraction, through characterisation, processing, forming, finishing and application, to product recycling and land reuse...

 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."

Humphreys also "studies the Bible

Bible

The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

 when not pursuing his day-job as a materials scientist."

Honours

Humphreys was awarded a CBE in 2003 for services to science as a researcher and communicator. He was knighted

Knight Bachelor

The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...

 in the 2010 Birthday Honours

2010 Birthday Honours

The Birthday Honours 2010 for the Commonwealth Realms were announced on 7 June 2010 in New Zealand and 12 June 2010 in United Kingdom to celebrate the Queen's Birthday of 2010.-Knights Bachelor:*Professor John Rex Beddington CMG, for science...

.

Biblical study and publications

In 2011 Humphreys claimed in his book The Mystery of the Last Supper that the Last Supper

Last Supper

The Last Supper is the final meal that, according to Christian belief, Jesus shared with his Twelve Apostles in Jerusalem before his crucifixion. The Last Supper provides the scriptural basis for the Eucharist, also known as "communion" or "the Lord's Supper".The First Epistle to the Corinthians is...

 took place on Wednesday (Holy Wednesday

Holy Wednesday

In Christianity, Holy Wednesday is the Wednesday of the Holy Week, the week before Easter...

), not as traditionally thought Thursday (Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday, also known as Holy Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Great & Holy Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries, is the Christian feast or holy day falling on the Thursday before Easter that commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles as described in the Canonical gospels...

), and the apparent timing discrepancies (Nisan

Nisan

Nisan is the first month of the ecclesiastical year and the seventh month of the civil year, on the Hebrew calendar. The name of the month is Babylonian; in the Torah it is called the month of the Aviv, referring to the month in which barley was ripe. It is a spring month of 30 days...

 15 or 14) between the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke versus John are rooted in the use of different calendars by the writers, the former group using an older Jewish calendar and the latter a lunar calendar. The Last Supper being on Wednesday would allow more time for interrogation and presentation to Pilate prior to the cruxification than given in the traditional view. Humphreys proposed the actual date for the Last Supper to be 1 April 33.

Other activities

Humphreys is a member of the John Templeton Foundation

John Templeton Foundation

"The John Templeton Foundation is a philanthropic organizationthat funds inter-disciplinary research about human purpose and ultimate reality. It is usually referred to simply as the Templeton Foundation...

. and a member of the Advisory Council for the Campaign for Science and Engineering

Campaign for Science and Engineering

The Campaign for Science and Engineering is a non-profit organization which promotes science and engineering in the UK. It focuses on arguing for more research funding, promoting a high-tech and knowledge-based economy, highlighting the need for top-quality science and maths education at all...

.

Books

• The Miracles of Exodus: a Scientist Reveals the Extraordinary Natural Causes Underlying the Biblical Miracles (Harper Collins, 2003).
• "The Mystery of the Last Supper: Reconstructing the Final Days of Jesus." (Cambridge University Press, 2011) ISBN 052173200X