Danby

  The Danby Society

            The Scientific Society of Downing College, Cambridge


Hello!

Welcome to Downing College and the Danby Society. The Danby Society is a social society for all students studying scientific subjects at Downing: Mathematicians, Engineers, Computer Scientists and Natural Scientists.

Hopefully you will be able to meet lots of us during freshers week, but until then you can email the committee with any questions you may have. While you are here, you can check out the book exchange to save the pennies for the "entertainment budget", and look at photos of past events to get an idea of what we provide.

Joining the Society

All undergraduate freshers studying natural sciences, engineering, computer science and maths are automatically made members of the society. Nevertheless, it is helpful if you drop by our stall at the Downing societies fair in at the start of term to pass us your e-mail. If you wish to opt out of the Danby society, you can let us know at the fair or send an e-mail to the chairman.
Graduates studying sciences, engineering, computer science or maths are also welcomed into the society. If you are a graduate looking to join, let us know at the Downing societies fair or drop an e-mail to our chairman.

Fresher Advice

This part of the website is designed as a very brief guide to your subject, from a student perspective. It is a new feature, and any feedback would be very greatefully received. If you have any comments please email the webmaster.
The science subjects cover a wide range, and not everything applies to all of them. As such this section has some general advice and some subject specific advice.

What to expect in Freshers Week (as a scientist)

1)Meetings
As well as the partying, the precious days of freshers week are used to organise your timetable. As a scientist you will have one of the busiest undergraduate timetables, with up to 25 hours of scheduled lectures, practicals and supervisions.

During freshers week you will meet with the fellows in charge of your subject (the Directors of Studies) who will endeavour to make this process as painless as possible. They will be able to answer questions about subject choices (if applicable) and will start to organise supervisions. The number of supervisions will depend on your course, but expect to have one per subject per week, with each subject setting work for you to do.
Practicals are generally signed up for in the relevant lab, which luckily for Downing students means that you will have only a short walk. The exception to this is Physics. Physics practicals are held in the New Cavendish Laboratory, on the West Cambridge site. Here is a map to help you get there.

2)Danby Meal
As a way of saying hello to you, and giving you a chance to meet up with the people you will share lecture theatres and labs with for the next three or four years, the Danby Society provides a social event during freshers week. Generally this starts with a meal in a local restaurant. This is currently scheduled for Monday 10th October. After the meal there will be a social event with the whole society invited, so you can meet up with 2nd, 3rd, and 4th years too (there are even a few graduate Danby members as well). There will be more information about this circulated to you during freshers week when the new email lists are organised.
While the bank account does not stretch to making it totally free, the costs are subsidised, with the small price added to your college bill. If you really do not want to come then you can opt out, but it is definately worthwhile.

Subject Specific Advice and Information

Natural Sciences Engineering Mathematics Computer Science

General Advice

Calculators
In University exams, only approved calculators are allowed. These are the Casio fx 100D, Casio fx 115 (any version ) or Casio fx 570 (any version except the fx 570MS). These calculators are available to purchase from several university stores, notably the Chemistry stores in the Chemistry Department on Lensfield Road (next door to Downing) as well as the Physics stores at the Cavendish Laboratory. At the moment they are priced at £12.
More details are available here.

Past Papers
During the year it is likely that your supervisors will set you past exam questions as supervision work. These are generally hidden somewhere on the University or Department webpages, and it can be quite irritating to have to search around to find them. To help out, here are some links to past paper pages:

Visitors since 06/08/2005

© 2005 The Danby Society of Downing College, Cambridge