Three UCL scientists elected Fellows of the Royal Society

Professor Polina Bayvel (UCL Electronic & Electrical Engineering), Professor Maria Fitzgerald (UCL Neurology, Physiology & Pharmacology) and Professor Eleanor Maguire (UCL Institute of Neurology) were among the 50 new Fellows and 10 new Foreign Members announced by the Royal Society.

Professor Polina Bayvel is an electrical engineer who has made major contributions to the investigation and design of high-bandwidth, multi-wavelength optical communication networks. Professor Bayvel's research focuses on maximising the speed and capacity of optical fibre transmission systems, and the fundamental studies of capacity-limiting optical nonlinearities and their mitigation.

Professor Maria Fitzgerald studies the developmental physiology and neurobiology of nociceptive circuits in the brain and spinal cord. Professor Fitzgerald's work has had a major impact on the understanding of how pain perception emerges in early life and how early pain experience can shape pain sensitivity for life.

Professor Eleanor Maguire has been recognised for her research into how the brain supports navigation, memory and imagining the future and in particular the role played by the hippocampus. Professor Maguire explores this complex issue by studying healthy volunteers as well as patients with memory impairments using creative experimental paradigms and novel analysis techniques.

The Fellowship of the Royal Society is made up of the most eminent scientists, engineers and technologists from or living and working in the UK and the Commonwealth. Past Fellows and Foreign Members have included Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking.

Professor Michael Arthur, UCL's President & Provost, said: "The whole UCL community takes great pride in this well-deserved recognition and I offer my congratulations to Polina, Maria and Eleanor. This is a tremendous achievement and is testament to UCL's position as London's leading multidisciplinary university."

Links

• UCL Engineering article on Professor Polina Bayvel's election
• UCL SLMS article on Professors Maria Fitzgerald and Professor Eleanor Maguire's election
• Royal Society Fellows

Image

• Professors Polina Bayvel, Maria Fitzgerald and Professor Eleanor Maguire (Courtesy of Royal Society)