Alumni recognised in King's Birthday Honours

The King’s Birthday Honours List 2023 marks the incredible public service of individuals from across the UK in a range of sectors. This year, nine UCL alumni have been honoured.

George Imafidon (MEng Mechanical Engineering with Programming 2020) has been awarded an MBE for services to engineering, technology and to young people. After being awarded a First-Class MEng degree from UCL, George was selected to join Formula One world champion Sir Lewis Hamilton’s Commission as one of its 14 members.

George is also the co-founder and CEO of the award-winning app Motivez, for which he won the Diana Award in 2019, and chaired the #AB1Million campaign to raise £1m for the Amos Bursary, which supports men of African and Caribbean heritage to excel in education and beyond. In 2022 he won the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Young Engineer of the Year and Sir George Macfarlane Medal for demonstrating excellence in the early stage of his career.

He said: “I'm honoured and grateful to receive the MBE for services to engineering, technology and young people. It's been a privilege to use my voice over the last decade for so many of us who feel unseen, opening up trajectories in STEM for communities traditionally far removed from the industry. I really hope this recognition can open more doors for those that are underserved, and goes some way to instilling hope on their journey.”

Professor Eva Sorensen (MA Education 2011) has been awarded an MBE for services to Education and Chemical Engineering. Professor Sorensen has been a valued member of UCL staff for over two decades in the Department of Chemical Engineering. Her highlighted achievements include winning the UCL Faculty of Engineering Excellence in Teaching Award in 2002, becoming an ExxonMobil Teaching Fellow in 2013, winning the PROSE Award for Chemistry & Physics in 2015, as well as winning the IChemE's Frank Morton Medal in 2017 and a SEFI Fellowship Award in 2018. In 2020 she was appointed Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering, becoming the first female to hold this position since the department opened 100 years ago.

Commenting on her award, Professor Sorensen, said: "It is a tremendous honour for me to have received an MBE, particularly as an immigrant. I have been in the UK for nearly 30 years, but only became a British citizen quite recently.

"I am especially indebted to the Faculty of Engineering Sciences here at UCL, which has enabled and encouraged me throughout this time and has allowed me to do the work for which I am now receiving this award."

Other awards to UCL alumni include:

Dr Janet Young (BA English 1983; PhD UCL Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment 2011) was awarded a CBE for public service following a distinguished career in the civil service. A chartered surveyor with over 25 years professional experience, Dr Young is responsible for the Government Estate Strategy and the Government Property Functional Standard.

Dr Christopher John Hugh Jones (MBBS Medicine 1981), Deputy Chief Medical Officer for the Welsh Government, was awarded a CBE for services to healthcare.

John Raymond Camp (MA Leadership 2003; Short Course (Education) 2004), Chief Executive Officer at The Compass Partnership of Schools, Royal Borough of Greenwich and Essex, was awarded an OBE for services to Education.

Prokar Dasgupta (MSc Urology 1996), Professor of Surgery at King's Health Partners, and Chair in Robotic Surgery and Urological Innovation at King's College London, was awarded an OBE for services to Surgery and Science.

Jay Prakash Patel (MPharm Pharmacy 2008), Qualified Person Assessor for AstraZeneca, was awarded an MBE for services to public health during Covid-19.

Dr Garry Hunt (BSc Mathematics; PhD Mathematical Physics; DSc Physics and Astronomy), former NASA scientist who was a co-host on BBC's The Sky at Night for over 20 years, was awarded an OBE for his services to space science and business.

Narinder Sagoo (Graduate Diploma Architecture 1999), artist and designer, was awarded an MBE for services to charity. 

Further links

• UCL staff and alumni recognised in King’s Birthday Honours
• Inspired By: George Imafidon (article in Portico, UCL’s magazine for alumni and supporters)

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Professor Eva Sorensen and George Imafidon