Staff and students celebrate success at the Faculty Awards Ceremony

The MAPS Faculty Awards ceremony celebrated the extraordinary achievements and contributions made by all the winners of the many prizes, competitions, and awards organised by the Vice-Deans (VD), spanning research, innovation and enterprise, education, equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), as well as alumni engagement during the 2022/23 academic year. The recognitions include:

• MAPS Early Career Researchers (ECR) Forum Awards (VD Research)
• Innovation and Enterprise Student Prize Competitions (VD Enterprise)
• Embedding EDI in Education Poster Prize Competition (VDs EDI, Education and Advancement)
• MAPS Faculty Education Awards and UCL Education Awards (VD Education)
• Alumni Engagement Ideas Awards (VD Advancement)

The MAPS Faculty Dean Professor Ivan Parkin chaired the in-person gathering, which was attended by Vice-Deans, Faculty members, the Heads of Departments, staff and students. 

The ceremony unfolded in an atmosphere of excitement and camaraderie, with attendees enjoying an afternoon filled with lunch, nibbles, and drinks. However, the true highlight of the event was the resounding applause that echoed through the venue, acknowledging the hard work and dedication of the award recipients. The event featured an introduction of each award and announcement of winners by each Vice-Dean and the presentation of certificates mainly by Professor Ivan Parkin. 

MAPS ECR Forum Awards

Professor Andrew Wills, Vice Dean for Research, announced the MAPS ECR Forum Awards. The MAPS ECR Forum ran its inaugural ECR Forum Awards in the summer of 2023 celebrating the outstanding work in areas of research, teaching, outreach and communications, and community work by the early career researchers including PhDs, PDRAs and Research Fellows. The winners are: 

EDI Awards

• Luke Davis, Department of Mathematics
• Michela Barbieri and Marta Benozzo (Joint EDI Award), Department of Mathematics
• Claudia De Sousa Miranda Perez, Department of Mathematics

Research Excellence Award

• Curran Kalha, Department of Chemistry
• Zhuo Sun, Department of Statistical Science

Teaching Excellence Award

• Illina Yozova, Department of Statistical Science

Outreach and Communication Award

• Kai Yip, Department of Physics and Astronomy
• Rebecca Shutt, Department of Physics and Astronomy

Community Award

• Saad Shaikh, Department of Physics and Astronomy
• Louisa Acciari, Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction 

Professor Andrew Wills said: “We are delighted to have been able to showcase and recognise the achievements of our early career researchers across the different categories. Their contributions cover a diverse range of impact from department-level to national and international”.

Alumni Engagement Ideas Awards

Next was the Alumni Engagement Ideas Awards run Vice Dean for Advancement Professor Nick Ovenden, in collaboration with Sara Bunting, Senior Philanthropy Manager (MAPS), recognising the creative initiatives fostering meaningful connections between the faculty and its alumni. Winners include:

• Georgios Nikiforidis, Institute for Materials Discovery
• Nathan Green, Department of Statistical Science
• Rachel McKendry, London Centre for Nanotechnology

Innovation and Enterprise Student Prize Competitions

In its second year, the Innovation and Enterprise Student Prize Competitions encouraged all students (undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD) to contemplate the innovative aspects and potential economic and societal impacts of their research projects, fostering their entrepreneurial spirit. Many congratulations to the following students:

Undergraduate (MSci) Prize Competition 2022/23 winners

• Romain Lotthe, Department of Chemistry
• Andrei-Gabriel Pavel, Department of Physics and Astronomy

Postgraduate (MSc) Prize Competition 2022/23 winners

• Racha Doumit, Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction
• Sunaan Malik, Rea Sachdeva, Boyi Pang, Ruijing Han, Yancheng Shen, Hang Yu and Wangxing Cheng, Institute for Materials Discovery
• Yichen Lang, Institute for Materials Discovery
• You Zuo, Department of Physics and Astronomy

Postgraduate (PhD) Prize Competition 2022/23 winner

• Diana Salah Raie Ahmed, Department of Physics and Astronomy

Embedding EDI in Education Poster Prize Competition

The Embedding EDI in Education Poster Prize Competition, a collaborative initiative by Vice-Deans Professor Nick Achilleos (EDI), Professor Katherine Holt (Education), and Professor Nick Ovenden (Advancement), served a great opportunity for staff and students to showcase their work in promoting diversity and inclusivity within the academic environment. The prize went to two groups:

• Joint 1st – Luciano Rila, Vivienne Leech, Javier Bautista, Scott Orr, Hector Garcia-Moreno, Rhiannon Owen for their project London LGTBQ+ STEM Conference 2023
• Joint 1st – Shannon James and Rose Meadows for their project Decolonisation of the Curriculum: Digging into its Colonial Roots

MAPS Faculty Education Awards and UCL Education Awards 

The MAPS Faculty Education Awards and the UCL Education Awards honoured those who have demonstrated excellence and innovation in education, contributing to the overall enhancement of the learning experience for students. 

Professor Katherine Holt praised the many winners for their exceptional work, especially those who also won the prestigious UCL Education Awards. She commented: “It was great to be able to celebrate the diversity of excellent practice across the faculty for improving the student experience. 

“Everything from supporting careers, improving assessment and feedback and enhancing personal tutoring was represented. The prize winners themselves were similarly diverse, with individual and team excellence demonstrated by PG students, academic, teaching, technical and professional services staff.” 

The long list of winners is as follows:

MAPS Faculty Education Awards: Individual Excellence

• Nikki Baxter, UCL Careers (MAPS) (also winner of the UCL Provost Award: Supporting students’ employability)
• Mhari Gordon, Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction
• Mohammad Shamsudduha, Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction (also winner of the UCL Education Awards 2023: Assessment & Feedback)
• Antonio d’Alfonso del Sordo, Department of Mathematics (also winner of the UCL Education Awards 2023: PGTAs)
• Beatriz Navarro Lameda, Department of Mathematics (also winner of the UCL Education Awards 2023: Assessment and Feedback)
• Daniel Verscharen, Department of Space and Climate Physics
• Russell Evans, Department of Statistical Science (also winner of the UCL Education Awards 2023: Assessment and Feedback)
• Karen Leport, Department of Statistical Science (also winner of the UCL Education Awards 2023: Student Support)

MAPS Faculty Education Awards: Team Excellence, and UCL Education Awards: Assessment and Feedback
Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction Assessment UCL Team: 

• Jose Delgado, Saman Ghaffarian, Yasmine Sabri, Joanna Faure Walker, Mohammad Shamsudduha, Bayes Ahmed, Gianluca Pescaroli, Rozana Himaz, Punam Yadav, John Spittles, Marieke Guy

MAPS Faculty Education Awards: Team Excellence, and UCL Education Awards: Openness and Inclusion
Department of Science and Technology Studies Inclusion Team: 

• Noemi Tousignant, Erman Sozudogru, Giuseppe La Rosa, Michel Wahome, Phyllis Illari, Simon Lock, Jenny Bulstrode

UCL Education Awards 2023: Sustainable Education Award

• Chris Howard, Department of Physics and Astronomy

UCL Education Awards 2023: Academic Rep of the Year

• Andrea Lekare, Department of Science and Technology Studies

MAPS Faculty Education Awards: Highly Commended

• Zahra Khan, Department of Chemistry
• Vytenis Rimkevicius, Department of Chemistry
• Lisa Danquah, Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction
• Yulia Ioffe, Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction
• Eimear Hurley, Department of Mathematics
• Giuseppe La Rosa, Department of Science and Technology Studies
• Simon Lock, Department of Science and Technology Studies
• Jason McKewen, Department of Space and Climate Physics
• Angharad Weeks, Department of Space and Climate Physics
• Menelaos Pavlou, Department of Statistical Sciences

Faculty members, students, and staff members had the opportunity to network and engage with one another, fostering a sense of community and collaboration that is integral to the MAPS Faculty's success.

Closing the awards ceremony Professor Ivan Parkin said: “It was a really humbling experience to see the breadth of talent and achievements across the faculty at the awards event. I would like to thank the Vice Deans and Cindy and Maria for organising the event”. 

The event not only celebrated past achievements but also served as inspiration for future endeavours, setting a high standard for the continued pursuit of academic excellence, innovation and inclusivity within the Faculty of Mathematical and Physical Sciences at UCL.