UCL awards 2005 honorary degrees

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ucl.ac.uk/registry/events/graduation/">Graduation ceremonies

Three eminent academics from the worlds of law, literature and medicine, were awarded honorary degrees by UCL on 5 September 2005. Professor Sir Bob Hepple, Professor Rodney Huddleston and Professor Nicholas Wald were granted the doctorates for years of distinguished service in their respective fields.

Orations for the three academics were written and delivered by Martin Swales, Emeritus Professor of German at UCL.

Professor Hepple (LLD honoris causa), is well known for his numerous books, articles and essays on labour law and industrial relations, race relations, equality and discrimination law, and the law of obligations. Professor Hepple has been a pioneer of race relations and discrimination law in the UK. In 2004, he was invited to give the annual Hamlyn lectures, a highly prestigious appointment offered to the leading members of the judiciary and the academy. Read the full oration for Professor Hepple.

Professor Huddleston (DLit honoris causa) is one of the world's leading grammarians of the English language. He is known across the world for his detailed and meticulous descriptions of the English language, most notably in the monumental 'Cambridge Grammar of the English Language', a unique, wide-ranging analysis of grammar that has already made an enormous impact on the field since its publication in 2002. Read the full oration for Professor Huddleston.

Professor Wald (DSc (Med) honoris causa) is a world-leading epidemiologist. His main research interest has been in the antenatal screening of women for congenital malformations. In the 1970s, Professor Wald demonstrated that neural tube defects such as spina bifida could be detected through a sample of the mother's blood, leading to the introduction of screening for fetal abnormalities, which has dramatically cut the rate of birth defects across the world. More recently, in 2003, Professor Wald published the concept of the polypill, which could reduce cardiovascular disease by 80 per cent. Read the full oration for Professor Wald.

The award of honorary degrees forms part of a series of graduation ceremonies, which honour the culmination of the studies of UCL students.

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