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Meet the UCL200 Faculty Champions
20 November 2024
Spotlight on the UCL200 Faculty Champions: A chance to meet the academics leading the development of our faculties’ contributions to the bicentennial celebrations.
What is UCL200?
2026 is the year in which we mark 200 years since UCL’s establishment as the first University in London. A year-long bicentennial programme of events and activities is being co-produced and co-delivered with our internal community of staff and students designed to reinforce UCL’s founding values, highlight the excellence and impact of UCL’s groundbreaking work, and to present an ambitious and inspiring portrait of our future.
Who are the UCL200 Faculty Champions?
The UCL200 Faculty Champions are eleven academics from across all of our faculties, who are undertaking the critical role of guiding Faculty contributions to the bicentenary year. Together they are encouraging and co-ordinating academic input and engagement with the UCL200 programme. They are helping ensure that the full spectrum of UCL’s research and educational excellence – both disciplinary and multidisciplinary – is reflected and celebrated throughout the UCL200 programme.
Meet your Faculty Champions
- Arts & Humanities: Dr Tim Beasley-Murray
- Who are you, what do you do and what is your role in the UCL200 wider team?
I am Vice-Dean of External Engagement at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities (A&H). I also lead the BA Creative Arts and Humanities, a new programme at UCL East. My job, as Faculty Champion for Arts and Humanities, is to bring together and encourage all that our faculty is going to celebrate UCL200.
What is your priority in relation to the UCL200 programme?
The Arts and Humanities were at the heart of the foundation of UCL and its creation of a new kind of university. Many of the foundation chairs in 1826-28 were in our disciplines: English, French, Hebrew, German, Italian and Spanish. These chairs and their disciplines were all the first of their kind in the UK – apart from English, which came in second. My job is to make sure the Arts and Humanities are just as central to our celebrations, 200 years later.
What are you most looking forward to during the bicentennial year at UCL?
The first cohort of students on my programme at UCL East began their studies at the same time that the Marshgate building opened in Autumn 2023. They have been making a longitudinal documentary that will chart their three years on the programme and that, at the same time, will chart the first three years of UCL East. I can’t wait to see the creative and imaginative ways that their film will celebrate their own achievements but also this first chapter that UCL, as UCL East, has been writing about its future.
What has been most inspirational moment/interesting element of working on the UCL200 programme so far?
Picasso may, or may not, have said that “good artists copy; great artists steal.” I love hearing the amazing ideas that my colleagues in other faculties have for celebrating UCL200 – ideas for working with alumni from Laws, with school students for the faculty of Education and Society, for an exhibition from the Bartlett – and then shamelessly stealing them!
Find out more:
- Bartlett (Built environment): Professor Ben Campkin
- Who are you, what do you do and what is your role in the UCL200 wider team?
I am an urbanist and author of two books on London, Remaking London: Urban Decline and Regeneration in Urban Culture (2013), and Queer Premises: LGBTQ+ Venues in London Since the 1980s (2023). My research and teaching involve collaboration with a wide range of public, professional, commercial and community actors in regeneration, especially in addressing issues of equality, diversity and inclusion.
In The Bartlett, UCL’s Faculty of the Built Environment, I am Professor of Urbanism and Urban History and Vice-Dean for Public and City Engagement. In this role I work with others to enhance our engagement, collaboration and innovation with enterprises, policymakers and local communities. I am The Bartlett’s Faculty Champion for UCL200, and in this role I lead a network of representatives from our faculty’s nine departments.
What is your priority in relation to the UCL200 programme?
UCL200 provides an opportunity to visualise, celebrate and further enhance our contributions and partnerships in London. UCL’s 200 year history has to be understood alongside the history of the city we inhabit, including our direct influences on the way it has developed. Partnership-based London teaching, research and knowledge exchange have increased massively in the past decades, and the commitment to work with our neighbours has become ever more evident – so for me this represents an excellent opportunity to take stock, and to involve our collaborators in doing so.
In your opinion, what could be UCL200’s greatest legacy?
A way of understanding and monitoring our impact on London – where we work, who we work with, what we are doing, what we plan to do. This will require us to gather and make sense of data in different ways.
Why do you think people should get involved in the UCL200 programme?
UCL200 represents an opportunity for the entire community, and those we work with, to communicate what we are working on to new audiences. Institution-wide opportunities like this are rare and provide the chance to actively shape a public conversation about what the university is, who it is for, and what it should prioritise.
Find out more:
- Brain Sciences: Professor Lasana Harris
- Who are you, what do you do and what is your role in the UCL200 wider team?
I am a Professor of Social Neuroscience in the Department of Experimental Psychology, and the Vice Dean for Global Engagement in the Faculty of Brain Sciences (FBS). My research explores the brain and physiological correlates of person perception, social learning, emotions, social inferences, prejudice, dehumanisation, anthropomorphism, punishment, and decision-making. As the Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL 200 Champion, my job is to coordinate bicentennial activity in my faculty and globally with the Global Engagement team in RIGE (UCL Research, Innovation & Global Engagement).
What is your priority in relation to the UCL200 Programme?
Develop exciting ways of engaging with students, our alumni, and the public about the exciting work in the Faculty of Brain Sciences that is shaping our future.
What do you like most about working with your fellow UCL200 Faculty Champions?
The UCL200 Champions come from across the university and provide insight about what is happening across UCL. At a university this big, interacting with them makes UCL feel smaller and more manageable, and allows me to feel more connected to UCL. They are a wonderful font of ideas and inspiration.
What is your favourite spot on campus and why?
The Thursday Bloomsbury farmer’s market. Technically it is not on campus, but I run into so many people there each week that I would not see otherwise. I have gotten to know my favourite vendors over the years as well.
Find out more:
- Engineering Sciences: Professor Ruth Morgan
- Who are you, what do you do and what is your role in the UCL200 wider team?
I’m a Professor of Crime and Forensic Science in the Department of Security and Crime Science, and the Director of the UCL Centre for the Forensic Sciences. I’m also Co-Director of the UCL Arista Institute which addresses persistent, complex, dynamic challenges using creative interdisciplinary thinking. I am the Faculty of Engineering Sciences Champion for UCL200.
What is your priority in relation to the UCL200 programme?
UCL is an extraordinary place. It has pioneered world class scholarship and breakthrough innovation for the last two hundred years. It has done this at the same time as maintaining its founding values of academic excellence and research aimed at addressing real-world problems, and its broad range of disciplines across the sciences, social sciences, arts and humanities, engineering and medicine. My hope is that UCL200 is our chance to imagine and envision where we want to be in another 200 years, time. I’m excited that we have this opportune moment to pause and reflect on who are, where we are going, and how we can be good ancestors to the generations that will follow.
Find out more:
- IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society: Professor Lynn Ang
- Who are you, what do you do and what is your role in the UCL200 wider team?
I am a Professor of Early Childhood Education. My work centres around improving young children’s access and participation in education, and enhancing their early learning opportunities and development as well as supporting the role of early childhood educators to provide quality care and education for young children. I am also Pro-Director and Vice-Dean Research at the Institute of Education (IOE) where I lead the faculty’s overall research strategy and research-related functions including research development and operations, research ethics, engagement and impact, and the Centre for Doctoral Education. My role as Faculty Champion of the UCL200 programme is to work closely with the UCL200 team, and to lead and support the faculty-wide events and initiatives to commemorate the significant milestone of UCL’s 200 anniversary.
What is your priority in relation to the UCL200 programme?
Top priorities [not in any particular order]:
- Inspire and galvanise colleagues to celebrate the excellence and impact of UCL’s achievements over the last 200 years.
- Co-develop ideas and initiatives with staff and students to create an exciting programme of activities leading up to and including the Bicentennial year 2026.
- Work closely with UCL200 team and colleagues across the institution to deliver the planned Bicentennial activities and events.
What do you find most interesting being involved in the UCL200 programme?
The highlight of working on the UCL200 programme is realising the breadth and scale of UCL’s achievements over 200 years. It is such a privilege to work in a university with a diverse community and a 200-year legacy. I am very much looking forward to coming together with colleagues across UCL to celebrate our many talents and achievements.
Find out more:
- Laws: Professor Prince Saprai
- Who are you, what do you do and what is your role in the UCL200 wider team?
I am Deputy Dean for Strategy in the Faculty of Laws and co-chair of the Academic Panel which supports UCL’s Disagreeing Well campaign. I am also a UCL200 Faculty Champion responsible for coordinating the Faculty of Laws’ UCL200 activity.
What is your priority in relation to the UCL200 programme?
Making sure that we communicate to as broad an audience as possible how important UCL has been to the history and development of legal education in this country. At its founding one of the central aims of UCL was to broaden the syllabus beyond the teaching of traditional subjects like Maths and Classics. This was hugely significant for legal education, because UCL became the first university to offer a degree in English law. Inspired by Jeremy Bentham, legal education at UCL focused on being clear about what the law is, with a view to social criticism and reform. These values around analytical rigour and social justice have shaped the way English law is taught to this very day. UCL was radical not only in what law was taught and how it was taught but also who was taught: In 1888, Eliza Orme, who was taught at UCL, became the first woman to receive an English law degree. In all these ways, UCL has a unique and pioneering history when it comes to legal education in this country, but it is one that few people really know about or fully understand. I think the bicentennial is a fantastic opportunity to communicate and celebrate this story with the wider world.
Where would you like UCL to be in 200 years?
I’m not sure I mind as long as UCL holds on to its foundational values of promoting academic excellence through equality of opportunity and diversity of thought. Provided UCL keeps its doors open to the brightest and best and continues to build and sustain an intellectual environment where students and staff can pursue ideas wherever they might take them, I’m pretty sure UCL won’t go far wrong.
What has been most inspirational moment/interesting element of working on the UCL200 programme so far?
My favourite thing about working on UCL200 is unearthing new bits of UCL history. So far, one story sticks out. My colleague Professor Andrew Lewis sent me some research he had carried out about the first Black law student at UCL. I had absolutely no idea that he was one of the first three men to receive a law degree at UCL back in 1839. His name was John Carr and although virtually certainly born a slave in Trinidad, he went on to win First Prize in English Law. Lord Brougham, who was President of the College at the time, made the following remarks at the awarding ceremony: ‘Time was, when one might have been ashamed to give to a person of colour in any part of the Empire a work on English Law, and congratulate him in his proficiency in learning the principles of the constitution of this country, because it would then have seemed a mockery of his race to ask him to learn that which was boasted by us as the law of freedom, and which yet held him in fetters’. The Act for the Abolition of Slavery had recently been passed in 1833. John Carr was called to the Bar in 1840 and went on to become Chief Justice of Sierra Leone. I hope that as we build up to the bicentennial that more extraordinary stories like these emerge to help shed light on UCL’s complex history and how it is wrapped up with wider social, political, economic and cultural forces shaping the country and beyond.
Find out more:
- Life Sciences: Professor Tara Keck
- Who are you, what do you do and what is your role in the UCL200 wider team?
I am a Professor in the Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology in the Division of Biosciences. My research is focused on neuroplasticity in adulthood and ageing, and I am also the Vice-Dean International for the Faculty of Life Sciences (FLS).
As a part of UCL200, I am coordinating the activities in Faculty of Life Sciences, as well as working with the Global Engagement team in RIGE (UCL Research, Innovation and Global Engagement).
Find out more:
- Mathematical & Physical Sciences: Dr Guanjie He
- Who are you, what do you do and what is your role in the UCL200 wider team?
I am Guanjie He, an Associate Professor of Materials Chemistry at University College London (UCL), a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC) and the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (FIMMM), and a recipient of the European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant. My research is materials and engineering innovation for clean energy application.
As UCL200 Faculty Champion for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MAPS) my role involves leveraging my academic and research expertise to support the MAPS team in achieving research and innovation objectives, supporting UCL200’s bicentennial activities, and contributing to alumni engagement and fundraising initiatives to further the goals of this significant project.
What is your priority in relation to the UCL200 programme?
My foremost priority is to ensure the academic and research impact of the faculty. This includes leading or collaboratively advancing projects, supporting the development of innovative research outputs, and engaging with external partners to highlight UCL’s legacy and influence in scientific and engineering research. Additionally, I aim to encourage active student and alumni participation in various initiatives to strengthen our community cohesion.
What are you most looking forward to during the bicentennial year at UCL?
In UCL’s bicentennial year, I am most looking forward to witnessing the celebration and showcase of UCL’s rich history, current achievements, and ambitious future vision. Through a diverse array of events and projects, UCL200 will demonstrate our commitment to core values, our entrepreneurial spirit in academic and research pursuits, and our dedication to inspiring future leaders to contribute to a world where knowledge, research, and innovation serve as positive forces.
I am particularly excited about collaborating with the UCL200 team, faculty, staff, students, and alumni to co-create this milestone project, inviting each member to contribute ideas and efforts to this historic occasion. Through the UCL200 physical legacy projects and a series of academic and social initiatives, I aim to help establish a lasting impact that sets the foundation for the next two hundred years, highlighting UCL’s excellence in education, research, and global leadership.
What 3 words would you use to describe UCL200?
Historic, Innovative, Inclusive.
Find out more:
- Medical Sciences: Professor Umber Cheema
- Who are you, what do you do and what is your role in the UCL200 wider team?
I am Professor of Bioengineering and the Faculty Champion for the Faculty of Medical Sciences. My research work is focused on Bioengineering and I head the UCL Centre for 3D models of Health and Disease. I am also the Vice-Dean Innovation & Enterprise and work closely with the Translational Research Office.
What is your priority in relation to the UCL200 programme?
- Highlight UCL’s achievements and impact with a focus on the faculty of Medical Sciences.
- Inspire and engage the local community in Camden with activities to communicate our research with young adults interested in science.
- Communicate how we impact the medical sciences and health through our transformative research.
What has been most interesting element of working on the UCL200 programme so far?
Getting to meet the other Faculty Champions has reminded me how diverse and brilliant researchers at UCL are! Seeing the same challenge through the eyes of others has changed my perspective of how things can be done.
In your opinion, what could be UCL200’s greatest legacy?
Life seldom fits into one ‘domain’, we live in such a multi-facetted and multi-disciplinary world. UCL is a tremendous, multi-faculty university and this is its greatest strength. I imagine that in the coming 200 years, by working in cross-disciplinary ways UCL researchers will deal with issues far ranging from climate change, food security to health and building sustainable cities. I hope the people of UCL will be its greatest legacy.
Find out more:
- Population Health Sciences: Professor Vivek Muthurangu
- Who are you, what do you do and what is your role in the UCL200 wider team?
I am the Professor of Cardiovascular Imaging and Physics based at the Institute of Cardiovascular Science (ICS) within the Faculty of Population Health Sciences (FPHS). I am also Head of the Research Department of Children’s Cardiovascular Disease and Deputy Institute Director. I have established a team of physicists, engineers, computer scientists and clinicians that have pioneered the development of new imaging technologies that have had real clinical impact, particularly in children.
Within the UCL200 team, I am the Faculty Champion for Population Health Sciences, where I will be representing all staff/students within our faculty.
What is your priority in relation to the UCL200 programme?
My main priority is we make the most of the bicentennial, in terms of an improved sense of UCL as a strong, inclusive community, and greater external appreciation of UCL’s world leading position as an educational and research hub. As the FPHS Faculty champion, I will endeavour to help all our students and staff to fully participate, enjoy and leverage UCL200 and achieve our common overarching aims of celebrating our past and envisioning the future.
What is your favourite spot on campus and why?
The Zayad Centre for Research – I think ZCR is a fantastic example of how architecture can break down barriers, improve translation and impact, and significantly improve community cohesion.
Find out more:
- Social & Historical Sciences: Dr Hélia Marçal
- Who are you, what do you do and what is your role in the UCL200 wider team?
I am the Vice-Dean Bicentenary for the Faculty of Social and Historical Sciences and a Lecturer in History of Art, Materials and Technology in the Department of History of Art. My role is to liaise with people across the faculty to facilitate participation in the UCL200 programme while also meeting the faculty’s strategic goals.
What is your priority in relation to the UCL200 programme?
My priority is to create and support opportunities for people across the Faculty of Social and Historical Sciences to participate in the UCL200 programme in meaningful and affirmative ways that contribute towards their research, teaching, and engagement goals.
What 3 words would you use to describe UCL200?
Ambitious, interdisciplinary, bold.
What is your favourite spot on campus and why?
I have various favourite spots, but I would like to highlight two of them: Gordon Square during the Autumn (the light is beautiful) and the Library (it is one of the few places where you can really enjoy the silence).
Find out more:
Open call for ideas: UCL200 – Marking UCL’s Bicentenary
From now until 17 December 2024, the Faculty Champions are actively looking for ideas and contributions, from all staff and postgraduate students within their faculties, to feed into their bicentennial planning for our exciting UCL200 programme of events and activities in 2026.
If you’d like to learn more, click here for full details on the open call, along with supporting materials, including the UCL200 Framework for Bicentennial Activities, which serves as a helpful guide for the UCL community in strategically planning their contributions to this milestone celebration.
Your Faculty Champions are eager to work with you!
I don’t have a Faculty Champion. Can I still contribute to the UCL200 programme?
Yes, of course. The UCL200 team are keen to work with all staff and students from across the entire institution.
If you are part of a Vice-Provost Portfolio, central team, staff network or community of practice, please follow the same submission process but liaise internally with your relevant leadership teams and colleagues, instead of a Faculty Champion, to ensure proposals can be resourced.
There will be a separate process, in collaboration with the Students’ Union, for UCL undergraduate students to submit their own ideas and contributions.
Next Steps:
- Find out more about the UCL200 programme by visiting the UCL200 Community SharePoint to view the framework and supporting materials.
- Book a slot at an upcoming UCL200 drop-in session.
- If you are part of a faculty, please discuss your idea with your Faculty Champion who will be able to advise on any internal processes to decide on which proposals will be prioritised by your faculty.
- Submit your idea via this form by Tuesday 17 December 2024.
- Please contact the UCL200 core team with any queries: UCL200@ucl.ac.uk.
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