Top French honour for Imperial academic

An Imperial engineer has been awarded one of France's highest orders of chivalry this month.

Professor Erol Gelenbe, from the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Imperial, has been awarded the honour of Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur for distinguished services to research and higher education. This ‘knighthood’ is the highest decoration in France.

The announcement was made by official decree on 18th April 2014 by François Hollande, President of France.

Professor Gelenbe was nominated for his honour by France’s Universities Higher Council, a national body that evaluates the performance of every academic in the country. Professor Gelenbe’s early academic career was spent in France and over a six year period during that time, he was ranked by the Council as number one in France in his field for the quality of his research and PhD mentorship.

Professor Gelenbe said: “This recognition is really special to me. It means that my hard work many years ago had an impact in France and I haven’t been forgotten for it.  My wife says she’s really proud of me because I’ve now received top honours from two countries, which is rare.”

In 2007, Professor Gelenbe was also made a Grand Officer of the Order of the Star. This is the Italian equivalent Order that recognises outstanding individuals who preserve and promote national prestige abroad, friendly relations, ties with Italy and co-operation with other countries. Professor Gelenbe was recognised for his work in developing Italy’s capacity in IT infrastructure.

At Imperial, Professor Gelenbe’s research focuses on developing ways of making large-scale computer systems and networks more robust and efficient. He has worked with a range of industrial partners including BAE Systems, British Telecom and QiniteQ.

Professor Gelenbe will be awarded the Knight medal of the French Legion d’honneur later in the year. He can wear his medal on formal occasions such as the College’s Commemoration Day.

“I often wear my medals at the Commemoration Day ceremony as a mark of respect for the importance of the day for my students. Plus, parents really like the visual pomp it brings to group photos.”