Thousands of Imperial students celebrate Graduation Day 2024

Thousands of postgraduate students will graduate today in the historic surroundings of the Royal Albert Hall.

There will be four ceremonies across the day, with 4,670 graduands receiving their degrees watched by over 8,000 guests. 

Friends and family across the globe will be able to watch the ceremonies via live stream.

The celebrations will be led by speeches from senior leaders, including President Hugh Brady, and Imperial’s new Chair, Vindi Banga.

Imperial's President Hugh Brady said “I look forward to congratulating our graduates today along with their families, friends, and supporters. A degree from Imperial is a high honour – it is not easy to achieve - and Imperial’s community is exceptionally proud of their hard work to earn this success. I hope our graduates continue their journeys with a sense of what a special place Imperial is and serve as passionate ambassadors for their alma mater.”

AWARD WINNERS

The ceremonies will recognise leading figures from across Imperial in an honorary degree, medals, and student awards.

Honorary degree

Honorary degrees are conferred on persons of conspicuous merit who are outstanding in their fields.

Professor William Bonfield

An honorary degree will be awarded to Professor William Bonfield CBE, who is Emeritus Professor of Medical Materials at the University of Cambridge.

Professor Bonfield began his academic career at Imperial College London as an undergraduate in the Department of Metallurgy (now the Department of Materials). He is internationally recognised for pioneering research on biomaterials for medical devices, which has produced over 450 research papers, 80 patents and two successful medical technologies companies.

Career highlights include the founding of the UK’s first Interdisciplinary Research Centre (IRC) in Biomedical Materials; establishing the Centre for Medical Materials and the Pfizer Institute of Pharmaceutical Materials Science at the University of Cambridge; and serving as Master of the Worshipful Company of Armourers and Brasiers.

Professor Bonfield has received numerous awards, including the Royal Academy of Engineering Prince Philip Gold Medal, the Kelvin Medal, the Institute of Materials Griffith Medal and the

Acta Metallurgica H.H. Holloman Award. He has been awarded fellowships by the Royal Society, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Academy of Medical Sciences. He was appointed a CBE in 1998 for services to healthcare and materials science.

Imperial Medals

The Imperial College Medal is awarded for meritorious or praiseworthy service to Imperial or for having otherwise enhanced its reputation, mission and objectives.

Professor Sir Martin Hairer

Professor Sir Martin Hairer is Royal Society Research Professor in Imperial's Department of Mathematics in the Faculty of Natural Sciences. Professor Hairer’s work has advanced the field of stochastic partial differential equations (SPDEs) by providing a toolkit for addressing these previously thought inaccessible problems. He is also furthering more general areas of stochastic analysis — a part of mathematics concerned with random processes — and stochastic dynamics.

Professor Peter JM Openshaw

Professor Peter JM Openshaw CBE is Professor of Experimental Medicine in the Faculty of Medicine. Professor Openshaw is a respiratory physician and immunologist, studying how the immune system protects against viral infection but also causes disease. He has worked on Respiratory Syncytial Virus and influenza since the 1980s and is Director of the HIC-Vac consortium, which promotes the use of human experimental infection to accelerate vaccine development.

President’s Medals

The President’s Medals are awarded to recognise staff members who have made outstanding contributions to research, external engagement, innovation, and research support or supervision.

Dr Anna Barnard

Dr Anna Barnard is a Wellcome Trust Sir Henry Dale Fellow in Imperial's Department of Chemistry. Dr Barnard’s work brings together chemistry and biology to research ways in which to target the bacterial toxin proteins that enable bacteria to survive when exposed to antibiotics. She was previously Co-Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the Department of Chemistry and makes important contributions to teaching and supervision programmes, earning her a reputation as a proactive, capable and collaborative colleague.

Dr Alalea Kia

Dr Alalea Kia is a UKRI Future Leaders Fellow and a Royal Academy of Engineering Associate Research Fellow in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Dr Kia’s research focuses on addressing the longstanding challenges related to the current generation of permeable pavements and developing climate change resilient critical infrastructure. Dr Kia has developed an innovative permeable concrete pavement, Kiacrete, which can absorb stormwater, minimise the heat island effect and reduce the need for maintenance.

Dr Maxie M Rößler

Dr Maxie M Rößler is Reader in Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) Spectroscopy in the Department of Chemistry. Dr Rößler has pioneered an interdisciplinary approach to the use of EPR spectroscopy to study biological systems, particularly enzyme complexes, and developed new methods that combine EPR and electrochemistry to provide unprecedented insight to chemistry and biology. She established the Imperial Centre for Pulse ESR Spectroscopy, a state-of-the-art facility

Mr Ian Clark

Mr Ian Clark was Senior Workshop Technician in the Department of Physics until his retirement last year. Mr Clark managed the High Energy Physics Group’s state-of-the-art workshop, supporting more than 140 staff. He was a member of the Imperial team for more than 45 years and established a reputation for delivering safe, effective and swift support to multiple projects.

Dr Lindsay H Dewa

Dr Lindsay H Dewa is an Advanced Research Fellow in Mental Health in the School of Public Health. Dr Dewa works across the clinical and public mental health interface, investigating the use of digital technologies to support better mental health in young people. Her work primarily focuses on preventing and detecting youth mental health deterioration using digital devices and lifestyle factors (such as sleep and social connection).

Professor Magda Titrici

Professor Magda Titirici leads the Titirici Group of 35 researchers in the Department of Engineering. The team uses highly available resources and converts them into advanced materials for sustainable technologies for energy applications. They have secured £20 million in research funding and are supported by many industrial partners, including BP, Shell, L’Oreal and Toyota.

Outstanding Student Achievement Award 

Outstanding Student Achievement Awards are awarded to those students who have achieved excellence in extramural activities that bring credit to Imperial.

Miss Aglaia Freccero

Miss Aglaia Freccero is a first-year PhD student in Imperial's Department of Brain Sciences. Miss Freccero researches the potential for using AI-informed digital behaviour interventions to support adolescent mental health in schools. Alongside this work, she is also Mental Health Officer for the Imperial Students’ Union.

Dr Tunde Oyebaniji

Dr Tunde Oyebamiji was a postgraduate student in the School of Public Health. Dr Oyebamiji’s work combines technology and public health services to improve maternal and child health in Nigeria. He was a Chevening Scholar at Imperial from 2022–2023, during which time he developed Mediverse, software that allows healthcare facilities to digitise their operations so they can better access patient information and provide services in underserved communities.