UCL Faculty of Engineering Sciences
Encyclopedia
The UCL Faculty of Engineering Sciences is one of the 10 constituent faculties of University College London
(UCL). The Faculty, the UCL Faculty of Mathematical and Physical Sciences
and the UCL Faculty of the Built Envirornment (The Bartlett)
together form the UCL School of the Built Environment, Engineering and Mathematical and Physical Sciences.
For the period January 2000 to August 2010 UCL was ranked 16th in the world (and 2nd in Europe) for citations per paper in engineering, with an average of 8.83 citations per paper.
The current Dean is Professor Anthony Finkelstein
.
was appointed as the first Professor of Engineering in the United Kingdom on 17 July, 1827. The laboratory in Gower Street
was the first in the world to be devoted to engineering education. It today serves as the Civil Engineering Laboratory and bears a plaque which commemorates the pioneering railway engineer, Richard Trevithick
who ran the first passenger steam locomotive
nearby in 1808.
The world's first instruction in the field of chemical engineering
, a course entitled "Chemical Technology", was taught at UCL in 1882. The department soon saw its first Nobel Prize
winner when professor William Ramsay
, who arrived at UCL in 1887, won the prize in chemistry for his discovery of noble gases. The first course in chemical engineering was established by the first Ramsay memorial professor, E. C. Williams
.
By the end of the 19th century, departments of civil
, mechanical
, and electrical engineering
had been established. The civil engineering
department specialised in public health
which was a significant issue in Victorian London at this time. The first professor of electrical engineering was John Ambrose Fleming
, who took the Chair of Electrical Technology at UCL in 1884.
in 1904. A former graduate of UCL, he was a contemporary of Alexander Graham Bell
who also studied there. The institution thus made a great contribution to the establishment of electronics and telecommunications in the 20th century.
In 1973 UCL Computer Science became, along with the National Defence Research Establishment of Norway
, the first international link to the Arpanet, the forerunner of the internet. Professor John Mullin
was appointed to the Ramsay Memorial Chair and headship of the Department of Chemical Engineering from 1985 to 1990. The Advanced Centre for Biochemical Engineering was opened in 1991. The first Department of Biochemical Engineering was opened at UCL in 1998, with Professor Peter Dunnill
as its Chairman. In November 2000 agreement was made between UCL and BT Group
for the opening of UCL@Adastral Park at the Adastral Park
technology park in Martlesham
, Suffolk
.
was established as a joint venture between UCL and Imperial College London
in 2003 following the award of a £13.65m higher education grant under the Science Research Infrastructure Fund. The Jill Dando Institute
, the first university department in the world devoted specifically to reducing crime, was founded in 2001.
The Department of Management Science and Innovation was established in June 2007 under the leadership of Steven Currall
. The UCL School of Energy and Resources opened in Adelaide
, Australia
in 2009 with Tony Owen as its inaugural director. In March 2010 UCL, together with the University of Manchester
, was the first recipient of funding from the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council's Collaboration Fund.
The Faculty is closely involved with the following research centres and institutes:
UCL has been successful in securing research funding under the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council's (EPSRC) prestigious centres for doctoral training (CDTs). The aim of these centres is to "provide a supportive and exciting environment for students to carry out a challenging PhD-level research project together with taught coursework". UCL has won funding for 9 of these centres, the next highest allocation was 4 centres awarded to the University of Bath. The centres awarded to UCL are worth £40 million, which will fund 390 PhD places.
UCL's 9 CDTs are Energy Demand Reduction and the Built Environment (UCL Energy Institute and Loughborough University), Financial Computing (UCL Computer Science), Security Science (UCL Centre for Crime and Security Science), Photonic Systems Development (UCL Electronic and Electrical Engineering in partnership with Cambridge University), Virtual Environments, Imaging and Visualisation (UCL Computer Science and UCL Bartlett School), Molecular Modelling and Materials Science (UCL Chemistry), Urban Sustainability & Resilience (UCL Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering and UCL Bartlett School), Bioprocess Engineering Leadership (UCL Biochemical Engineering) and CoMPLEX (UCL Life Sciences).
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
(UCL). The Faculty, the UCL Faculty of Mathematical and Physical Sciences
UCL Faculty of Mathematical and Physical Sciences
The UCL Faculty of Mathematical and Physical Sciences is one of the 10 constituent faculties of University College London . The Faculty, the UCL Faculty of Engineering Sciences and the UCL Faculty of the Built Envirornment together form the UCL School of the Built Environment, Engineering and...
and the UCL Faculty of the Built Envirornment (The Bartlett)
The Bartlett
The Bartlett is the Faculty of the Built Environment at University College London. University College London created the first chair of architecture in 1841, and the school is named after the original benefactor, Sir Herbert Bartlett.-External links:*...
together form the UCL School of the Built Environment, Engineering and Mathematical and Physical Sciences.
For the period January 2000 to August 2010 UCL was ranked 16th in the world (and 2nd in Europe) for citations per paper in engineering, with an average of 8.83 citations per paper.
The current Dean is Professor Anthony Finkelstein
Anthony Finkelstein
Anthony Finkelstein is a British software engineer. He is Professor of Software Systems Engineering at University College London and Dean of the UCL Faculty of Engineering Sciences. He is a Visiting Professor at Imperial College London and at the National Institute of Informatics, Tokyo, Japan...
.
History
19th century
Engineering at UCL traces its beginnings to when John MillingtonJohn Millington (professor)
John Millington, born May 11, 1779, died 1868 was a licensed attorney in England before he began his engineering career. He served as professor of mechanics at the Royal Institution from 1817 to 1829. then worked as an engineer with the Anglo-Mexican Mining Association in 1829...
was appointed as the first Professor of Engineering in the United Kingdom on 17 July, 1827. The laboratory in Gower Street
Gower Street
Gower Street may refer to:*Gower Street *Gower Street...
was the first in the world to be devoted to engineering education. It today serves as the Civil Engineering Laboratory and bears a plaque which commemorates the pioneering railway engineer, Richard Trevithick
Richard Trevithick
Richard Trevithick was a British inventor and mining engineer from Cornwall. His most significant success was the high pressure steam engine and he also built the first full-scale working railway steam locomotive...
who ran the first passenger steam locomotive
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
nearby in 1808.
The world's first instruction in the field of chemical engineering
Chemical engineering
Chemical engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with physical science , and life sciences with mathematics and economics, to the process of converting raw materials or chemicals into more useful or valuable forms...
, a course entitled "Chemical Technology", was taught at UCL in 1882. The department soon saw its first Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
winner when professor William Ramsay
William Ramsay
Sir William Ramsay was a Scottish chemist who discovered the noble gases and received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1904 "in recognition of his services in the discovery of the inert gaseous elements in air" .-Early years:Ramsay was born in Glasgow on 2...
, who arrived at UCL in 1887, won the prize in chemistry for his discovery of noble gases. The first course in chemical engineering was established by the first Ramsay memorial professor, E. C. Williams
E. C. Williams
E. C. Williams was the first Ramsay memorial professor of chemical engineering at University College London....
.
By the end of the 19th century, departments of civil
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
, mechanical
Mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the...
, and electrical engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
had been established. The civil engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
department specialised in public health
Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
which was a significant issue in Victorian London at this time. The first professor of electrical engineering was John Ambrose Fleming
John Ambrose Fleming
Sir John Ambrose Fleming was an English electrical engineer and physicist. He is known for inventing the first thermionic valve or vacuum tube, the diode, then called the kenotron in 1904. He is also famous for the left hand rule...
, who took the Chair of Electrical Technology at UCL in 1884.
20th century
While at UCL, Fleming invented the vacuum tubeVacuum tube
In electronics, a vacuum tube, electron tube , or thermionic valve , reduced to simply "tube" or "valve" in everyday parlance, is a device that relies on the flow of electric current through a vacuum...
in 1904. A former graduate of UCL, he was a contemporary of Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell was an eminent scientist, inventor, engineer and innovator who is credited with inventing the first practical telephone....
who also studied there. The institution thus made a great contribution to the establishment of electronics and telecommunications in the 20th century.
In 1973 UCL Computer Science became, along with the National Defence Research Establishment of Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, the first international link to the Arpanet, the forerunner of the internet. Professor John Mullin
John W. Mullin
Professor John William Mullin was British academic and world expert in crystallization.He was born in Cheshire on 22 August 1925, served with the RAF from 1945-48, then studied at the University of Wales, gaining a first class degree in chemistry in 1951. It was there he met Averil who became his...
was appointed to the Ramsay Memorial Chair and headship of the Department of Chemical Engineering from 1985 to 1990. The Advanced Centre for Biochemical Engineering was opened in 1991. The first Department of Biochemical Engineering was opened at UCL in 1998, with Professor Peter Dunnill
Peter Dunnill
Peter Dunnill, OBE, FReng , was a British pioneer in biochemical engineering and professor at the University College London , University of London.-Life:...
as its Chairman. In November 2000 agreement was made between UCL and BT Group
BT Group
BT Group plc is a global telecommunications services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is one of the largest telecommunications services companies in the world and has operations in more than 170 countries. Through its BT Global Services division it is a major supplier of...
for the opening of UCL@Adastral Park at the Adastral Park
Adastral Park
Adastral Park is a science campus based at Martlesham Heath near Ipswich in the English county of Suffolk.When the site opened it was known as the Post Office Research Station, but it was subsequently renamed BT Research Laboratories or BT Labs and later Adastral Park to reflect an expansion in the...
technology park in Martlesham
Martlesham
Martlesham is a village in Suffolk, England about two miles South-West of Woodbridge and East of Ipswich. It is often referred to as "old Martlesham" by locals in order to distinguish this old village from the much more recent Martlesham Heath development to the south although both form a...
, Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
.
21st century
The London Centre for NanotechnologyLondon Centre for Nanotechnology
The London Centre for Nanotechnology is a multidisciplinary research centre in physical and biomedical nanotechnology in London, United Kingdom. It brings together two institutions that are world leaders in nanotechnology, University College London and Imperial College London...
was established as a joint venture between UCL and Imperial College London
Imperial College London
Imperial College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, specialising in science, engineering, business and medicine...
in 2003 following the award of a £13.65m higher education grant under the Science Research Infrastructure Fund. The Jill Dando Institute
Jill Dando Institute
The UCL Jill Dando Institute of Security and Crime Science is an institute of crime science located in London, United Kingdom and a part of University College London...
, the first university department in the world devoted specifically to reducing crime, was founded in 2001.
The Department of Management Science and Innovation was established in June 2007 under the leadership of Steven Currall
Steven C. Currall
Professor Steve C. Currall is the dean of the Graduate School of Management, University Of California, Davis since 2009.Steven Currall was Vice Dean of Enterprise, Founding Chair of the Department of Management Science and Innovation at University College London...
. The UCL School of Energy and Resources opened in Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in 2009 with Tony Owen as its inaugural director. In March 2010 UCL, together with the University of Manchester
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
, was the first recipient of funding from the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council's Collaboration Fund.
Departments
The Faculty currently comprises the following departments:- UCL Department of Biochemical Engineering
- UCL Department of Chemical Engineering
- UCL Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering
- UCL Department of Computer Science
- UCL Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering
- UCL Department of Management Science and Innovation
- UCL Department of Mechanical Engineering
- UCL Department of Medical Physics and Bioengineering
- UCL Jill Dando Institute of Security and Crime Science
- UCL School of Energy and Resources, Australia (SERAus)
Research
- UCL Advances
- Bloomsbury Centre for Bioinformatics
- UCL Centre for Computational Statistics and Machine Learning
- UCL Centre for Health Informatics and Multiprofessional Education (CHIME)
- UCL Centre for Materials Research
- UCL Centre for Mathematics and Physics in the Life Sciences and Experimental Biology (CoMPLEX)ComplexA complex is a whole that comprehends a number of intricate parts, especially one with interconnected or mutually related parts; for example, a complex of buildings.Complex may refer to:-Biology:...
- UCL Centre for Medical Image Computing (CMIC)
- UCL Centre for Security and Crime Science
- UCL Centre for Systems Engineering
- UCL Centre for Transport Studies
- UCL Environment Institute
- Gatsby Centre for Computational Neuroscience
- Innovative Manufacturing Centre for Bioprocessing
- UCL Institute of Orthopaedics and Musculoskeletal Science
- UCL Interaction Centre (UCLIC)
- London Centre for NanotechnologyLondon Centre for NanotechnologyThe London Centre for Nanotechnology is a multidisciplinary research centre in physical and biomedical nanotechnology in London, United Kingdom. It brings together two institutions that are world leaders in nanotechnology, University College London and Imperial College London...
- UCL Urban Laboratory
UCL has been successful in securing research funding under the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council's (EPSRC) prestigious centres for doctoral training (CDTs). The aim of these centres is to "provide a supportive and exciting environment for students to carry out a challenging PhD-level research project together with taught coursework". UCL has won funding for 9 of these centres, the next highest allocation was 4 centres awarded to the University of Bath. The centres awarded to UCL are worth £40 million, which will fund 390 PhD places.
UCL's 9 CDTs are Energy Demand Reduction and the Built Environment (UCL Energy Institute and Loughborough University), Financial Computing (UCL Computer Science), Security Science (UCL Centre for Crime and Security Science), Photonic Systems Development (UCL Electronic and Electrical Engineering in partnership with Cambridge University), Virtual Environments, Imaging and Visualisation (UCL Computer Science and UCL Bartlett School), Molecular Modelling and Materials Science (UCL Chemistry), Urban Sustainability & Resilience (UCL Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering and UCL Bartlett School), Bioprocess Engineering Leadership (UCL Biochemical Engineering) and CoMPLEX (UCL Life Sciences).