Awardees

Professor Nyokong is a leading international researcher on nanotechnology and the elimination of antimicrobial resistance, and is a pioneer of photodynamic therapy, a safer approach to cancer detection and treatment that offers an alternative to chemotherapy. She has published over 990 papers in these areas. She has served as a member of South Africa’s Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Strategic Review Committee, was invited to advise on the UNESCO High-Level Panel on Science, Technology and Innovation for Sustainable Development, and has contributed to the United Nations’ Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Technology Bank for the Least Developed Countries. Alongside her research, she is committed to promoting science amongst young black women in South Africa and has inspired countless individuals to pursue their passion for chemistry.

Professor Nyokong is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and has been awarded honorary doctorates from McMaster University and Western University in Canada. She is the winner of the Linstead lifetime Career Award, the African Union Kwame Nkrumah Award, and the L'Oreal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science. Professor Nyokong is an appointed member of Pontifical Academy of Sciences by Pope Francis.

Dr Bell specialises in STEM engagement amongst underrepresented groups, scientific communication, and informal science learning methods. Since March 2022, she has directed a cross-departmental widening participation programme, which has supported 120 first-year undergraduate engineering students in their transition from school to university. Dr Bell leads a team of staff and students to co-create activities that build a sense of belonging with the goal of improving levels of progression and retention.

This has included a one-week residential, peer mentoring programme and research placement opportunities. Her role has been multifaceted: identifying issues impacting widening participation; consulting with staff and students on research for solutions; writing successful grant applications to boost funding; planning and delivering activities; and liaising with academics across faculties. The programme has been recognised as a ‘high impact’ activity by Imperial, was mentioned in the Teaching Excellence Framework submission, and has been presented at conferences to influence other universities’ widening participation work.

Dr Pendlebury has been Institute Manager of IMSE for over six years with oversight of operations and the coordination of the Molecular Engineering Masters programme. In her role, she has improved the quality and success of research bids by organising mock interviews, supporting academics through the process and initiating new collaborations.

She has identified new research areas to benefit Imperial, for example leading the development of the Science and Engineering Research for Cultural Heritage network of excellence, which has allowed Imperial to raise its profile and compete with other organisations. Dr Pendlebury also has a talent for building connections across the Imperial community and with industry partners, developing an environment of collaboration and innovation excellence that benefits academic objectives. She works tirelessly to promote the Master’s programme and increase student numbers. Amongst all this effort, Dr Pendlebury is renowned for being professional, proactive and empathetic to all staff and students.

The Culture and Engagement Committee works to increase development opportunities for staff and champions initiatives that promote equality, representation and progression for all. Since securing an Athena SWAN Silver Award in 2018, they have designed new initiatives to enrich the department’s culture by promoting equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) initiatives. For example, they have implemented open recruitment practices, set up staff recognition rewards and improved inclusive communication through a virtual suggestion box and termly Q&A sessions with the Heads of Divisions and Department.

In 2023, they showcased their innovation, impact, progress and commitment to EDI in an application for an Athena SWAN Gold Award, a significant undertaking that required months of work on top of existing workloads. They were successful. The team’s contribution through the work that led to this award – improving equality across gender, race, disability, LGBTQ+ matters, widening participation and career development – will have a lasting impact on the Department.

It develops and implements a range of activities to improve working conditions for students and to embed research culture within departments locally. For example, its Cornerstone Programme provides all doctoral supervisors with best practice training on supervisory practice, diversity, inclusion and wellbeing, and the mandatory ‘Mutual Expectations’ document facilitates conversations between supervisors and students about their partnership. The School has also developed a Research Degree Mediation service for students and supervisors who experience challenges with their partnership and dedicated coaching to support postgraduate students. 

In 2022, the Graduate School was shortlisted for the Times Higher Education (THE) International Collaboration of the Year Award and in 2017 it won the Guardian’s Student Experience Award. The success and value of its work is recognised by staff and students alike.

In October 2024, the Graduate School and Postdocs and Fellows Development Centre will be joined together to form the Early Career Researcher Institute.

Professor Curry is well known internationally for the weight of his contributions to science, science policy, and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI). From 2017–2023, he was Imperial’s first Associate Provost for EDI and led an overhaul of EDI governance. He wrote Imperial’s first EDI strategy and worked with staff and students across the university to foster organisational and culture changes that give greater prominence to the needs of our diverse community. Professor Curry has also long been an advocate for the reform of research evaluation. In 2017, he was elected Chair of the Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), which has now been widely accepted globally. He advises nationally and internationally on science policy and research evaluation, including at the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Austrian Science Fund. He is also Director of Strategy at the Research on Research Institute.

Ms Logan began her Imperial journey as an Apprentice Technician with Innovation Design Engineering, moving on to become a Technician in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. She has gone on to be promoted to Technician-In-Charge at the Department’s IDEAs Lab before progressing to her current position.

All who work with her recognise her wealth of knowledge, technical expertise and commitment to students and colleagues. She is regularly acknowledged for enhancing the student experience beyond expectation through her active involvement in teaching, training, assistance of module work and dedication to supporting students to produce prototypes and manufacturing models. Her ability to foster an environment open to learning encourages students to achieve their full potential and inspires her colleagues across departments.

Dr Cardoso Pinto has contributed to many societal engagements beyond her clinical studies. She created the Community and Outreach arm of the Paediatrics Society to bring student volunteers closer to the community, collaborating with local schools and charities to achieve this. She designed and delivered several sessions with the Widening Access to Careers in Community Healthcare (WATCCH) programme for pupils from widening participation backgrounds considering a healthcare career.

She volunteers as a tutor and mentor for several student-led groups, and led two volunteering programmes to support children in hospital and local primary schools. Dr Cardoso Pinto also led the first audit of the Unity Clinic at St Mary’s Hospital, an infectious disease service for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. Her patient engagement skills allowed her to highlight clinically relevant audit findings that needed prioritisation. This work led to funding to expand the clinic, integrating mental health assessments and support for children and young people.  

Mr Charalampous is Chair of Imperial Racing Green, which supports undergraduate students to design, make, test and race zero emission vehicles. In late 2023 he volunteered to work with a team of local sixth-form students on the Formula One in Schools competition, an international initiative to encourage pupils to develop a miniature Formula One car.

The school had no previous experience with competition, so Mr Charalampous contributed many hours guiding the design process, giving insight into the competition and developing a F1 in Schools team, building parts of their car and organising visits to Imperial where the students learned how to use the wind tunnel to test and collect data on their designs. The team went on to win the London finals, came third in the national finals and the female contributors were awarded the ‘Girls in STEM’ prize. They were the only state school to reach this level of the competition.

Mr Leung pioneers multiple widening participation initiatives across Imperial and beyond. He has delivered a series of outreach activities within local schools and developed an after-school and holiday club collaboration between schools that has created a learning hub for science, technology, engineering, arts and medicine (STEAM) subjects. He is a volunteer with United World Colleges (UWC) Great Britain, contributing over 100 hours annually to their scholarship selection process. As an Imperial Outreach STEM Leader, Mr Leung offers small group teaching to underrepresented students, sparking interest in medicine and biology subjects. He also led the E-Scooter Project, which enabled out-of-school young BAME people to develop entrepreneurship and design engineering skills. This is only a snapshot of his outreach activities, which exceed the space available here. 

In 2023, Mr Leung was awarded the Departmental Excellence Award in Culture and Engagement for the Most Significant Contribution to Widening Participation and EDI activities.

Beyond her academic achievements, Ms Titus has been a passionate advocate for widening educational access for disadvantaged groups. In 2020, she initiated a project that brought the first-ever mobile library to children in internally displaced people’s camps in one of the crisis-affected states in Northeastern Nigeria. In 2022, Ms Titus delivered a two-day remote STEM outreach event for 20 girls in Northeastern Nigeria that introduced participants to the internet and other digital learning tools, programming in python, and the role of geoscience in sustainable development. Following the event, Ms Titus established a mentoring program for selected STEM Ambassadors, empowering them to further their knowledge and share it within their communities.

Ms Titus has also shared her experiences with fellow students, inspiring others to undertake similar widening participation projects with the University. Today, she continues to promote digital literacy among disadvantaged groups, partnering with global organizations to expand her impact.

Ms Tongomo is a tireless advocate of Imperial’s outreach programmes and has committed hours of time to supporting young people throughout her Imperial career.  Since her first year, she has supported summer schools, tutoring programmes, maths homework clubs and the STEM Potential and STEM Futures programmes.

She has also undertaken countless campus tours, school visits and other student recruitment focused activities. Over the past two years, she has acted as a peer mentor for prospective students of Black heritage, supporting high-potential A-level students with a structured programme of guidance and invaluable insights into applying to and studying at a leading university. Alongside her passion for outreach, Ms Tongomo is revered for her calm and caring approach that reassures vulnerable young people while also having an ability to make all activities enjoyable and inclusive.

Ms Wagner is the Founder of Unite London, the first London-based community of estranged and care-experienced students. The group gives these students a support network they would otherwise lack, improving their wellbeing and academic performance. She is also works with the charities EaCES, Together Estranged, and the Unite Foundation to grow the national community, increase visibility, and share resources for professional and academic support.

At Imperial, Ms Wagner has pushed for better support provisions for estranged and care-experienced students, using her in-depth knowledge to highlight the needs of the community and aid in the development of a new specialised support service. Her impact on her fellow students—at Imperial and beyond—makes a substantial difference and is valued enormously by her peers.

Over the past two years, Ms Whigan has served as the Student Representative for Imperial’s Horizons British Sign Language (BSL) modules. She has played a pivotal role in the introduction of a new BSL Level 2 module, expanding the opportunities for students to learn BSL at a higher level, and has been instrumental in supporting BSL Level 1 teaching by providing face-to-face practice sessions outside of regular lessons.

She led a groundbreaking takeover of the Imperial Instagram account during Deaf Awareness Week, being the first person to use BSL on the platform and setting a new precedent for inclusivity and visibility of the Deaf community. Ms Whigan has also extended her advocacy beyond Imperial by conducting Deaf awareness training for Early Years Education students at City and Islington College. This training has helped future educators understand the importance of inclusivity and effective communication with Deaf individuals.