The UCL Faculty of Engineering Sciences is one of the
11 constituent faculties of
University College London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = ...
(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.
History
19th century
Engineering at UCL traces its beginnings to when
John Millington 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
Richard Trevithick (13 April 1771 – 22 April 1833) was a British inventor and mining engineer. The son of a mining captain, and born in the mining heartland of Cornwall, Trevithick was immersed in mining and engineering from an early age. He w ...
who ran the first passenger
steam locomotive nearby in 1808.
The world's first instruction in the field of
chemical engineering
Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials int ...
, a course entitled "Chemical Technology", was taught at UCL in 1882. The department soon saw its first
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
winner when professor
William Ramsay
Sir William Ramsay (; 2 October 1852 – 23 July 1916) 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 element ...
, who arrived at UCL in 1887, won the
prize in chemistry for his discovery of
noble gases
The noble gases (historically also the inert gases; sometimes referred to as aerogens) make up a class of chemical elements with similar properties; under standard conditions, they are all odorless, colorless, monatomic gases with very low ch ...
.
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
Civil may refer to:
*Civic virtue, or civility
*Civil action, or lawsuit
* Civil affairs
*Civil and political rights
*Civil disobedience
*Civil engineering
*Civil (journalism), a platform for independent journalism
*Civilian, someone not a membe ...
,
mechanical
Mechanical may refer to:
Machine
* Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement
* Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations of ...
, and
electrical engineering had been established.
The
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 public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewa ...
department specialised in
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". Analyzing the det ...
which was a significant issue in
Victorian London
During the 19th century, London grew enormously to become a global city of immense importance. It was the largest city in the world from about 1825, the world's largest port, and the heart of international finance and trade. Railways connecting ...
at this time. The first professor of electrical engineering was
John Ambrose Fleming
Sir John Ambrose Fleming FRS (29 November 1849 – 18 April 1945) was an English electrical engineer and physicist who invented the first thermionic valve or vacuum tube, designed the radio transmitter with which the first transatlantic ra ...
, who took the Chair of Electrical Technology at UCL in 1884.
20th century
While at UCL, Fleming invented the
vacuum tube
A vacuum tube, electron tube, valve (British usage), or tube (North America), is a device that controls electric current flow in a high vacuum between electrodes to which an electric potential difference has been applied.
The type known as ...
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 1923, UCL opened the Ramsay department of chemical engineering, appointing the first name chair in the UK in the subject,
E. C. Williams, after the Ramsay Memorial Trust gave half of its donations to set up the department.
In 1928, Williams replacement as the Ramsay professor
W. E. Gibbs greatly expanded the chemical engineering department including the building of the Ramsay Laboratory.
[ In 1959, the Ramsay professor of chemical engineering, ]M. B. Donald
Maxwell Bruce Donald FRIC FIChemE FRHistS (1897 - 6 January 1978) was a Ramsay professor of chemical engineering at University College London and a historian specialising in mining.
Early career
Donald studied at the Royal College of Science an ...
, with the head of Biochemistry, Ernest Baldwin
Ernest Hubert Francis Baldwin (29 March 1909 – 7 December 1969) was an English biochemist, textbook author and pioneer in the field of comparative biochemistry.
Born in Gloucester, Baldwin attended the Crypt Grammar School followed by S ...
launched the first diploma in Biochemical engineering
Biochemical engineering, also known as bioprocess engineering, is a field of study with roots stemming from chemical engineering and biological engineering. It mainly deals with the design, construction, and advancement of unit processes that inv ...
.
In 1973 UCL Computer Science became, along with the National Defence Research Establishment of Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
, the first international link to the Arpanet, the forerunner of the internet. Professor John Mullin, World expert in crystallisation
Crystallization is the process by which solid forms, where the atoms or molecules are highly organized into a structure known as a crystal. Some ways by which crystals form are precipitating from a solution, freezing, or more rarely deposi ...
was appointed to the Ramsay Memorial Chair 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
BT Group plc ( trading as BT and formerly British Telecom) is a British multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered in London, England. It has operations in around 180 countries and is the largest provider of fixed-line, bro ...
for the opening of UCL@Adastral Park at the Adastral Park
Adastral Park is a science campus based on part of the old Royal Air Force Station 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 subsequen ...
technology park in Martlesham
Martlesham is a village in Suffolk, England about two miles (3 km) 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 Martl ...
, Suffolk.
21st century
The London 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 three institutions that are world leaders in nanotechnology, University Colleg ...
was established as a joint venture between UCL and Imperial College London
Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...
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
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
, Australia in 2009 with Tony Owen as its inaugural director.
In early 2009, the Photonics Systems Development Centre was established in a collaboration with University of Cambridge with funding from the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council to equip and train world leaders of photonics research and engineering.
In March 2010 UCL, together with the University of Manchester
, mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity
, established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univ ...
, was the first recipient of funding from the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council's Collaboration Fund.
In November 2011, UCL and the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
formed a strategic partnership, focused on a four-year research and development programme in the areas of access services, advanced communications, content production, the internet and user experience design.
A dedicated site is planned to be established at Euston Square which will house around 40 BBC staff and 40 UCL researchers.