Notable Alumni and Staff

• Academic Leaders
• Business Leaders
• Entrepreneurs
• Nobel Prize Winners
• Olympians and Sporting Heroes
• Philanthropy
• Politicians
• Science and Innovation
• The Cultural Landscape

Academic Leaders

Professor David Blanchflower CBE (PhD Economics, 1985) is the Bruce V Rauner Professor of Economics at Dartmouth College, a position to which he was appointed in 2001. As well as being a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, he is also a Research Fellow at the Centre of Economic Studies (University of Munich) and at the Institute for the Study of Labour (University of Bonn). He has advised government agencies in the USA and Europe and has also consulted for a number of private sector firms including Tesco, London Electricity, Visa and Microsoft.

David was a member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee from 2006-09. He delivered the Bernard Corry Memorial Lecture at Queen Mary in 2007 and received an Honorary degree from the University of London in 2009.

Professor Peter Hennessy FBA is Attlee Professor of Contemporary British History at Queen Mary and an elected Fellow of the British Academy. Before joining the History Department in 1992, he was a journalist for 20 years with spells on The Times, The Financial Times and The Economist. In 1986, Professor Hennessy co-founded the Institute of Contemporary British History. His most recent book 'Having it so good': Britain in the 1950s, published in 2006, was awarded the 2007 George Orwell Book Prize for its outstanding contribution to political writing.

Professor Lisa Jardine CBE, Centenary Professor of Renaissance Studies at Queen Mary, combines a career as a historian with journalism. She writes and reviews for national newspapers and magazines and appears regularly on arts, history and current affairs programmes for TV and radio. Professor Jardine is currently the presenter of A Point of View on BBC Radio 4. She was appointed Chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority with effect from 1 April 2008.

Professor Philip Ogden was appointed Acting Principal of Queen Mary, University of London from 1 September 2008, taking over from Professor Adrian Smith FRS who left the College at the end of August 2008. Upon his appointment, Professor Ogden said: "I very much look forward to leading the College in the coming months and working with staff to maintain the momentum of the successes Queen Mary has achieved in recent years.”

Professor Ogden’s priorities include building on student recruitment successes and continuing to improve student support. Read more about Professor Ogden’s research interests.

Statistician Professor Adrian Smith FRS, Principal of Queen Mary from 1998 to 2008, oversaw a significant growth in revenue and capital investment during his time at the College. In 2003 he was the author of Making Maths Count, the government inquiry into post-14 Maths education in England, which identified a 'crisis in teaching and learning in Mathematics in society', and, in 2006, produced a report entitled Crime Statistics: An independent review on behalf of the Home Secretary. Professor Smith took up a new position as Director General for Science and Research at the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills which was renamed the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in the June 2009 government reshuffle. He was an awarded an Honorary degree from Queen Mary this summer.

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Business Leaders

Hong Kong based industrialist and entrepreneur Dr Kei Bui Chan (Electrical Engineering, 1969; PhD, 1973) is Founder, Chairman and Managing Director of Surface Mount Technology Limited (SMT), one of the top electronics manufacturing service providers in the Asia Pacific region.

Frank Chapman (Engineering, 1974) was appointed Chief Executive of FTSE 100 listed BG Group in 2000. Prior to joining the BG Group, he had spent 22 years with Shell and BP.

Tony Froggatt (Law, 1969) was Chief Executive of Scottish and Newcastle Plc from May 2003 to October 2007. He now holds a number of non-executive directorships including Brambles Industries; Billabong International Ltd and AXA Asia Pacific Holdings Ltd.

Giles Thorley (Law, 1989) is Queen Mary's third alumnus to run a FTSE 100 listed company. Since January 2003, Giles has been Chief Executive Officer of Punch Taverns, the UK's leading pub operator with an estate of over 8,000 leased, tenanted and managed outlets across England, Scotland and Wales.

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Entrepreneurs

Born in Taiwan and brought up in the UK, Ching-He Huang (Economics, 1999) hosts her own cookery show on UKTV Food and is Managing Director of Fuge Ltd, which produces high quality noodle salads and Tzu fruit juices.

Sir Peter Michael (Engineering, 1960) is the co-founder and director of Classic FM radio station. He is also the owner of a Michelin-starred hotel and restaurant, a successful internet entrepreneur and is the founder owner of one of California’s top three wine estates.

George Sims (Physics with Maths, 1960) invented the UK bar-coding system in 1971. This technology now regulates everything from stock control to ticket-less air travel.

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Nobel Prize Winners

Edgar Adrian, 1st Baron Adrian (1889-1977) was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1932, together with Sir Charles Sherrington, for their work on the function of neurons. He undertook clinical work at St Bartholomew’s Hospital during World War I, initially as part of his medical degree.

Professor Sir Peter Mansfield FRS (Physics, 1959; PhD, 1962) was jointly awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize for Physiology for Medicine with the late Professor Paul Lauterbur (d. 27.03.07) for their pioneering work on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) as a diagnostic technique.

Professor Joseph Rotblat (1908-2006) was Professor of Physics at St Bartholomew's from 1950 to 1976 . He identified that the fallout from hydrogen bombs was highly radioactive and a direct cause of cancers in fallout victims. He had a lifelong devotion to nuclear abolition and the social responsibility of scientists. In 1995, Professor Rotblat shared the Nobel Peace Prize with the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, the organisation of scientists he established in 1957.

Sir Ronald Ross (1857-1931) commenced his medical training at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in 1875. It is for the work he did on discovering the life-cycle of the malarial parasite Plasmodium that he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1902.

Sir John Vane FRS (1927-2007), one of the pre-eminent pharmacologists of the twentieth-century, established the William Harvey Research Institute at St Bartholomew’s Hospital Medical College in 1986. He shared the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his work on prostaglandins in 1982.

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Olympians and Sporting Heroes

Guardian journalist and sports commentator, Martin Cross (History and Politics, 1978) and Dr Richard Budgett (MSc Sports Medicine, 1989), Director of Medical Services for the British Olympic Association, both won Olympic gold at the Los Angeles Games in 1984 in the Coxed Fours, alongside Steve Redgrave who went on to win five rowing gold medals in successive Olympic Games.

Arthur Wint MBE (1920-92) (q Barts 1953) won Jamaica’s first gold medal at the 1948 London Olympics in the 400m, and a silver medal in the 800m. In the 1952 Helsinki Games he again won gold and silver; he triumphed with his team in the 4x400m relay and came second in the 800m. Known as the 'Gentle Giant', Wint's statue stands in front of the National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica.

Dr WG (William Gilbert) Grace, the famous Victorian cricketer attended Barts as a medical student, probably only for one year’s coaching in surgery. He finally qualified as a doctor in 1879 at the age of 31, having already played in the First Test Series against Australia in 1873-74. When he was not playing cricket, WG was a medical practitioner in his home city of Bristol. The WG Grace ward at St Bartholomew's Hospital has been named in his memory.

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Philanthropy

Dr Thomas Barnardo, the Victorian philanthropist who actively sought to rescue destitute children from the streets, became involved in London’s Ragged Schools Movement whilst a medical student at the Royal London Hospital. By 1878, he had established 50 orphanages in London. His legacy continues today through the charity Barnardo’s which works with vulnerable children and young people.


Politicians

The Hon Peter Caruana QC, Chief Minister of Gibraltar, graduated in Law in 1978. His party, the Gibraltar Social Democrats, first came to power in 1996 and was re-elected in 2000 and 2003. In December 2004, the principal of tri-partite talks recognised the Government of Gibraltar as an equal party with Britain and Spain.

Baroness Linda Chalker was Conservative MP for Wallasey in Essex from 1972-92 and Minister of State for Overseas Development from 1989-97. She remains heavily committed to overseas development, both as an independent consultant on Africa and Chairman of Africa Matters Ltd.

Baroness Marcia Falkender CBE graduated with a degree in History in 1954. She became secretary to the General Secretary of the Labour Party in 1955 and was Harold Wilson’s private and political secretary from 1956-83. Baroness Falkender became a member of the House of Lords in 1974.

The Right Honorable Peter Hain MP (Economics and Politics, 1973) was elected MP for Neath in 1991 and is currently Secretary of State for Wales. His roles have included being a member of the Labour government from 1997-2008, holding posts in the Wales Office, DTI and Foreign Office. He has been Secretary of State for Wales, Leader of the Commons, Northern Ireland Secretary and Secretary of State for the Department of Works and Pensions.

Baroness Jan Royall was appointed Leader of the House of Lords in October 2008. She graduated from Westfield College with a BA in Spanish in 1976. Since 1979 she has worked for the Labour Party, including stints in the European Parliament. For 10 years she was policy advisor, researcher and press officer to the Right Honourable Neil Kinnock MP.

Caroline Spelman MP graduated with a degree in European Studies (German) in 1980.  She was appointed as Chairman of the Conservative Party in June 2007 and was formerly the Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. Caroline has been Conservative MP for Meriden since 1997.

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Science and Innovation

Surgeon Sir William Blizard co-founded England’s first clinical medical school - The London Hospital Medical College. In 1791 he founded the Samaritan Society, the first medical social work society, for London Hospital patients. He was among the first surgeons to tie the subclavian artery for axillary aneurism.

Dr Philip Campbell (MSc Astrophysics, 1974), Editor-in-Chief of Nature, Editor-in-Chief of Nature Publications and a Board Member of Nature Publishing House, was made an Honorary Fellow of Queen Mary in 2009.

William Harvey was Physician at Barts from 1609 to 1643. During this period his many dissections and experiments led to his discovery of the circulation of the blood. His book Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis et Sanguinis, published in 1628 and recognised as a great foundation of modern medicine, is responsible for Harvey's enduring renown as Barts' most famous physician.

George Hockham (PhD Electronic Engineering, 1969), together with Nobel Prize winner Charles Kao, is widely recognised a a pioneer in the field of optical fibres. While working together in what was then STL in Harlow, they proposed the possibility of producing low loss optical fibre wavelengths. Before then the loss in the fibres meant they could not be used for long-distance communications; Dr Kao spotted that it was imperfections in the glass used in producing the fibre that was causing the problems.

Their ground-breaking paper ‘Dielectric-fibre surface waveguides for optical frequencies’, published by the IEE in 1966, generated considerable global interest, subsequent development and commercialisation were led by companies such as Corning, STL and BT (then The Post Office).

George Hockham subsequently worked for Plessey and Thorn EMI. He was featured in the ‘Century of British Genius’ exhibition at the Science Museum and holds 16 patents.

The world renowned influenza virologist John Oxford is Professor of Virology at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry. He is also Director of Retroscreen Virology Ltd, a Queen Mary spin-out company, one of the most innovative virological research companies in its field.

Sir James Parkinson is known for his description of ‘paralysis agitans’ in 1817, the shaking palsy now known as Parkinson’s disease. He became a pupil at The London Hospital in 1776 and, like his father and his son, worked as an apothecary in nearby Hoxton.

Professor Robert Watson, the government's Chief Scientist at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), completed his PhD in atmospheric chemistry in 1973. His remit includes advising the government on foot-and-mouth disease, GM foods and most notably, the fight against climate change. Professor Watson previously held several high-profile appointments with Nasa and the World Bank. Earlier this year, in addition to his work for Defra, he was appointed chair of environmental sciences at the University of East Anglia.

Professor Lord Robert Winston (q The London 1964), the world-renowned fertility expert, was prominently involved in the development of gynaecological microsurgery in the 1970s, and one of the pioneers of in-vitro fertilisation. He has presented several award-winning BBC television series, including The Human Body, The Superhuman and A Child of our Time.

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The Cultural Landscape

The novelist JG Ballard (1930-2009) enrolled on an English Literature degree at Queen Mary College in 1951. His most notable works include the controversial Crash (1973) and the autobiographical novel, Empire of the Sun (1984), both of which have been adapted to film. His autobiographical memoir Miracles of Life was published in February 2008.

Sir Malcolm Bradbury, the author, academic, television scriptwriter and literary critic, took an MA in English in 1955. His novels include Rates of Exchange which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. His television adaptations of novels included Tom Sharpe's Porterhouse Blue, Stella Gibbon's Cold Comfort Farm and Kingsley Amis' The Green Man.

Barts alumnus, Graham Chapman qualified in Medicine in 1962. He formed the comedy group Monty Python’s Flying Circus with his contemporaries John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam in 1969. The BBC TV series was an instant hit.

Dr Stephen Deuchar (PhD History of Art, 1985) has been appointed Director of The Art Fund having been Director of Tate Britain from 1998-2009. Formerly he was Director of the Neptune Court Project at the National Maritime Museum where he led the £20m redevelopment of the Museum’s main buildings and displays.

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Bruce Dickinson (History, 1979), lead singer of 1980s heavy metal band Iron Maiden, is also a published author of two comic novels, a fully qualified airline pilot and an Olympic standard fencer.

Paul Heritage, Professor of Drama and Performance at Queen Mary and Director of People’s Palace Projects, has combined academic and professional activity in theatre for the past 20 years.

In 1991, newsreader Jane Hill graduated from Queen Mary with a degree in Politics. Since 1997 she has been a presenter on BBC News 24 and also presents BBC1 weekend bulletins and the One O’Clock News.

Ruth Prawer Jhabvala CBE (English Literature, 1961), Oscar and BAFTA Award winning screenwriter, is best known for her work on the Merchant Ivory films A Room with a View and Howard’s End. She received the 1975 Man Booker prize for her novel Heat and Dust.

Professor Sir Michael Lyons (MSc Economics, 1973) has been appointed the first Chairman of the BBC Trust, the BBC's new governing body, with effect from 1 May 2007. Sir Michael was formerly chief executive of Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Nottingham city councils and Professor of Public Policy at Birmingham University. He was also a non-executive director of Central Television Ltd and, until recently, Chairman of the Regional Advisory Council for ITV. He received a knighthood in 2000 for services to local government; his knowledge led to him being commissioned to prepare the Lyons Report, a government report on local council funding.

Newsreader Bridgid Nzekwu graduated in 1992 with a First Class Honours degree in European Studies (French with German). She is a regular presenter, reporter and producer on the Channel Four News.

Dr Prannoy Roy (Economics, 1973) is one of the most well-known faces on Indian television. Chairman and Director of New Delhi TV (NDTV), he has won several awards as India’s leading presenter of current affairs programmes. Dr Roy has also worked as an Economic Adviser with the Ministry of Finance to the Indian Government. He was elected Honorary Fellow of Queen Mary in summer 2007.

Poorna Shetty (English, 2002) is commissioning editor of The London Paper, having previously been editor of Asiana, the UK's best selling Asian magazine.

Award-winning author Sarah Waters was awarded her PhD in English Literature in 1995. Her novels include Tipping the Velvet (1998), Affinity (1999), Fingersmith (2003), The Night Watch (2006). Her latest novel The Little Stranger was published in June 2009.

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