Professor Xiao Yun Xu has accepted the appointment of Proconsul from 1 October 2026 to 31 August 2029, to replace Professor Jonathan Mestel following his appointment as Associate Provost (Academic Promotions).
Professor Xu has served in the past as Consul (2016-2019) and Proconsul (2021-2023). (more…)
The Julia Higgins Medals and Awards recognise individuals, groups, and departments that have made a significant contribution to the support of academic women at the university.
Professor Jonathan Mestel has accepted appointment as Associate Provost (Academic Promotions) for an initial three-year term from 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2029.
Reporting to the Provost and Deputy President, Professor Mestel will play a key leadership role in supporting Imperial’s commitment to excellence in research and education across science, engineering, medicine and business. He will lead Imperial’s annual academic promotions exercise, ensuring that it is rigorous, fair and recognises the quality of the full range of contributions made by our academic staff to Imperial’s mission.
Professor Riccardo Sapienza has accepted the appointment of Vice-Dean (Research) for the Faculty of Natural Sciences, for a term of five years, with effect from 1 May 2026.
Professor Vincent Savolainen has accepted the appointment of Associate Dean (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) for the Faculty of Natural Sciences, for a term of three years, with effect from 1 May 2026.
Professor Aubrey Cunnington has accepted appointment as Head of the Department of Infectious Disease, with effect from 1 February 2026, for a term of five years.
Professor Waljit Dhillo FMedSci has accepted appointment as Head of the Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction, with effect from 1 September 2026, for a term of five years.
Associate Provost (Digitally-Enhanced Learning & Teaching)
Dr Sophie Rutschmann has accepted the appointment of Associate Provost (Digitally-Enhanced Learning & Teaching), with effect from 1 August 2025, for a term of five years.
Reporting to the Vice-Provost (Education and Student Experience), Dr Rutschmann will lead Imperial’s strategic commitment to digitally-enhanced learning and teaching.
Professor Stefanos Zafeiriou has accepted the appointment as Head of the Department of Computing for a five year term, starting from 1 September 2025.
The following Professors have been elected as Proconsuls:
This follows the upcoming completion of their term of office as Consuls at the end of August 2025. Their term of office as Proconsuls will start on 1 September 2025.