It's 100 years since the first PhD was awarded at the University of Liverpool. Since then, our impressive alumni have gone on to do brilliant things, advancing our research and growing our talented community of academics.
Born in 1886 in Wallasey, homegrown William Olaf Stapledon was awarded his PhD in Philosophy in 1925. His experiences during the First World War as a conscientious objector and volunteer ambulance driver shaped his political views and he became a strong supporter of the pacifist movement. The ideas he developed and nurtured at Liverpool became the basis for his career as an author, in which he used the medium of science fiction to reach a wider audience. Alongside his successful literary career, he continued to be involved in peace activism up until his death in 1950. The University today houses the Olaf Stapledon archive and Olaf Stapledon Centre for Speculative Futures. Stapledon was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 2014.
Cheng Yuqi, born in 1912 in Zhenjiang Province, China, was awarded his PhD in 1938. After returning to China he worked to become one of the most prominent geologists in the country, being appointed Director of the Institute of Geology in the Ministry of Geology in 1964. Cheng was imprisoned during the Cultural Revolution, but continued his work after his release. By 1979 he was vice-Minister in the Ministry of Geology. His achievements and prominence were recognised by the University in 1988 with an honorary degree. He continued to be a consultant and honorary appointee to various organisations throughout the world of Chinese geology until his death in 2002.
Miriam Allott (née Farris) was born in Cairo and graduated with a general degree from the University of Liverpool in 1940. She completed her English Literature doctoral thesis on Henry James here in 1949 and became the first female professor in our Department of English.
A renowned scholar with an international reputation for her work on James, Keats, E.M. Forster, the Brontës and Matthew Arnold, Miriam held the second Andrew Cecil Bradley chair.
Józef Rotblat was born to a Polish-Jewish family in Warsaw in 1908 and was awarded his PhD in Physics in 1950. The First World War resulted in poverty for Rotblat’s family. He worked as an electrician after achieving an electrical engineering diploma in 1923, before deciding to pursue his dream of being a physicist.
He graduated from the Free University of Poland in 1932 and became a Doctor of Physics at the University of Warsaw in 1938. Prior to the Second World War, Rotblat had begun to theorise the atomic bomb and he became part of the British mission to the Manhattan Project. The project disillusioned Rotblat and he became a supporter of nuclear disarmament. He tirelessly campaigned throughout his life, being awarded a CBE in 1965, the Nobel Peace Prize for Peace in 1995 and a knighthood in 1998.
Letitia Eva Takyibea Obeng was awarded her PhD from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine in 1964. Receiving a government scholarship to study in the UK, Obeng was the first Ghanaian woman to be awarded a Bachelor of Science, Master of Science and a PhD all while raising her three young children. She returned to Ghana where she established the Institute of Aquatic Biology at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. In 1974 she was appointed to the United Nations Environment Programme, becoming the Director for the Regional Office in Africa in 1980. She was also the first woman elected to the fellowship of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences and became its first female president in 2008. Obeng was awarded the Order of the Star of Ghana in 2006 before her death in 2023.
Lindsay Laird was born in 1949 and studied Natural Sciences at Cambridge before obtaining a PhD at the University of Liverpool in 1974. She began her academic career at the University of Stirling and continued at the University of Aberdeen, where she developed a course in Aquaculture. She was a pioneer in the development of the aquaculture of salmon and other fishes, defined standards for Organic Farmed Salmon and introduced quality assurance labelling for salmon that has been widely adopted. She worked on aquaculture projects in Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Singapore and Russia. In 1998 she became Vice-President of the Scottish Executive Fisheries Committee. The Lindsay Laird Innovation in Aquaculture Award, named in her honour, was inaugurated in 2008.
Professor Tim Jones is proud to be an alumnus of the University, having gained both his undergraduate degree and PhD in Chemistry at Liverpool. Tim became Vice-Chancellor of the University of Liverpool in January 2023. Tim’s research interests are focused on the surface and thin film properties of a wide variety of advanced electronic materials, with applications in areas such as photovoltaics. Before returning to Liverpool, Tim held academic leadership roles at several UK universities, including Birmingham, Warwick and Imperial College London. Tim is a board member of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), the Welsh Science and Innovation Advisory Council, and the Alan Turing Institute.
Stuart turned a love of science and sci-fi into a blockbuster movie career. Stuart gained his undergraduate degree and PhD in Physics at Liverpool. His passion for visual effects began from watching Babylon 5, which inspired him to learn about the skills and software involved in the art form.
The first visual effects TV project Stuart worked on was Dinotopia, which won an Emmy award. He then moved into film including Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, The Dark Knight, Guardians of the Galaxy and Iron Man 3. His work on Gravity won an Oscar for Best Achievement in Visual Effects and a BAFTA for Special Visual Effects.
Mei Pheng Lee achieved her PhD in Philosophy focused in Law at the University of Liverpool in 2000. Notably an Advocate and Solicitor of the High Court in Malaya, she has also served as Head of Operations at OCBC Bank. Now Senior Partner at Borneo law firm Detta Samen and Co. Advocates and Practice Professor at Bond University in Queensland, Australia.
Ting was the very first PhD candidate of XJTLU, gaining his in Computer Science. Ting manages the University of Liverpool PhD graduates WeChat group. He is an active member of the alumni community, always willing to support the network and help other fellow graduates. Ting currently is the Director of Haina Cognition and Intelligence Research Centre, Zhejiang Institute, Tsinghua University and an Associate Professor of Internet and New Media at the School of Journalism and Communication, Shanghai International Studies University.
Rio is the Artistic Director and Joint CEO of Camden People’s Theatre, a fringe venue in London which seeks to support and programme the best emerging and experimental theatre in the country.
Rio was shortlisted for the 2024 Fitzcarraldo Essay Prize. She gained her PhD in literary modernism and queer theory from the University of Liverpool in 2022, following on from completing her master's and undergraduate degrees here. Rio has taught at institutions including the University of Liverpool, Leeds Conservatoire and Birkbeck University of London.
