[15][16][17] In 1973 UCL Computer Science became, along with the National Defence Research Establishment of Norway, the first international link to the Arpanet, the forerunner of the internet.

[18] Professor John Mullin, World expert in crystallisation was appointed to the Ramsay Memorial Chair of the department of chemical engineering from 1985 to 1990.

[23][24] The Jill Dando Institute, the first university department in the world devoted specifically to reducing crime, was founded in 2001.

[27] The UCL School of Energy and Resources opened in Adelaide, Australia in 2009 with Tony Owen as its inaugural director.

[29] In November 2011, UCL and the BBC 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.

[30][31] A dedicated site is planned to be established at Euston Square which will house around 40 BBC staff and 40 UCL researchers.

The aim of these centres is to "provide a supportive and exciting environment for students to carry out a challenging PhD-level research project together with taught coursework".

[40] The most recent recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physics affiliated to the Faculty of Engineering Sciences is Professor Charles Kao, for breakthrough discoveries in fibre optics (awarded in 2009).