Marika Taylor to join UCL as Executive Dean of Mathematical and Physical Sciences

The University of Birmingham Pro-Vice Chancellor will take up the post in August, citing two new national AI labs among her priorities.

UCL's Wilkins Building in London, displaying banners marking the university's bicentenary

Professor Marika Taylor, Pro-Vice Chancellor and Head of the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences at the University of Birmingham, is joining University College London (UCL) as Executive Dean of its Faculty of Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MAPS).

Taylor announced the move in a LinkedIn post confirming she will start in the role in August. She succeeds Professor Ivan Parkin, who has led the faculty for a decade.

"I am delighted to share that I will be joining UCL as Executive Dean of the MAPS Faculty next month," Taylor wrote. "It is a privilege to be taking on this role at one of the world's leading universities, and to have the opportunity to work with colleagues across MAPS and the wider UCL community."

The MAPS Faculty brings together the departments of Mathematics, Statistics, Physics and Astronomy, Chemistry, Earth Science, Space Science (MSSL), Science and Technology Studies, and Risk and Disaster Reduction, alongside the London Centre for Nanotechnology and the Institute for Materials Discovery.

National AI labs

Taylor, who researches the foundations of AI through the EPSRC Erlangen AI hub, pointed to UCL's role in two new national AI laboratories as a particular draw.

"As a researcher who works on the foundations of AI through the EPSRC Erlangen AI hub, I am particularly excited about the two new national AI labs - SOFAIR, led out of UCL, and BOLD, led out of Oxford with UCL as partner," she added.

She also highlighted the university's position within London's research and innovation cluster: "UCL has an exceptional innovation ecosystem – the London Knowledge Quarter is pulling ahead of Kendall Square around MIT – and UCL has deep connections across academia, industry, government and society.”

From Hawking PhD to faculty leadership

Taylor completed her PhD at the University of Cambridge under Stephen Hawking, with a thesis on black holes, string theory, and holography. She held posts at Utrecht University and the University of Amsterdam before moving to the University of Southampton in 2012, where she later served as Head of the School of Mathematical Sciences.

She was a fellow of The Alan Turing Institute and became Pro-Vice Chancellor and Head of the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences at Birmingham in September 2023. She has also served on the EPSRC Council since April 2026.

Her research spans mathematical and theoretical physics, geometric AI and its applications, and mathematical modeling for defense, security, and finance.

Taylor said she would leave the West Midlands "with real warmth and gratitude," and thanked Professor Jennifer Hudson, Professor Geraint Rees, and colleagues at UCL for their welcome. "And particular thanks to Ivan Parkin, who's been Dean of MAPS for a decade, for all his support as I transition into the role," she wrote.