Dr Layal Hakim
Associate Professor
Mathematics and Statistics
Background:
Layal was born in London, England. She graduated in July 2010 from Brunel University with a Bachelors of Science degree with Honors in Mathematics. In October 2010, she started a PhD, funded by the EPSRC, in the same department under the supervision of Professor Sergey Mikhailov. Her thesis titled 'Numerical Analysis of a Cohesive Zone Model Approach for Time and History Dependent Materials’ won the Dean's Prize for Innovation and Impact in Doctoral Research at Brunel University London in February 2015, and a Merit Prize for best student paper at the International Conference of Applied and Engineering Mathematics part of the World Congress of Engineering in July 2013. In this project, a non-linear history-dependent cohesive zone model of crack growth in linear elastic and viscoelastic materials was studied. Layal completed her PhD in April 2014 and joined the Department of Computing at Imperial College London as a research associate in July 2014. She was a member of the MOSS project, which was funded by the Technology Strategy Board, and lead by Professor John Darlington. The main aim of this project was to obtain a way of processing and archiving binary large objects, using control abstractions presented as higher-order functions, by making wide use of functional programming languages. In October 2015, Layal joined the Department of Mathematics at Imperial College as a research associate in the Applied Mathematics and Mathematical Physics section where she continued researching in the field of fracture mechanics. Alongside her research, Layal used to lecture and mentor undergraduate students in the Department of Mathematics and the Department of Computing. In April 2018, she joined the Department of Mathematics at the University of Exeter.
Academic year 2024-2025:
Co-Director of Education and Student Experience in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Module leader and lecturer: MTH1002 Mathematical Methods (Term 1) and MTH3042 Integral Equations, lecturer: ECM1416 Computational Mathematics
Membership:
IMA member of the Higher Education Committee
LMS Committee Member for Women and Diversity in Mathematics
Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
Fellow of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications
Ordinary Member of the London Mathematical Society
Fellow of Exeter Education Incubator
Other Activities
External examiner for the Applied Mathematics courses at Nottingham University.
Times Higher Education Campus articles, 2022
Manuscript Reviewer for the Journal of Mechanics of Time-Dependent Materials, 2013-present
Manuscript Reviewer for the Journal of Mathematical Methods in the Applied Sciences, 2018-present
University of Exeter Realising Opportunities Science Rep, 2019-present
Conference Talks and Seminars:
Organised:
UK Conference on Autism in Higher Education, July 2021
Elasticity Day, University of Exeter, May 2019
Research Associate Symposium, Imperial College London, June 2015
Invited Speaker:
Expert task force panelist at the annual Digital Universities UK, co-hosted with the University of Leeds, April 2023
Panellist at the Times Higher Education webinar The Future of Higher Education Assessment, April 2022
Pedagogy for Neurodiverse Learners in STEM, hosted by the University of Exeter Academic Development, Feb 2022
Pedagogical games in Higher Education Mathematics; hosted by the Society for Natural Sciences, April 2021
Pedagogical Research in STEM in Higher Education; College of Engineering, Mathematics, and Physical Sciences, University of Exeter, Dec 2020
Women Count, Department of Mathematics, Queen Mary University London, Mar 2017
Presented at:
Focus on Pedagogy: Teaching, learning, and research in the modern academy, April 2022
Reimagine Education Conference, December 2019
Elasticity Day, May 2018
International Conference on Integral Methods in Science and Engineering, July 2018
International Symposium High-level Parallel Programming and Applications, July 2015
Women in Mathematics Day, April 2015
British Applied Mathematics Colloquium, March 2015
Women in Mathematics Day, London Mathematical Society, April 2014
Applied Mathematics and Analysis Seminar, Brunel University, January 2014
World Congress on Engineering; Imperial College London July 2013 International Conference on Applied and Engineering Mathematics
International Conference on Computational Mechanics, March 2013
Postgraduate Student Research Symposium; Brunel University, March 2012, 2013
Mathematical Modelling in Solid Mechanics, May 2012
British Applied Mathematics Colloquium, March 2012
Eighth UK Conference on Boundary Integral Methods, July 2011
International Conference on Integral Methods in Science and Engineering, July 2010
Awards Won
Outstanding Teaching Award (CEMPS winner), University of Exeter Guild (student-led) Teaching Awards, May 2022
Lecturer of the year, awarded by MathSoc at the University of Exeter, Dec 2019
Inspirational Teaching Award, CEMPS Academic Recognition Awards University of Exeter, March 2019
University of Exeter Above and Beyond Award (x6) 2018- 2022
Imperial College London FoNS Annual Prize for Excellence in the Support of Teaching and Learning, May 2017
Dean’s Prize for Innovation and Impact in Doctoral Research, Brunel University, Feb 2015
Student Teacher of the Year Award, Brunel University Student-Led Teaching Awards, May 2014
Women in Mathematics Day Best Poster, awarded by the London Mathematical Society, April 2014
Certificate of Merit (Student), awarded by the International Conference of Applied and Engineering Mathematics, for the paper: Integral Equations in Cohesive Zones Modelling of Fracture in History Dependent Materials, Aug 2013
Student Teacher of the Year Award, Brunel University Student-Led Teaching Awards, April 2013
Honourable mention
Shortlisted: global competition on Imagining the Future of Undergraduate STEM Education, Sep 2020, hosted by The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Shortlisted: global Reimagine Education Awards, Sep 2019, Learning Assessment category
