Professor Chris Day, Vice-Chancellor and President, Newcastle University, said: “Our honorary graduates this year have each made an exceptional contribution in their respective fields. Their commitment to excellence and to making a positive impact in the world is inspiring. We are immensely proud to recognise their contributions and to welcome them into the Newcastle University family.”

Phil Scott - Honorary Doctor of Engineering

Phil Scott is a world-respected video game pioneer in computer graphics, development and real-time rendering. His career has progressed from the earliest days of the UK games industry, beginning his career in Newcastle’s emerging game development sector, working at Tynesoft and later Rage Software eventually to a leading role at NVIDIA, where he has led the introduction of NVIDIA technology uptake by the computing industry.

Phil’s strategic input and hands-on involvement in rendering pipelines, simulation technologies, and AI tooling have influenced developers and researchers worldwide.

Phil Scott said:

“It is a genuine privilege to accept this doctorate from Newcastle University - an institution rooted in the North East’s extraordinary heritage of engineering and practical problem-solving. This is a region that built ships, railways, bridges, and industries that shaped the modern world. There’s something deeply meaningful about receiving an engineering honour in a place where making things work, under real-world constraints, has always mattered.”

Dame Julia Hoggett - Honorary Doctor of Civil Law

Dame Julia Hoggett joined London Stock Exchange plc as CEO in April 2021. She was the first openly gay person to hold that role. Previously, she was at the Financial Conduct Authority as Director of Market Oversight, overseeing the conduct of market participants.

Dame Julia has influenced quoted companies to embrace Net Zero targets and the wider Environmental, Social and Governance agenda and under her leadership the London Stock Exchange is now the leading provider of green and transition finance. She is a pioneer for women and the LBGTQ+ community in financial services, fostering diversity and inclusion in finance. 

Dame Lesley Regan - Honorary Doctor of Medicine

Dame Lesley Regan is internationally renowned for her extensive contributions to the fields of women’s health, obstetrics and gynaecology. She was the first woman appointed as a consultant in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Imperial College, London, and was only the second woman to serve as President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

In 2022 she was appointed by the Prime Minister as the UK government’s first Women’s Health Ambassador for England. In this role, she is the leading advocate for the implementation of a Women’s Health Strategy aiming to address gender disparities in healthcare and to improve health services for women across the country. As a popular writer and broadcaster, Dame Lesley’s work shines a light on historically taboo subjects from period problems to the menopause.