Rosanna devised a number of innovative ways to overcome her disability, including writing with her feet.

She has also received the Royal College of Science Association Prize for academic performance and contribution to the College community and the Henry Johnson Memorial Prize, awarded annually to an undergraduate student of the department of computing for greatest endeavour.

Rosanna also played for the women's football team at Imperial, reaching the top position of the Premier League of the University of London Union.

"Being at Imperial has given me the opportunity to explore many different interests which has improved my confidence enormously - it's been good to be able to help other students as I've been helped," she said.

She now plans to study for an MSc in science media production at Imperial.

Greg Scott
Dorset student Greg Scott won praise from peers for achieving a first in computing, despite undergoing major surgery while in his first year.

Greg, from Dorchester, was diagnosed with a brain tumour in January 2000, and underwent surgery to have it removed in a six hour operation at Charing Cross Hospital in March that year.

One month later he sat his first year exams, achieving high marks, and is now graduating with a first class degree in the minimum time possible.

He also won the Times newspaper's award for Student Website of the Year 2000 for www.brain-tumour.net which he compiled following surgery and created to offer support to others in a similar situation. "One of the worst things about having a brain tumour, I found, was lack of knowledge. You have so many questions to ask, yet nowhere to find the answers.

"My illness very much shifted my values and made me question what was most important in my life. I think it's hard to dispute that a career in medicine is on a completely different level to almost all other careers. The hardest problem a computing graduate will ever encounter will be an intellectual, conceptual one - to me this feels insignificant compared to having someone dying in your hands and your problem being one of how to save them."

Greg is now doing a one-year MSc course in advanced computing at Imperial while studying part time for an A-level in chemistry. He will also apply for entrance to medical school.

Alison Eastman
Cambridgeshire student Alison Eastman earned a degree in applied biology while training intensively with the Great Britain rowing team.

Alison, from St Ives, first took up rowing at the age of 15 and was a member of the St Ives rowing club for three years, notching up wins in domestic regattas and representing England as the junior sculler at the Home Countries International regatta just before joining Imperial.

Her degree involved a year's placement at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, where she worked on floral anatomy. She balanced her studies with membership of the College boat club, where she was captain for the 2000 season, during which time the team won the College Eights event at the British Universities Sports Association regatta and at Women's Henley. Following this success she began trialling for the British under-23 team, and this year moved into the senior British squad. Trials for the senior British team coincided with work for Alison's final dissertation. Following graduation, she plans to pursue a career in rowing, and aims to take part in the Olympic Games in Beijing 2008.

James Smyth
James Smyth, from Cambridge, earned a degree in civil engineering which he studied between leading challenging expeditions to countries such as Peru and Pakistan.

His first major excursion was in 2000, when he spent six and a half weeks alpine climbing in Peru, including the ascent of Huascaran Sur which took eight days.

A year later, he organised a group of Imperial students to drive from Cambridge to Pakistan via countries including Turkey and Iran.

He spent the summer before his final year travelling across Russia to study engineering projects.