Sir Derek Harry Roberts, (born 28 March 1932) is an English engineer who twice served as provost of University College London (UCL), firstly from 1989 to 1999 and later from 2002 to 2003. There were several successful projects and expansion during this time, including the merger of UCL and the Institute of Child Health in 1996. His professional life was mostly spent in industrial scientific research and as a director of GEC. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1980 and delivered the Clifford Paterson Lecture the same year. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, also in 1980. In 1986 he presented the Bernard Price Memorial Lecture in South Africa. Roberts was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire and in the Queen's Birthday Honours 1995 Roberts was appointed a Knight Bachelor for services to engineering and to education.