Professor of Physical Sciences in Relation to Dentistry, Robert Hill, has been awarded the Chapman Medal by the Institute of Materials, Minerals, and Mining. This prestigious award was presented to him for his distinguished research and innovation in the field of biomedical materials.
Robert Hill has published over 300 scientific papers and has 25 patents. His research has included a bone cement used for cochlear implants, which has reduced the risks of the device failing to bond (requiring a second operation), and degradable bioactive glasses used in toothpastes for treating dentine hypersensitivity. Professor Hill and Dr David Gillam have created a toothpaste, BioMinF, using this technology that is sold in many countries around the world, and which was featured on the BBC 4 television program in the “How to make series” in 2022. This development was featured in one of our Research Highway videos.
More recently, Professor Hill has filed a patent for ceramics that can be machined without diamond tipped tooling, allowing dental crowns to be produced in under 10 minutes.
Previous Queen Mary winners of the Chapman Medal include Professors Bill Bonfield (Engineering) and Mike Braden (Institute of Dentistry).
Robert Hill is also a former winner of the Armourers and Brasiers Venture Prize, the Alan Wilson Prize, and is the only UK winner of the Varshneya Award of the American Ceramic Society for “Glass Science with Impact”.
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