Award winners 2020

Bessemer Gold Medal

Prof David Anthony Worsley, Swansea University

Prof David Anthony Worsley is Head of the Materials Research Centre at Swansea University and also currently Research Director of the SPECIFIC IKC. This encompasses a £50m research and delivery portfolio for functional coatings applied to construction materials.

Dave was Director of the Steel Training Research and Innovation Partnership, (STRIP) a £8m ESF and Industry funded research and training programme, which over a 6-year period provided training for more than 120 technologists at postgraduate level. This partnership was supported by around 22 companies with international presence but a footprint in Wales including Tata, BASF, Akzo Nobel, and Vale INCO. Dave Worsley is the author and co-author of 124 refereed scientific publications on coated product development.

Chapman Medal

Prof Alicia El Haj FREng FRSB FEAMBES

University of Birmingham

Prof Alicia El Haj is a leading figure in regenerative medicine and has been involved in bringing together interdisciplinary groups within biomedicine, physical sciences and engineering in the Healthcare sector.

Her career has focused on developing enabling technologies, such as development of novel biomaterial scaffolds to support the growth of 3D tissues, as well as engineering control systems for injectable cell therapies. These patented technologies and innovations underpin a spin-out company, MICA Biosystems Ltd. as a Director. The company is focused on bringing healthcare solutions to the clinic as well as developing innovative designs for new dynamic drug screening assays (DYNASCREEN). She has been highly successful in attracting funding from bodies ranging from the MRC and BBSRC to EPSRC, EU and Arthritis Research UK, with a strong track record of biomedical research having generated 8 patents and 250 publications (H-index of 45). She was recently granted a Royal Society Merit Award to further her innovative research in the field of tissue engineering and was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Academy of engineering, sitting on their Research Committee and now part of a working group on Engineering Biology.

Griffith Medal & Prize

Prof Manish Chhowalla

University of Cambridge

Prof Manish Chhowalla has made a major contribution to our understanding of 2D materials and devices.

He is acknowledged as a world leader in the fields of diamond-like carbons, chemically exfoliated graphene oxide and mono-layered transition metal dichalcogenides, having made seminal contributions towards understanding their atomic and electronic structures as well as discovering novel phenomena by phase engineering. In particular he has advanced our understanding of the electronic and electrochemical properties of atomically thin two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) and our utilization of phases with disparate properties for catalysis and energy storage. His contributions have been extensively recognized by his peers, being one of the UKs most Highly Cited Researchers (according to Clarivate) in materials science and was elected a Fellow of the Materials Research Society for his contributions to materials engineering. Furthermore, his research has led to many commercial products such as the Wilkinson Sword/Schick-diamond coatings for razor blades, nanometer thick protective carbon layers for Western Digital magnetic hard disk drives & read heads and amorphous diamond coatings for high speed machining of non-ferrous alloys. Prof Chhowalla has been actively engaged in advancement and promotion of excellence in materials science through education, outreach and training activities.

Silver Medal

David Collins MIMMM

University of Birmingham

David Collins MIMMM, is a Birmingham Fellow and Lecturer at the University of Birmingham leading a research group focussing on the micromechanics underlying the processing of advanced alloys.

He is a recognised leader in time-resolved X-ray synchrotron and neutron studies, and features on the Diamond Light Source's 'wall of fame' having performed over 30 bespoke experiments. David is the leader of synchrotron-related programmes that develop materials-science related characterisation techniques, and serves on several peer review panels. To date, he has published over 35 papers, contributing to new understanding of advanced engineering alloys at the microscale across the aerospace, nuclear and automotive sectors. David's work has been recognised through a number of invited talks at international conferences and university-based seminars, as well as being awarded the 'iCar Early Career Research Prize' in 2016 and a University of Oxford 'Recognition of Excellence Award' in 2015. He has represented Birmingham University, Oxford & Cambridge (his previous institutions) to attract school students to the subject. He is the Postgraduate Tutor (supporting research students), leader of student placements in industry, and has launched a highly successful 'School Colloquia' series, regularly attracting international speakers, that aims to reach and inspire Materials Science students. He also developed a hugely successful Materials Science summer schools programme whilst at St Anne's College, Oxford, that gave international high school students a taste of studying Materials Science in the UK. 

Sir Andrew Bryan Medal

Keith Harrison CSci FIMMM

Keith Harrison CSci FIMMM has had a long career in surface engineering.

In 2008, he became a member of the IOM3 Surface Engineering Division, becoming chair in 2012. In 2016, he became chair of IOM3 ITPB, which became TCB. He left this post in 2019. During his time in the Surface Engineering Division, Keith did much to promote the importance of surface engineering and organised successful conferences. In advance of governance changes, Keith took the opportunity to review the workings of the ITPB and produced a new organisation and rationalising the existing structure. Keith has also been active in the East Midlands Materials Society since 2009 and has been the principal organiser for the technical content of the last three EMMS conferences. In summary, Keith has worked tirelessly for IOM3 and the local society, making a sustained and outstanding contribution to the Institute. He has initiated and delivered major advances in the organisation and promotion of the technical communities, and I wholeheartedly recommend him for this award.

Sir Colin Humphreys Education Award

Mr John Luton

Varndean College

Mr John Luton has been a member of the Schools Affiliate Scheme since 2002 and has taken an active role in our activities, attending a number of SAS conferences for teachers (on one occasion arranging for a group of students to attend with him), arranging visits to his college and attending a Polymer Study Tour.

He has represented the Sixth Form College sector and Chemistry on our Education Committee since 2013 and has made many valuable contributions in that time.

Medal for Excellence

Prof John Coggan CEng FIMMM 

Camborne School of Mines

Prof John Coggan CEng FIMMM is an internationally-recognised authority on novel application of state-of-the-art numerical modelling software for evaluation of stress redistribution around both surface and underground excavations, characterisation of rock failure and fracturing, and how this can be incorporated into excavation design and simulation of rock mass behaviour.

He undertakes research for the mining industry in the UK and Chile and Canada. His research has made direct contributions to improved health and safety, improved optimisation of resources and improved working practices at mining operations. Prof Coggan has made a significant contribution to research-led education at both undergraduate and postgraduate level at the Camborne School of Mines, a department of the University of Exeter. He was the MSc Mining Engineering Programme Director for the IOM3-accredited postgraduate programme from 1994 to 2017, creating a world-leading Masters provision in this discipline. He has a strong academic track record, writing over 90 peer-reviewed publications in leading international journals, giving presentations at leading international conferences and acting as reviewer for leading international journals. He is a long-standing FIMMM, a member of the IOM3 Accreditation Panel for degree programmes, a reviewer for MIMMM and FIMMM, applicants, an Interviewer for Chartered Status (CEng), and a valued member of the British Geotechnical Association Executive Committee.

Swinburne Medal

Professor Stephen J Eichhorn CEng FIMMM

Accis Bristol Composites Institute, University of Bristol

Professor Stephen J Eichhorn CEng FIMMM is an internationally-leading expert in the physical properties of cellulosic materials, with interests in cellulose fibres, nanocomposites, gels and functional materials.

His pioneering work showed for the first time that it was possible to follow the molecular deformation of cellulose using Raman spectroscopy, being able to make the first predictions of the modulus of crystalline cellulose.Having established himself as a leader in this area, he developed the use of this technique for a wide range of cellulose fibres and composites. With more than 1900 citations, his review on cellulose nanofibers and composites, published in 2010, is the most highly-cited paper in Journal of Materials Science since its inception in 1966. Professor Eichhorn is Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Bristol within the newly-formed Bristol Composites Institute, hired under their exceptional talent scheme. Previously he held a Chair and became Head of Engineering at the University of Exeter. He was Chair of the American Chemical Society (ACS), Cellulose and Renewable Materials Division and received the 2017 Hayashi Jisuke Prize from the Japanese Cellulose Society.

Institute's International Medal

Prof Vladimir Litvinenko FIMMM

Prof Vladimir Litvinenko FIMMM over a number of years has promoted the Institute through his efforts at the Mining University of St Petersburg and recently through our involvement in the UNESCO Centre for Mining Engineering Education and Competence.