William Bonfield facts for kids

William Bonfield was born on March 6, 1937. He is a British material scientist. This means he studies how different materials work and how they can be used. He is an Emeritus Professor of Medical Materials at the University of Cambridge. An "Emeritus Professor" is a retired professor who still keeps their title because of their important work.

Discovering Medical Materials

His Journey in Science

William Bonfield studied at Imperial College, London. He earned a special degree called a BSc with First Class Honours. He also completed his PhD there. A PhD is a very high university degree that shows someone is an expert in their field.

From 1961 to 1968, he worked as a senior research scientist. He was at the Honeywell Research Center. After that, he started teaching at Queen Mary College. He became the chairman of the school of engineering. He also became the dean of engineering there.

Important Work and Awards

Professor Bonfield led a special group called the University of London Interdisciplinary Research Centre (IRC) in Biomedical Materials. This group focused on studying materials used in medicine. Their work helped create better materials for things like artificial body parts.

In 1991, he received a very important award. It was called the A. A. Griffith Medal and Prize. This award recognized his excellent contributions to science.

Later, he became a professor at the University of Cambridge. He was a Professor of Medical Materials. He also directed two important centers there. These were the Cambridge Centre for Medical Materials. He also led the Pfizer Institute of Pharmaceutical Materials Science. These centers helped research new materials for medicines and medical devices.