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Medical Materials for the Next Millennium

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Further Reading

  1. L.L. Hench and J.K. West, “Biological Applications of Bioactive Glasses,” Life Chem. Rep. 13 (1996) p. 187.

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  2. L.L. Hench, “Life and Death: The Ultimate Phase Transformation,” Thermochim. Acta 280/281 (1996) p. 1.

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  3. K.D. Lobel, J.K. West, and L.L. Hench, “A Computational Model for Protein-Mediated Biomineralization of the Diatom Frustule,” Mar. Biol. 126 (1996) p. 353.

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  4. W. Cao and L.L. Hench, “Bioactive Materials,” Ceram. Int. 22 (1996) p. 493.

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  5. L.L. Hench, “Sol-Gel Materials for Bioce-ramic Applications,” Curr. Opin. Solid State Mater. Sci. 2 (1997) p. 604.

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  6. L.L. Hench, “Bioceramics,” J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 81 (7) (1998) p. 1705.

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  7. I.D. Thompson and L.L. Hench, “Mechanical Properties of Bioactive Glasses, Glass-Ceramics, and Composites,” Proc. Instit. Mech. Eng. 213 Part H (1998) p. 127.

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  8. L.L. Hench, “Bioceramics, A Clinical Success,” Am. Ceram. Soc. Bull. 77 (7) (1998) p. 67.

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  9. L.L. Hench, “Bioactive Materials: The Potential for Tissue Regeneration,” J. Biomed. Mater. Res. 41 (1998) p. 511.

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  10. L.L. Hench, “Biomaterials: A Forecast for the Future,” Biomaterials 19 (1998) p. 1419.

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Authors

Additional information

Larry L. Hench is University of London Chair of Ceramic Materials at Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine in London. He serves as director of the Imperial College Centre for Tissue Regeneration and Repair.

After obtaining his BS and PhD degrees in ceramic engineering from the Ohio State University, Hench joined the University of Florida (UF) faculty as assistant professor in 1964 to initiate a ceramic engineering program. In 1972, he became a full professor and in 1986, a graduate research professor, the university’s highest academic rank. He also directed the Bioglass Research Center and co-directed the Advanced Materials Research Center at UF. In 1996, he acceptcd his present position with Imperial College.

In 1969, Hench discovered Bioglass®, the first synthetic material to bond to living tissues. This unique compositional range of bioactive soda-calcia-phospho-silicate glasses is now used clinically throughout the world in many medical and dental applications. This discovery and the subsequent scientific analyses of glassenvironment interfacial reaction mechanisms resulted in numerous professional awards and visiting professorships.

In 1980, Hench taunchcd stndies on the sol-gel processing of silica, which has led to the development of a new generation of gel-glass optical products including net-shape, net-surface diffractive optics and porous optical matrices for environmental sensors and hybrid optics. Front 1980 to 1988, his team condueted an extensive series of tests on the Systems variables that affect the long-term reliability of high-level radio-active waste forms. These studies included the first experiments of simulated waste forms under real-field, deep-burial conditions in Sweden.

Hench has served as president of the Society of Biomaterials, chair of the Glass Division of the American Ceramic Society and of the Gordon Research Conference on the Science and Technology of Biomaterials, and chair or co-chair of nine international Conferences. He has also served on the editorial boards of nine Journals. Hench is a Fellow of the Academy of Ceramics, the American Ceramics Society, the Society of Glass Technology, the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, and the Institute of Biomedical Materials.

The research of Hench, his students, and his colleagttes has resulted in more than 500 publications, 25 patents, and 23 books. He is married to June Wilson-Hench, his co-investigator in the field of bioactive materials.

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Hench, L.L. Medical Materials for the Next Millennium. MRS Bulletin 24, 13–19 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1557/S0883769400052283

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