Professor Larry L. Hench

Dr Larry Hench was born on 21 November 1938 in Shelby, Ohio and graduated from The Ohio State University in 1961 and 1964 with BS and PhD degrees in Ceramic Engineering. He went to the University of Florida in 1964 as an Assistant Professor and in 1969 discovered Bioglass^®, the first man-made material to bond with living tissues. In recognition of this discovery, which founded the field of bioactive medical and dental implants, and the development of methodology for investigating the interfacial bonding of this new class of biomaterials he was awarded the Clemson Award for Basic Research in 1977, the highest award of the Society for Biomaterials. This work combined with fundamental studies of glass systems led to a general theory of glass-environment interactions and the 1980 George W. Morey award, the highest honour of the Glass Division of the American Ceramic Society. The technology for manufacturing and quality assurance of bioactive glasses was achieved in Dr Hench's laboratory and transferred successfully to industry in 1984. Bioglass^® prostheses for middle ear reconstruction, dental implants, and Bioglass^® powders for repair for periodontal defects were approved for sale by the FDA in 1985, 1990, and 1993, respectively and are being marketed by US Biomaterials Corporation under license from the University of Florida. CE marks for sales of Bioglass^® dental products in Europe were obtained in 1996 and in 1997 for orthopaedic products …