The Larry L. Hench Lifetime Achievement Award for innovation and translation is presented by the Bioceramics Division and is given annually to deserving individual(s) in recognition of lifetime dedication, vision, and accomplishments in advancing the field of Bioceramics, particularly towards innovation in the field and contribution of that innovation to translation of technology towards clinical use. Professor Larry Hench was a true pioneer of innovation in ceramic and glass materials, and is particularly known for his invention of Bioglass, the first synthetic biomaterial discovered to form a bond with bone.
William Bonfield 2021 Award Presentation Video
The award is presented at the ACerS Annual Meeting/MS&T. The Larry L. Hench Lifetime Achievement Awardee shall receive a certificate, glass piece, and complimentary registration. In addition, the awardee will receive the invitation of a lecture, which will be presented in a bioceramics-focused symposium at the meeting.
Nomination Process
Nominations are to be recommended by a sponsor, who is a standing member of The American Ceramic Society.
The nomination profile should include:
- Sponsor’s executive summary
- Nominee’s latest CV
- Two supporting letters
ACerS membership is not required.
The deadline for nominations is January 31 in the year preceding the MS&T conference.
Nominations, including a written statement of the nominee’s qualifications and contributions, should be sent to the division chair:
Annabel Braem
KU Leuven
Award Winners
Aldo R. Boccaccini
Aldo R. Boccaccini is Professor of Materials Science (Biomaterials) and Head of the Institute of Biomaterials at University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany. He is a visiting professor at Imperial College London, UK, and RWTH Aachen University (Germany). He has an Engineering degree from Instituto Balseiro, Argentina (1987) and a Doctorate in Engineering (Dr.-Ing.) from RWTH Aachen University, Germany (1994).
The research activities of Prof. Boccaccini are in the field of ceramics, glasses and composites for biomedical, functional and/or structural applications with focus on bioactive materials, scaffolds for tissue engineering, nanomaterials for drug delivery, biofabrication and antibacterial coatings. He has been a visiting professor at different universities around the world and has given more than 150 presentations at international conferences (as keynote, invited and plenary speaker). Boccaccini has published more than 1100 scientific papers and 25 book chapters. He has co-edited 8 books His work has been cited more than 80,000 times (h-index = 124, Scopus®), and more than 104,000 times (h-index = 143, Google Scholar®). Boccaccini was included in the “Highly Cited Researchers” lists in 2014 and 2018 (Clarivate Analytics). He is listed as one of the most cited researchers in the world according to the latest editions of the Stanford List of Highly Cited Researchers published in 2023 and 2024 (Version 6). He was the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Materials Letters for 14 years (2010-2023) and currently holds the position of Emeritus Editor-in-Chief. In June 2024, he was appointed Editor of the journal Progress in Materials Science (Elsevier).
Boccaccini is a Fellow of four major materials science/technology societies, namely Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (UK), American Ceramic Society, European Ceramic Society and Society of Glass Technology. Boccaccini currently serves as the president of the Federation of European Materials Societies (FEMS).
He has received multiple awards and honors, including the Materials Prize of the German Materials Society (2015). Boccaccini is also an elected member of the World Academy of Ceramics, the National Academy of Engineering and Applied Sciences of Germany (acatech) and fellow of the European Academy of Sciences (EurAsc). In 2022, he was conferred the degree of Honorary Doctor of Philosophy at Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland, and in 2025, he received the Honorary Doctorate of Riga Technical University (Latvia). He was member of the Council of the European Society for Biomaterials (ESB) for 8 years (2015-2023), serving as ESB vice-president in the period 2020-2023. Since 2022 he has been a member of the Board of the Bioceramics Network of the European Ceramic Society (ECerS).
In 2023, he was elected Fellow of Biomaterials Science and Engineering (FBSE) by the International Union of Societies for Biomaterials Science and in March 2024 he was inducted to the prestigious College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE). This recognition, which represents the top two percent of engineers in medical and biological fields, acknowledges Boccaccini’s significant contributions to bioactive materials design for regenerative medicine, drug delivery, and 3D bioprinting. This year (2025) the European Society for Biomaterials (ESB) will honor Prof. Boccaccini’s achievements with the prestigious George Winter Award.