Leeds Professor receives Honorary Doctorate
Terry Wilkins, Emeritus Professor of Nanomanufacturing Innovation, has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Technology by London Metropolitan University.
Professor Wilkins, from the School of Chemical and Process Engineering, is an innovator of novel, game-changing technologies that have had a significant impact on the healthcare and advanced materials industries.
He was awarded an honorary doctorate in recognition of the significant human benefits worldwide from the many innovations he and his various teams have achieved in medicine, nanotechnology and the environment.
Professor Wilkins said: “Whilst I am very proud of the economic and business impact of all these innovations by my various teams and myself, I am more pleased about the positive human impact.
“For my wife and I, it was a privilege to be celebrating the success with all the other graduands and their families at the Barbican Centre.”
Since being appointed as Europe's first Professor of Nanotechnology Manufacturing in 2005, his work has led to the development of novel translational nanotechnology research at the University.
Professor Wilkins' innovative high-speed measurement systems have created enormous financial and social benefits and have influenced industry widely. Applications of these systems have included the diagnosis of metabolic diseases and cancer, and eliminating the need for radioactive licenses for clinical laboratories worldwide.
He has also achieved success in advanced materials and environmental engineering throughout his career. This is evidenced respectively by his contribution to the creation of the world's first and most successful DNA fingerprinting business, Cellmark, and significantly helping reduce damage to the ozone layer by developing a novel measurement and control system to replace harmful Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) with Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).
Success as a serial innovator has led to service pro bono as a high-level expert advisor to the UK government, including the Minister of Science and Universities, David Willets; the European Commission and EU parliament, covering the nanotechnology, advanced materials, biotechnology and production technologies (NMBP); and also the Marie Skladowska Curie mobility programmes respectively.
He has won 10 awards, including two prestigious Prince of Wales Prizes for Innovation and Production.
Professor Wilkins was elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2017 in recognition of his substantial achievements and the continuing influence he exercises over the many areas in which he is involved.
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