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Report of the General Board on the establishment of a Professorship of Medical Materials

The GENERAL BOARD beg leave to report to the University as follows:

1. As a consequence of the needs of an ageing population, and a growing demand for aids to an improved quality of life, there will in the future be considerable and increasing demands on the applied science underpinning the field of medical materials, which will be of prime importance in the future development of materials science. In addition, the growth of interdisciplinary activities, especially between the fields of materials and biology, is leading to the development of radically new aspects of this science. Accordingly, a strong presence in medical materials is fundamental for any institution wishing to remain at the forefront of academic work in materials science.

2. Within the University the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy has a research programme in pharmaceutical materials science but does not yet have major research activity in medical materials. Although an undergraduate course in the Department involving natural polymers is already in heavy demand, there is a recognized under-provision of teaching specifically directed at medical materials. Furthermore, a materials science input is vitally important for the development of new prosthetic surgical procedures in the Orthopaedic Research Unit of the Department of Surgery.

3. The Head of the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy has advised the General Board that it would now be opportune for the Department to expand its research base into medical materials and to address the under-provision of mainstream teaching in this field. With the support of the Council of the School of the Physical Sciences, he has proposed the establishment of a Professorship of Medical Materials as the most effective way of developing, and providing the necessary leadership for, this teaching and research. Besides fostering inter-Departmental research activities in areas such as orthopaedic materials, tissue engineering, the materials science of pharmaceuticals, and the development of surgical devices, the holder of the Professorship would be expected to make a major contribution to the Department's research activities and to attract substantial external funding. The Faculty Board of Physics and Chemistry and the Faculty Board of Clinical Medicine, in recognition of the importance of materials science to research in the Clinical School, have both expressed their support for the establishment of such a Professorship.

4. In order to meet the cost of the new office, the Council of the School of the Physical Sciences have proposed the suppression of the University Assistant Lectureship in the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy that became vacant on 1 September 1998 on the resignation of Dr P. J. Withers from his University Lectureship; they have also proposed that in the first instance the difference in cost should be met from funds available to the Department and that, in the event of any shortfall, the University Lectureship that will become vacant on 1 October 2006 on the retirement of Dr J. A. Leake should be placed in abeyance. The Council of the School have assured the General Board that this funding arrangement will not compromise the achievement of the School's target for reductions in recurrent expenditure. The General Board have accepted these proposals and have accordingly agreed to propose the establishment of the new Professorship for one tenure.

5. The General Board are assured that accommodation for the Professor is available and that the necessary support and facilities can be provided. The Board are satisfied that an appointment at this level will attract a strong field of well qualified candidates.

6. The General Board accordingly propose that a Professorship of Medical Materials be established in the University for a single tenure from 1 April 1999. The Board have agreed to concur in the view of the Faculty Board of Physics and Chemistry that an election to the Professorship should be made by an ad hoc Board of Electors and that candidature should be open to all persons whose work falls within the general field of the title of the office.

7. The General Board recommend:

That a Professorship of Medical Materials be established for one tenure from 1 April 1999, placed in Schedule B of the Statutes, and assigned to the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy.

2 December 1998

ALEC N. BROERS, Vice-Chancellor PETER LIPTON MICHAEL PEPPER
JOHN E. CARROLL N. J. MACKINTOSH ADRIAN POOLE
D. A. GOOD D. H. MELLOR KATE PRETTY
D. E. L. JOHNSTON A. C. MINSON N. O. WEISS
JOHN A. LEAKE

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Cambridge University Reporter, 9 December 1998
Copyright © 1998 The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Cambridge.