The recipients of the 2009 Institute Awards and Prizes have been decided. The premier award winners, listed below, will receive their awards at a ceremony on 7 July.

• The Bessemer Gold Medal is awarded to Giovanni Arvedi, ISP, for his audacious approach to hot strip manufacture with his contruction of a compact, in-line casting and rolling process for hot strip at the first ISP plant in Cremona, Italy.

• Professor Andrew Strang, receives the Sir Andrew Bryan award.

• Dennis Smith, former Head of Biomaterials, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto, Canada, now retired, takes the Chapman Medal for his commitment to R&D. Dennis was a founding director of the Centre for Biomaterials at the University, where he sat on the Governing Council.

• The Colwyn Medal is presented to Dr James Busfield, Queen Mary's University London. Here, James is head of the largest rubber research group in the UK. His works focuses on the strength, fatigue and abrasion of elastomers, filler/foamed elastomers and smart elastomer systems.

• Professor Tim Napier-Munn FIMMM, University of Queensland, Australia, receives the Futers Gold Medal. Tim joined the Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre at the University over 20 years ago. His pioneering research in modelling and simulation of gravity concentration and milling has had an impact around the world.

• The Gold Medal is awarded to P2i Ltd, Abingdon, UK, for its patented process that reduces surface energy of everyday items. This means that liquids are repelled from the surface. The treatment can be used on polymers, fabrics, metals, ceramics, glass and paper. The coating also imparts resistance to alcohols, acids and alkalis.

• Professor Lindsay Greer, Head of the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge, is renowned for his work on metalic glasses and nucleation, particularly of crystalline phases from liquids and gases. He took the Griffith Medal and Prize.

• The Medal for Excellence goes to Dr Kazem Oraee, Stirling Management School. He is known for his skill in combining the theoretical with the practical needs of society. He has promoted best practice in mining in Iran. This involved fostering excellent links between the two countries, supporting the exchange of students and staff.

• The Platinum Medal is awarded to Professor J Knott OBE, University of Birmingham, for his support to British industry by advising Rolls-Royce and The Welding Institute over a period of 20 years. His research focuses on fracture processes in engineering alloys.

• For younger members, the Silver Medal is bestowed upon Dr Sophie Williams of the University of Leeds for research on bioengineering, in particular on the tribology of hip replacements. Her PhD looked at how surface engineered coatings can reduce wear on metal-to-metal hip replacements and she has since developed a ceramic-on-metal joint, which is in clinical use across the world, to improve the life of the system.

Further information
Award Winners 2009 – More on the premier winners above, and details of the publication and personal achievement awards.