Cyril Hilsum | |
|---|---|
 Hilsum at the Second International Conference on Research and Communications in Physics | |
| Born | (1925-05-17)17 May 1925 (age 100) |
| Alma mater | University College London |
| Known for | liquid-crystal science and technology |
| Children | Lindsey Hilsum andKaren Burt |
| Awards | FREng[1] (1978) Max Born Prize (1987) Faraday Medal (1988) Richard Glazebrook Medal and Prize (1997) Royal Medal (2007) |
Cyril Hilsum (born 17 May 1925)[2] is a British physicist and academic.
Hilsum was elected a member of theNational Academy of Engineering in 1983 for the inventiveness and leadership in introducingIII-Vsemiconductors into electronic technology.
Hilsum enteredRaine's Foundation School in 1936 as the middle of three brothers, leaving in 1943 after being accepted intoUniversity College London, where he did his BSc. In 1945, he joined theRoyal Naval Scientific Service, moving in 1947 to theAdmiralty Research Laboratory.[2] In 1950, he transferred again to theServices Electronics Research Laboratory (SERL) where he remained until 1964 before again moving, this time to theRoyal Radar Establishment.[2] He won theHeinrich Welker Memorial Award in 1978,[3] was elected aFellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering,[1] aFellow of the Royal Society in 1979 and an honorary member of the AmericanNational Academy of Engineering.[2]
In 1983, he was appointed chief scientist atGEC Hirst Research Centre. He was awarded theMax Born Prize in 1987, the 1988Faraday Medal, and from then until 1990 served as president of theInstitute of Physics. In the 1990Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed aCommander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)[4] for "services to the Electrical and Electronics Industry".[5] He was the subject of a photograph byNick Sinclair in 1993 that is currently held by theNational Portrait Gallery.[6] In 1998, he was awarded theRichard Glazebrook Medal and Prize from the Institute of Physics, and is notable as the only scientist to hold both this and the Faraday Medal together.[7]
He has served as a corporate research advisor for various entities, includingCambridge Display Technology, theEuropean Commission andUnilever. In 2007, he was awarded theRoyal Society'sRoyal Medal 'for his many outstanding contributions and for continuing to use his prodigious talents on behalf of industry, government and academe to this day'.[8]
Hilsum serves as chairman of the scientific board for Peratech and is a visiting professor of physics at UCL, as well as sitting on the Defence Scientific Advisory Council.[9] He also endorses theKaren Burt Memorial Award, named after his daughter, which is awarded yearly by theWomen's Engineering Society 'to a woman engineer of high calibre who has newly attained full corporate membership and Chartered Engineer status through her relevant professional Institution and who has contributed to the promotion of the engineering profession'.[10] In 2006, he was made a Fellow of the ESSCIRC,[11] and in 2007 wrote an obituary forGareth Roberts forThe Guardian[12] and the Royal Society.[13]
While working for theMinistry of Defence, Hilsum helped develop commercial applications forgallium arsenide, and was responsible for creating the UK's firstsemiconductor laser. He was one of the developers of theRidley-Watkins-Hilsum theory that provided the theoretical basis of theGunn diode,[14] and his research helped form the basis of modernLCD technology,[15] bringing in over £100m to the UK government. TheBritish Liquid Crystal Society awards a Cyril Hilsum Medal each year "to British candidates for overall contributions to liquid-crystal science and technology. The award is made to mid-career scientists who have made notable contributions to the subject over a number of years."[16]
He married Betty Hilsum, with whom he had two daughters,Lindsey, a correspondent forChannel 4[17] andKaren Burt, an engineer who died in 1997 and has aWomen's Engineering Society memorial award named after her.[18]
Hilsumturned 100 in 2025.[19]
Portraits of Cyril Hilsum at theNational Portrait Gallery, London
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