Prof Stephen Hilton Dr. Stephen Hilton studied Chemistry with Management at King’s College London (BSc 1996) and completed his PhD in 2002 under the supervision of Professor Keith Jones at King’s College London and Kingston University. He then undertook postdoctoral research with Professor William Motherwell FRS at University College London (2002-2006) and at the Institute of Cancer Research, University of London (2006-2008). In 2008, he was awarded an RCUK fellowship at the School of Pharmacy, University of London, which later became the UCL School of Pharmacy, where he currently holds the position of Associate Professor. Dr. Hilton has published over 50 research papers across a range of journals and contributed to two book chapters. His research spans medicinal chemistry, scale-up synthesis, and new technology development, with a strong emphasis on the applications of 3D printing, Virtual Reality, and AI-driven automation in synthetic chemistry and pharmaceutical sciences. He is the inventor of the IKA FLOW continuous flow reactor, a commercially available system developed in partnership with IKA, featuring unique 3D-printed reactors pioneered by his research group. His current work focuses on integrating AI-driven digital twins, virtual reality, and automation into continuous flow chemistry, with applications in catalysis, methodology development, and smart lab environments. His group is also advancing low-cost sensor integration for remote reaction monitoring and developing AI-assisted VR training tools for laboratory safety and workflow optimization. He is leading multiple initiatives in VR-based education and outreach, including the UCL200: Digital Futures program, which leverages VR and multilingual AI avatars to enhance STEM education and career engagement for underrepresented communities. His work has been recognized with the Royal Society of Chemistry Horizon Prize for Education and several international accolades.
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