Professor Graeme Clark AC awarded Zotterman Medal by the Nobel Institute of Neurophysiology

Professor Clark developed the implant at the University during the 1970s. He played a key role in transferring his initial research to industry and assisted in the development of Cochlear Limited, which since 1982, has held 70 per cent of the world market, and has been used in more than 200,000 people worldwide.

He also played a key role in establishing the first public hospital-based cochlear implant clinic in the world at the Eye and Ear Hospital in 1985, and in the same year founded the Bionic Ear institute.
The award was welcomed by Professor Iven Mareels, Dean of the Melbourne School of Engineering.

“This award yet again demonstrates the widespread recognition for the outstanding contribution Professor Clark has made to hearing science and the impact his innovation has had in restoring speech understanding in deaf children and adults,” he said.

Graeme Clark’s Zotterman medal lecture was titled ‘What can electrical stimulation with a cochlear implant tell us about brain function and human consciousness, and how can it alleviate severe sensory neural deafness?’

His new research is supported by several research bodies, including the Research Centre of Excellence (NICTA), and the University’s Department of Otolaryngology.