Commercial view: Cyril Hilsum served as chief scientist and research director at GEC Hirst Research Centre in the 1980s. (Courtesy: GEC)

Cyril Hilsum , a former president of the Institute of Physics (IOP), which publishes Physics World , died on 23 September at the age of 101. In the 1970s Hilsum made pioneering contributions to liquid crystals paving the way for TV and computer liquid-crystal displays that are still widely used today.

Hilsum was born on 17 May 1925 and completed a degree in physics at University College London in 1945. He then joined the Admiralty Research Laboratory in Teddington before working at the Services Electronics Research Laboratory in Baldock.

Throughout his career, Hilsum focused on developing commercial applications for many areas of his research including creating the UK’s first semiconductor laser.

Hilsum built a lab in his house in Pinner where he made his final invention – an ink with sensors to conduct electricity.…