Indian-American chemist Sumita Mitra won the European Inventor Award 2021 in the “Non-EPO countries” category. She fondly remembers her childhood memories spent in India. It is due to her curiosity and interest for Chemistry since childhood, which led her to pursue a career in this field. The Award, one of Europe’s most prestigious innovation prizes, is presented annually by the EPO to distinguish outstanding inventors from Europe and beyond who have made an exceptional contribution to society, technological progress and economic growth.
What is European Inventor Award?
The European Inventor Award is one of Europe’s most prestigious innovation prizes. Launched by the EPO in 2006, it honours individual inventors and teams of inventors whose pioneering inventions provide answers to some of the biggest challenges of our times. The finalists and winners are selected by an independent jury consisting of international authorities from the fields of business, politics, science, academia and research who examine the proposals for their contribution towards technical progress, social development, economic prosperity and job creation in Europe. The Award is conferred in five categories (Industry, Research, SMEs, Non-EPO countries and Lifetime achievement). In addition, the public selects the winner of the Popular Prize from among the 15 finalists through online voting.
Sumita Mitra’s contribution to the dental industry
While working in the oral care division of US multinational 3M in the late 1990s, Mitra became aware of the limitations of existing materials used in dental fillings, which were either too weak to be used on biting surfaces, or quickly lost their polish. At the same time, nanotechnology was emerging as a field of research and Mitra decided to explore how these new developments could be applied to dentistry. She began working on nanotechnology-based solutions for a new dental material, driven by a desire to use her expertise in polymer chemistry and materials science to develop inventions that solve real-life problems.
Mitra and her team developed a technique for creating linked clusters of nanoparticles, which they called ‘nanoclusters’. These clusters combine single nanoparticles of varying diameters, resulting in a strong, durable and shiny material. By adding tiny amounts of pigment, and altering the chemical composition of the nanoparticles, the team was also able to create a range of different shades that can be matched to individual teeth, and layered to create a more natural finish. “The use of nanotechnology gave me the opportunity to make a new material,” says Mitra. “It restores peoples smiles and improves the quality of their lives”.
Following this successful development process, Mitra worked closely with 3M’s patent attorneys to draft the patents to protect her ground-breaking research. Although several new generations of the material have been developed since its launch in 2002 as FiltekTM Supreme Universal Restorative, the current line of products is still based on Mitra’s European patents.
The enduring legacy of Mitra’s work can be seen in the fact that 3M was named as one of the top three manufacturers of global composite fillings in the dental restoration market in 2019. Although she retired from the company in 2010, the success of her technology continues with products based on her inventions used in over one billion tooth restorations worldwide to date. Mitra herself continues to contribute to research and development through her own consulting company. In addition, she enjoys volunteering at schools and colleges, passing on her enthusiasm for science to young people:
“Curiosity and exploration are the essential points of starting an innovation. It is something that we really need to cultivate in our children,” Mitra says.
A remarkable Journey
Sumita Mitra remembers her interest for science and technology since her childhood. “Even as I was child I was always interested in materials. Soon I came to realize that the secret is in the molecular makeup if materials – it is chemistry that makes one material different from another. Thus started my love affair for chemistry. My father was a chemist and I had the privilege of seeing him work in his lab and in the manufacturing plant. These were my first lessons in seeing science being transformed into something useful for people. I also had a very good chemistry teacher in school who encouraged my interest in chemistry.” says Sumita Mitra.
After high school she studied chemistry honors at Presidency College in Kolkata (now Presidency University) and later at the Science College of Kolkata University.
She went to the US after her M.Sc. degree to study and pursue Ph.D. in organic/polymer chemistry followed by a post doc in Macromolecular Science.
“I was always interested in the application of chemistry for the health care sector, so the emphasis of my research has been in biological materials. My Ph.D. was in determining the three-dimensional structure of ribonuclease using chemical agents. After I joined 3M Company my initial work was in controlled release drug delivery systems. Later I joined the Health Care business of 3M Company in the Dental Products laboratory and worked in developing several new technology platforms that were subsequently translated into products for dental restoration and preservation. I became interested in the emerging nanotechnology and saw the opportunity to use it to make novel dental nanocomposites with unique and useful properties.” Sumita Mitra further adds.