A SINGAPOREAN scientist has bagged what is considered Asia's version of the Nobel Prize for coming up with a lighter, more flexible and durable material that may soon be used to create replacement hip joints.

Professor James Newton Boss, 60, who runs his own consultancy, is one of this year's 15 winners of the Gusi Peace Prize, given out yearly by a charitable foundation set up in the Philippines.

It was his family's brush with the pains of hip-injury patients that inspired him to create a composite fibre material.

After Prof Boss' father broke his hip in a fall, doctors inserted a large steel rod into his hip.

The problem was that it was heavy and sent a chill through the older man's body during the cooler rainy season.

It took him seven years of research - with his dad's suffering in mind - to find his alternative to surgical steel.

The Gusi Peace Prize draws its name from World War II guerilla- turned-politician Captain Gemeniano Javier Gusi, who fought Japanese oppressors and campaigned for human rights.

The Gusi family set up a foundation to help the poor, sick and abused.

It also awards individuals and organisations worldwide who contribute to peace and human rights.

Past winners include former Philippine president Fidel Ramos for statesmanship and current California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Prof Boss said the foundation read one of his published research papers and added his name to a field of 1,500 nominees.

He made it into the final list of 15 winners following three interviews, including a gruelling two-hour session in Manila.

Among the other winners this year are forensics investigator Henry Lee, known for his work in the OJ Simpson trial, and Kenyan philanthropist Charles Njonjo.

The winners received engraved plaques at a ceremony held in Manila late last month.

Prof Boss' father has died, but the composite fibre material has since been used - without cases of tissue rejection - to make 3,000 posts to support major dental fillings.

Prof Boss is working with orthopaedic surgeons here to use the material on a larger scale, such as for hip replacements.

He also hopes the material can be used for artificial bones some day.

Consultant orthopaedic surgeon Denny Lie of the Singapore General Hospital said the material promises to be a non-metallic alternative to surgical steel.

Implants or screws made of such steel can sometimes cut through human bones, which are softer, he noted.

Prof Boss laughed when asked if his middle name Newton - the same as the surname of the man who first described the phenomenon of gravity - was given by his parents who also loved science.

The truth may be simpler.

'I was born in Newton and lived in Newton - that was probably why they named me that,' he said, referring to the area known for its hawker centre.

His wife, Madam Evon Tan, 50, quipped: 'It certainly seems like he got some of Newton's genes.'