Apr 27 2008 by Ian Robson, Sunday Sun
As Dan battled the Mekon in the pages of The Eagle in the 1950s, a young fan called Stephen Hawkin eagerly awaited each episode.
The strip championed technology as a force for good and was hugely inspirational to the nation’s children.
Professor Hawkin, when asked what influence Dan Dare had on him, replied, “Why am I in cosmology?”
Presenter Quentin Cooper also explores Britain’s role as the sixth-biggest producer of hi-tech manufacturing in the world.
V MATERIAL WORLD, Thursday, BBC Radio 4, 4.30pm.