Professor Hodgson's research includes steel processing and the development of new alloys, and downstream ferrous and non-ferrous manufacturing processes associated with the automotive industry. He currently holds several ARC Discovery and Linkage grants, all related to metal processing. The University of Valenciennes award made him an Honoris Doctoris Causa in 2005 for contributions to metal forming research, while in 2006 AGH in Poland awarded him an Honorary Medal for contributions to materials science.