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. In 2004 he was made an Alfred Deakin Professor of the University for outstanding contributions to research and awarded an ARC Federation Fellow by the Australian Research Council. 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 (EU) awarded him an Honorary Medal for contributions to materials science.