UNLOCKING THE MYSTERIES OF GLASS (2025)
(Participation in the course requires additional registration on the conference website)
Wednesday Sept 03, Cambridge UK
Time: Part I: 9 a.m. - 1:00 pm; Part II: 2:00 pm – 5 pm.
Who can benefit:
*Recent professionals in glass related industries with little or no formal background in glass.
*Students (undergraduate or graduate) and post-doctoral fellows
More seasonal professionals for the fun of it and to make lively interaction.
Outcome:
At the end of the course, you should develop an understanding of commercial glass compositions, glass structures, why glass often behaves mysteriously in the way it does, and which properties and attributes benefit certain commercial applications.
Part I Fundamentals of Glass Science & Technology
Topics covered: Families of commercial glasses; What is glass? Glass structures; Metastable phase separation; Viscosity; Glass transition range behavior; Chemical durability; Hardness, Strength and Strengthening; Q&A
Instructor: Professor Arun Varshneya, Alfred University, USA
About the Instructor: Professor Varshneya is nicknamed "The Glass Guru" and has taught almost all undergraduate and graduate level courses in glass science/technology at Alfred University over his 30 years tenure. He is the immediately past president of the Society of Glass Technology, an Honorary FSGT, a Distinguished Life Member of the American Ceramic Society and a recipient of the ICG President's Award. Varshneya is the president of Saxon Glass Technologies, Inc of Alfred and is recognized for the chemically strengthened glass cartridge in EpiPen autoinjectors.
Course notes:
Key figures will be available as a handout. The course generally follows the textbook, "Fundamentals of Inorganic Glasses" 3rd edition by Arun Varshneya and John Mauro (Elsevier). Students are encouraged to buy a copy from Amazon and bring to the class (for autograph!).
Part II: Fractographic analysis of glass products
Topics covered: Basics of glass fractographic analysis. Hands on examination of glass fractures.
Instructor: Daniel Capon, Technical Manager, Glass Technology Services (Sheffield).
About the Instructor: In his role as Technical Services Manager at Glass Technology Services, Daniel is responsible for overseeing this area of the business covering the extensive testing facilities and laboratories at GTS including chemical analysis, mechanical testing and materials analysis such as XRF. Daniel has a BEng in Materials Engineering and over 25 years’ experience working with glass. He is a specialist in glass analysis and an expert in XRF and SEM work in particular. He is experienced in both the analysis of and remedial actions for hot glass defects such as stones, cord and bubbles. Daniel is also experienced in glass formulation, especially glass durability, and he works with the United States Pharmacopeia on method development and is an active member of the International Commission on Glass (ICG) working with Technical Committees, including Chairman of TC02 and was an contributor to the development of key studies relating to delamination of glass vials and drug interaction. Daniel regularly provides training to a range of different international organisations working with glass manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies and beverage brands, regularly speaking on webinars and at events.
Learn about glass strength, damage and an analytical approach to failure investigation with one of the leading experts in glass. The session will cover the basics of glass fractography and be interactive, allowing for questions and discussion.
This technical session is suitable for students and people new to the glass industry to experienced glass technologists, quality assurance and product complaints professionals and features a combination of technical presentation, practical exercises, case studies and practical investigations to help delegates understand glass strength, weaknesses, failure and interpretation of evidence to determine causation.
What you will learn about:
Introduction to glass strength
Fracture markings
Breakage origins
Breakage patterns
Impact failures
Internal pressure failures
Thermal failures
Hydrodynamic failures
Vertical load failures