Category: Symposium

Artistic Demonstrations & Charity Auction Art Donations and Events Each year the Society picks a local charity to give back to the community in which we are holding our symposium. This year we are partnering with the Sonoran Glass School: Sonoran Glass School is a public-access nonprofit educational organization dedicated to inspiring people of all ages to discover the wonder of glass art. We teach students and the general public how to create and appreciate glass as a visual arts medium through educational courses, one-on-one experiences, visiting artist seminars, and community events funded by SGS members and supporters. Visit their website for more information: Sonoran Glass School

Allan B Brown Glassblowing Seminars— Tucson AZ 2016. Day 1 Bench –Distillation Head, full size Lathe –Construction of Quartz Torch Heads Day 2 Bench –Jacketed valves Lathe –Short Path Distillation Head (lathe method, all blow on one side) Instructors Jack Korfhage Jack Korfhage attended Salem Community College completing the two-year program in Scientific Glassblowing Technology. He has worked for Lurex Manufacturing Company, Perkin-Elmer Corporation, Gammett Glass, and has been self-employed. For the past 27 years, Ethyl/Albemarle Corporation has employed Jack in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as a Research and Development Glass Blower. He first joined the ASGS in 1970, and has been Secretary of the Delaware Valley Section, Director and Secretary-Treasurer of the Southwest Section, and a past president of the ASGS. In 1996 he was a Co-Chair of the New Orleans Symposium as well as the Workshops Chair. Jack received the 1994 New England Section Award and in 2003 and 2007 the William A. Wilt Senior Award. He has presented several workshop demonstrations and has presented papers at several past symposia. He has served as National Membership Chair and Chair of the Allan B. Brown Seminar. Neal Korfhage Neal Korfhage began scientific glassblowing at the age of 15, working with his father in the family-based glassblowing business. His first learned skills were tooling and basic repair of scientific glassware. After graduating from high school, he attended Salem Community College from 1994-1996. He then accepted a glassblowing position at Sigma-Aldrich Corporation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he worked until 2006. Neal currently is the scientific glassblower for the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Neal has served on the Audit Committee, Computer Committee, and the Allan B. Brown Glassblowing Seminar of the ASGS. Kevin Teaford Kevin Teaford started his glassblowing career in 1992 at the Westinghouse-Hanford Company. After 3 ½ years in Research and Development, Kevin accepted a position with Farlow’s Scientific Glassblowing in northern California. At Farlow’s, he learned of many new types of glassware found in the medical and scientific production industry. In 1999, he secured a position at Precision Glassblowing of Colorado. While at Precision, he was introduced to many new aspects of production-style glassblowing, which included fabrication of large diameter Pyrex apparatus and the introduction of larger Quartz fabrication. Kevin has worked at the University of Utah since 2002. Kevin has been the National Membership Chair for the ASGS and now is the Chair of the Allan B. Brown Regular Member Seminar. Philip Legge Philip Legge is a 3rd generation glassblower and 3rd generation ASGS member. He is the current National Secretary and the Chair of the Great Lakes Section. Philip has been blowing glass at a family business Scientific Glass Design In Ajax Ontario Canada part time since 1998 and full time since 2005. Kevin Teaford, Chair email Kevin for more information

ASGS Arizona Symposium May 19-25 2015 Activities List 1. Tohono Chul Park 7366 N Paseo del Norte Admission: Adult $10, kids $3 Activities: Botanical Gardens, butterfly house, walk in the park-see ecology of the desert, bird identification, Reptile Ramble Driving distance from hotel: 2min 2. Sabino Canyon 5900 N Sabino Canyon Rd Admission: Adult $10, kids $5 Activities: Tram rides and hiking Driving distance from hotel: 16min 3. Saguaro National Park 3693 S Old Spanish Trl./2700 N Kinney Rd Admission: $10/car Activities: trails for hiking/biking/auto Driving distance from hotel: 36-42min 4. Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum 2021 N Kinney Rd Admission: Adult $19.50, 4-12yrs $6 Activities: Zoo, aquarium, botanical garden and natural history museum Driving distance from hotel: 37-42min 5. Pima Air & Space Museum 6000 East Valencia Admissions: Adults $15, 6&under free, guided tours: adults $7, Kids 12&under free, tram tours $6 Activities: tours Driving distance from hotel: 28-32min 6. Old Tucson 201 S Kinney Road Admissions: Adult $17.95, kids $10.95 Activities: tour the old west town rich in movie history, shows and & special events, fun rides 7 games, trail rides (horses), stagecoach rides. Driving distance from hotel: 33-34min 7. Wyatt Earp Days May 23-25 Tombstone, AZ Driving distance from hotel: ? 8. Tucson Museum of Art 140 N Main Ave Admissions: Adult $12, kids 12&under free Driving distance from hotel: 17-24min 9. Biosphere 2 University of AZ 32540 S Biosphere Rd Oracle, AZ Admissions: Adult $20, kids 6-12yr $13 Activities: guided tour Driving distance from hotel: 33-41mins 10. Children’s Museum Tucson 200 S 6th Ave Admissions: $8 Driving distance from hotel: 18-25min 11. Colossal Cave Mountain Park 16721 E Old Spanish Trail Admissions: $13 regular tour, $30 ladder tour Activities: guided tours, historical museum, horse trail rides, sluicing for gemstones Driving distance from hotel: 47-52min 12. International Wildlife Museum 4800 W Gates Pass Rd Admissions: Adult $9, 4-12yrs$4 Driving distance from hotel: 24-30min 13. Reid Park Zoo 1100 S Randolph Way Admissions: Adult $9, 2-14yr $5 Driving distance from hotel: 22-27min 14. Sonoran Glass School 633 W. 18th St Activities: gallery and classes Driving distance from hotel: 20-25min 15. Funtasticks Family Fun Park 221 E. Wetmore Rd Admissions: various Driving distance from hotel: 7-11min 16. Yume Japanese Gardens 2130 North Alvernon Way Admissions: Adult $9, 3-15yr $5 Activities: walk along 5 authentic Japanese Gardens Driving distance from hotel: 15-19min 17. Fire Ranch Glass Works & Gallery 4280 E Hawser St Driving distance from hotel: 19-23min 18. Old Town Artisans (various shops & a restaurant) 201 N Court Ave Driving distance from hotel: 17-25min 19. Philabaum Glass Gallery & studios 711 S 6th Ave Driving distance from hotel: 19-28 20. B&B Cactus Farm 11550 E Speedway Blvd Driving distance from hotel: 31-34min 17-20=shopping 21. Spanish Trail Outfitters Westward Look Resort Admissions: $40/person/hour, lead line rides $15 *Age restrictions for children Activities: horse back riding 22. Tucson Food Tours Congress & Toole Admissions: $44/person Activities: walking tour of at least 6 different restaurants Driving distance from hotel: 16-25min

(Click on the presenter name to see a short bio.) Robert Ponton – “Batman, the Lone Ranger and the Chemist” Batman had Robin, the Lone Ranger had Tonto and of course. The Chemist has The Glassblower! The relationship between scientists and the glass shop dates from the earliest alchemist to the modern day research laboratory. This paper will be presented as a talk glassblowers can give to other groups like The American Chemical Society, Sigma Xi and others. We will hop scotch through history as we document the long rich history of scientific collaboration between the scientist and the glassblower. Alexander V. Zabula and Tracy Drier – “Structure and transformation of Glass” -Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI (USA) Glass was one of the first artificial materials created at the earliest stages of civilization. Currently, a great amount of various glass materials are fabricated to satisfy the esthetic, practical, and scientific demands of our modern society. The unique properties of glass originate from its structure. From a physical viewpoint, glass behaves both as a liquid and a solid substance. The amorphous nature of glass and lack of long-range translation periodicity significantly limits the number of physical-chemical instrumentation techniques applicable for structural analysis. In this overview, the most important structural properties of glass including softening, melting, stresses, defects, color, polarization and dichroic effects as well as photosensitivity will be discussed. Special attention will be centered around the structural modifications of glass upon common glassblowing manipulations. Brian Markowicz – “Manufacture and Maintenance of Glassware used in Isotopic Analysis” Scientific Glassblower, Chemistry & Biochemistry, Georgia Tech College of Science. Atlanta, Georgia (USA) The purpose of this paper is to explore the types of glassware that I have been asked to manufacture and/or maintain for the purpose of preparing samples for isotopic analysis. This includes traditional vacuum lines used for the loading of samples and standards for combustion, as well as vacuum lines for the cleaning, separation, measurement and bottling of sample gases for use in isotope ratio mass spectrometry. I will also cover a lesser known sample prep line used to convert carbon dioxide into the graphite powder that is needed for age dating by Accelerator Mass Spectrometry. Tsuyoshi Nakamura – “Making a Cube Trap” (Japan) How to make a complex small cube trap including techniques of how to cut the glass, drilling flat glass, fusion of glass plates and assembling of all parts. Kevin E. Bennet and Steven M. Anderson – “Chemical Vapor Deposition of Diamonds for Deep Brain Stimulation” Scientific Glassblowers, Mayo Clinic Invention Labs. Rochester, Minnesota (USA) The design and fabrication of a chemical vapor deposition reactor for the creation of diamond with boron doping is key to neurotransmitter detection in the brain. We describe the design and construction of a reactor successfully used to synthesize diamond. The process was used to fabricate chemical sensing deep brain probes using fast scan cyclic voltammetry. These electrodes are being used to develop an understanding of deep brain stimulation with the Read More …

Synopsis for 2015 Junior Member Workshop During the Joseph Gregar Junior Member Workshop the members will learn about vacuum nomenclature, pumping techniques, manifolds, valves and stopcocks, gauges, leak testing, pumps and system design. Studentss will construct a small glass manifold to learn how to deal with stationary glass and how to flame anneal “that which cannot be properly annealed.” In addition, proper techniques for “tipping off” items from Dewars to NMR tubing will be presented. Other projects will include dewars, sealing hex bases, vacuum swivels, and of course some Quartz items. There will be both bench work and lathe work. The instructors for this year are Joe Gregar, Bob Singer, Gary Coyne, and Christopher Bock. Instructor Bio’s: Joseph Gregar: Joe is a fourth generation scientific glassblower who began learning the art of scientific glassblowing 47 years ago in 1966 at his family-owned business,The Milwaukee Glass Works Inc. In 1969 he became a scientific glassblower with Pope Scientific Inc., in Menomonee Falls,WI. In 1974 was promoted to Plant Superintendent and head of the custom glassblowing facility. While supervising all phasesof production he was responsible for teaching production trainees,apprentices and journeymen glassblowers. In 1980 Joe joined Argonne National Laboratory in Argonne, IL. In 1985 Joe was promoted to the level of Scientific Associate specializing in apparatus design and in 1997 was promoted to Senior Scientific Associate. Joe has held every office in the Midwest Section and served two terms, 1984­ &1988 as the ASGS National Secretary, ASGS National President-Elect in 1989-90 and theASGS President in 1990-91. Joe won the ASGS Helmut E. Drechsel Achievement Award in1989 and the J. Allen Alexander Award in 1993 and 2014. He has presented many technical papers for which he has been awarded three Dennis Courtney Awards from Andrews Glass Co. He has presented three technical posters, and has demonstrated many technical workshops at the National Symposia. He was honored by receiving the first William A. Wilt Award in 1999 and again in 2003 for his workshop demonstrations. Joe received the first President’s Achievement Award in 2008. Joe has served as the National Junior Liaison Committee Chair since 1988.


 Robert Singer: Bob is a 1978 graduate of Salem Community College. Bob has 38 years of experience working with quartz both in fabrication and design. Bob has been Vice President of Technical Glass Products in Mentor,Ohio since its inception and now heads the company’s Baton Rouge, Louisiana division. Bob had previously been employed by Quartz Scientific of Fairport,Ohio, Quality Quartz and Behm Quartz, both of Mentor, Ohio. In addition, Bob has taken artistic glassblowing courses at Kent State University and Cleveland State University. Bob’s activities for the ASGS include; Chair of the Director of the Pittsburgh Tri-State Section, Director of the Southwest Section, Outreach Committee Chair, ASGS President-Elect in 2006 and ASGS National President in 2007, By-Laws Committee Chair and Past President in 2008. Bob was the Technical Papers Chair for the 39th ASGS Symposium in Pittsburgh, PA and Co-Chair of the 55th Annual Symposium in San Antonio Read More …

SympLogo The American Scientific Glassblowers Society cordially invites you to Milwaukee Wisconsin for our 60th annual Symposium held at the beautiful Intercontinental Hotel in the heart of downtown, right on the Milwaukee river. We’ll be located just a few blocks from festivals, shopping, restaurants, bars, parks, and the bustling shore of Lake Michigan, which are all within easy walking distance. Milwaukee, the city of breweries and the home of Harley Davidson, presents itself as a great escape from the high temperatures of summer found elsewhere around the country. The dates of our event fall right in the middle of Bastille Days, which is one of Milwaukee’s largest festivals, and just 4 blocks from the hotel. The moment you enter the hotel you encounter a luxurious atmosphere that can be found throughout the entirety in this four-star establishment. The rooms are large, comfortable, gorgeous, and each has a wonderful view of the city. The hotel offers several restaurants and bars, along with indoor activities from Ping-Pong to bocce ball. We have quite possibly the most accessible location of any hotel in the area to all of the fun downtown Milwaukee has to offer. Symposium Chair: Patrick Bennett Seminars: Erich Moraine Technical Papers: Sabrina Belanger Technical Posters: Jim Hodgson Artistic Demonstration/Auction Chair: Kyle Meyer Technical Workshops: Tracy Drier Registration Information | Hotel Reservation Information

Thank you to all who have reserved early! Our room block at the Intercontinental Milwaukee is full but we have more rooms available at aLoft Hotel. The aLoft hotel at $159 a night. It’s 4 blocks/.5 miles from our hotel. Rooms can be booked there by either mentioning the “American Scientific Glassblowers Society” room block or with the web link (aLoft Room Block Reservations). The block closes on the 26th.

Schedule of Events Sunday 7/12/2015 BOD Meeting 8-5pm     Welcome Reception 7-10pm     Exhibitor & Workshop Setups All-Day Monday 7/13/2015 Seminars Day 1 8-5pm     Workshops Day 1 8-5pm     Exhibitor Reception 6:30-10pm Tuesday 7/14/2015 Seminars Day 2 8-5pm     Workshops Day 2 8-5pm     Exhibitor Reception 6:30-10pm Wednesday 7/15/2015 Exhibitor Tear-down 8-5pm     Poster Presentations 8-9am     Technical Demonstrations 9-5pm     All Day Art Demonstrations 8-5pm     Art Demo/Auction Setup 5-6pm     Main Event Artistic Demos/ Silent Auction 6-8pm     Charity Auction 8-9:30pm     Auction Tear-Down 9:30-11pm Thursday 7/16/2015 Technical Papers & National Meeting 8-5pm     Banquet Reception 6-7pm     Banquet & Awards Ceremony 7-9:30pm Friday 7/17/2015 Farewell Breakfast Buffet 6-10am  

Workshops Allan Brown Regular Member Workshop (Open to Regular, international, and lifetime members only) Kevin Teaford, scientific glassblower for the University of Utah, continues this time honored tradition of the Allan Brown workshop. This workshop has been designed as the continuation of knowledge, skills, and technique from the Junior member workshops. This is not just for new regular members however, as many of the topics address skills that most glassblowers are not required to use on a daily basis, but may aid in having a more efficient glass facility with higher success rates for production and apparatus design. This workshop is designed to instruct the attendees on different approaches to skills they already are likely using, and teaches some more advanced techniques they may not know as of yet. This year’s curriculum will include manufacturing of a Strauss Flask from beginning to end, complex multi-sealed instructional vessels, and ball-joint check-valve oil bubblers. And further, will involve an advanced lathe technique tutorial. The class is limited to 13 people and fills up quickly. This year’s Instructors include: Kevin Teaford, Jack Korfhage, Neal Korfhage, Philip Legge, and Mike Gnann. Joe S. Gregar Junior Member Workshop (Open to Junior and Student Members only) Chris Bock, proprietor and glassblower for Sea Cube Co. custom glassware, hosts this year’s Junior and Student members in what is considered by many to be our most important offering. This course is designed to examine basic sealing techniques from several different approaches in both borosilicate and quartz glass. Chris along with several other experienced glass workers will be providing our newer members with several different approaches to working glass in this hands-on seminar. Enrollment in this class is extremely limited and competitive, being open to only 12 Junior and Student members, on a first come first served basis.