Category: Symposium 2015

(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.

Seminars Illuminating ApparatusTom Galbraith240x180 (Not included in package pricing) Tom Galbraith is a master neon worker with 30 years of experience in the craft. Further Tom has completed an apprenticeship in scientific apparatus with Bob Ponton at the UW-Milwaukee glass-shop. This unique skill set facilitates his ability to take new and reclaimed scientific laboratory apparatus and turn it into amazing works of neon art. Beyond the artistic aspects of this class, this seminar will teach attendees about vacuum sealing techniques, electrode sealing, and working with inert gases in an air-free environment. Registrants are encouraged to bring apparatus they would like to see illuminated, although some pieces will be provided for those who don’t bring their own. This class is a full day class with a limit of 8 participants. Aldrich Tour and 50-Liter Multi-Neck Flask Demonstration Bill Wasmiller and Kyle Meyer are both senior glassblowers for Sigma-Aldrich Chemical company. They will be providing a tour of their facility, and performing a demonstration of the manufacture of a Multi-Neck 50-Liter Flask. Transportation and lunch will be provided to attendees. Mario AffatigatoGlass Physics and Chemistry Dr. Mario Affatigato is a professor of Physics at Coe College in Cedar Rapids Iowa. He is an active member of the American Ceramic Society, where he is a Fellow and past chair of the Glass and Optical Materials Division, and the American Physical Society. Currently he is the Fran Allison and Francis Halpin Professor in the Physics Department. He also has outstanding collaborations with researchers in Nagaoka, Japan; Modena, Italy; Corning, NY; and Argonne National Laboratory in the US. He will be presenting a seminar on Glass Formation; Tempering (Thermal); Annealing; Crystallization; Properties; Biological applications, Industrial applications, and more. More about this Seminar. The Chemistry of Silvering Glassware Joshua Greenfield is a PhD Candidate at UC Davis. He will be providing a discussion and hands-on tutorial into the glass silvering process from chemicals found around a laboratory. This process can save a glass-shop a good deal of money as compared to purchasing specific silvering kits which have a limited shelf life and are significantly more expensive to purchase. “The Test” From a Vacuum Technology Perspective Gary Coyne is a veteran Glassblower at Cal-State Los Angeles. This seminar is a continuation of the popular Seminar taught at previous symposiums, where the attendees are both tested on their knowledge of Vacuum Technology and further educated on the topic as to provide them with new information and skills to use in their own shops. More about this Seminar. The Great Torch Flame-Off Kyle Meyer is both an established Scientific Glassblower for Sigma Aldrich, and well known in the borosilicate art community. He will be presenting a demonstration of four different brand bench burners (Herbert Arnold, Carlisle, Bethlehem, and Glass Torch Technology [GTT]). And will further weigh the pros and cons of each as compared to the others. Cold Work In the Glass-Shop Ron Bihler is the Director of Research and Development for Precision Glassblowing in Centennial, CO. He will Read More …

Technical Offerings Technical Papers Presentations Sabrina Bélanger, of Memorial University of Newfoundland, hosts this year’s technical papers presentations. Each presenter has written a technical paper and will be discussing their subjects with the use of visual aids. This year’s topics and presenters are as follows: Paper Summaries 1) Bob Ponton – “Batman, The Lone Ranger and The Chemist” 2) Alexander V. Zabula and Tracy Drier – “Structure and Transformation of Glass” 3) Brian Markowicz – “Manufacture and Maintenance of Glassware Used in Isotopic Analysis” 4) Tsuyoshi Nakamura – “Making a Cube Trap” 5) Kevin Bennet and Steven Anderson – “Chemical Vapor Deposition of Diamonds for Deep Brain Stimulation” 6) Joseph S. Gregar- “A Few of My Favorite Hints That Could be Helpful” 7) Richard Ponton – “Design Mathematics for the Glass Shop II: the Dreaded Sequel.” 8) Erin Austerberry, Jennifer Langill and S. Elayne Ashley – “ My Experience at Salem College” [top of page] Technical Demonstrations Tracy Drier, of the University of Wisconsin – Madison, hosts this years technical demonstrations program. He’s lined up an incredible list of talented individuals who will be demonstrating the following subjects: 1) Dennis Briening, Salem Community College – “Apparatus for Sampling Viscous Materials at Desired Levels of Vessels”. 2) Hideaki Hashimoto, Tokyo Seisakusiyo Co.,LTD (Japan) – “Construction of Jacketed Reactor Without the Use of Internal Padding”. 3) Erich Moraine, Wild Rose Glass – “Jigs and Fixtures for Product Consistency”. 4) Sabrina Belanger, Memorial University of Newfoundland – “Construction of a glass blowhose swivel”. 5) Tim Drier, Dow Chemical – “The Use of a Torch Hip-Slide”. 6) Peter Schweifel, Glasobjekte SchweifelGlass (Germany) – “There’s No Business like Glass Business – The Unbearable Lightness of Entertainment”. 7. Christopher Bock, Sea Cube Co. – “Ring-Sealing a 3mm tube to a Flat Bottom” 8) Kyle Myer, Aldrich Chemical Company – “The Uses for a 2 arm Lathe Chuck”. 9) Chris Miller, University of Wisconsin – Madison – “Precision Nozzles Used For Beam Scattering Experiments Studying Chemistry at Gas/Liquid Surface Interface”. 10) Doug Navalinski, NavCor Scientific – “Glass Cutting at the Lathe”. 11) Tom Galbraith, Lumi Scientific – “Fuming Silver and Gold.” 12) Chris Miller, University of Wisconsin – Madison – “Multi-Layered, Benchtop Fusing of Dichroic Glass Incorporated into a Blown Form”. 13) Pat Smythe, Precision Glassblowing Of Colorado – “TBD” [top of page] Technical Posters Jim Hodgson, of Kansas State University, has put together a group of really great posters for this year’s posters presentation. In addition to the usual large scale posters, he has added a one 8.5” X 11” inch poster category as well. This has been done in the past and received a lot of positive feedback, both from presenters and symposium attendees alike. Current Poster Presenters and Titles [top of page]

National ASGS Members Meeting Everyone is encouraged to attend the National Meeting hosted by the society’s Board of Directors. This is your opportunity to have your voice heard by the whole society and play a part in the decision making process. The national meeting is where big decisions are made by the entire voting body of the society on the topics that will guide us into a successful future, where we can continue to pass on our knowledge and skill set for generations to come. The meeting will take place immediately following the AM session of the technical papers presentation, and will be followed by lunch with will be provided to those who attend the meeting.

Artistic Demonstrations & Charity Auction Art Donations and Events Kyle Meyer is hosting our artistic Charity Auctions and Events this year. Each year the Society picks a local charity to give back to the community in which we are holding our symposium. We ask anyone with the ability to provide glass art, or anything else of value, to please donate something to help us give back to the less fortunate in Milwaukee. All-Day Artistic Demonstrations In an attempt to share our passion for glass with the public, members are given the opportunity to have some torch time throughout the day preceding the Artistic Main Event in the evening. Everyone is encouraged to sign up for a 1.5 hour time slot to make something to provide for the charity auction in the evening. There will be 2-3 torches setup for use to people whom have signed up for this entertaing opportunity to not only have fun, but give back to the community as well. Main Event Master’s Demonstrations While the Silent Auction takes place, several big names in the Artistic Glass industry will be demonstrating their skill sets for attendees and the public alike. These items will then be auctioned off at the main charity auction that will immediately follow. Silent Auction The silent auction, held concurrently with the artistic Master’s Demonstrations is a fun way to collect unique glass art, along with a myriad of other donations, for unbeatable prices.