Celebrate the International Year of Glass with Events around the World
Leah Poffenberger, Corporate Communications Manager, Optica
After naming 2022 the International Year of Glass, the United Nations kicked off a worldwide celebration of glass and its applications with an opening ceremony on 10 February. The event, featuring 30 speakers from around the world, reflecting on the history of glass, its applications and its role in future scientific endeavors, was the first of many this year exploring the wonders of glass.
Consider celebrating glass this year by attending one of the below events, or checking out the International Year of Glass events calendar.
US National Day of Glass
The North American International Year of Glass Steering Committee held a National Day of Glass event from 5 to 7 April, in Washington, D.C. While the event itself was invitation-only, gathering executives, government officials and other VIPs in the world of glass, recordings of the talks will be available online from the American Ceramics Society starting April 11.
The event featured technical programming and talks from the important minds in the glass industry, art community, government agencies and educational speakers. Among the speaker were Optica Fellows Kathleen Richardson (University of Central Florida), Anuradha Agarwal (MIT) and John Ballato (Clemson University) as well as Corning Incorporated CEO Wendell Weeks and Sethuraman Panchanathan, Director of the National Science Foundation.
Events Exploring Glass in Art
While glass is the backbone of optics and other industries, it also lends itself to beautiful art. Explore glass art and history from all over the world through International Year of Glass events taking place online.
The Worshipful Company of Glaziers & Painters of Glass, a charitable organization based in London, UK, is hosting Ukrainian glass artist Oksana Kodnratyva for a webinar on 19 April exploring the legacy of Ukrainian stained glass. In addition to celebrating the work of glass artists, the event will collect donations for humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
Spanish artist David Hierro has launched a project, May the Glass be With You, aiming to show “365 audiovisuals with glass as a protagonist” for each day of the International Year of Glass. The project highlights glass artists with video content in five languages—English, Spanish, French, Catalan, and Portuguese.
The Glass Study Centre in Venice, Italy, presents Glass Pills, Glass designers and masters: a series of video interviews dedicated to Venetian glass artists Simona Iacovazzi, Martino Signoretto, Alessandro Bubacco and Roberto Beltrami who work and explore the different aspects and perspectives of glassmaking. The Italian-language videos will be published by the Giorgio Cini Foundation in March, April, May, and June.
Other events celebrating glass in the arts are taking place in person around the world. Find one in a city near you here.
Educational Opportunities in Optics and Glass Science
To celebrate the International Year of Glass, the Joensuu Summer School on Optics at the Institute of Photonics at the University of Eastern Finland will hold a course on glasses in optics. Masters-level students can apply by 15 June to attend the summer course “Glasses for optical fibers and other applications, an example of physicist work in industry during 1978-2016” on 9 to 16 August.
The Alfred University Summer Institute in Alfred, New York, United States is also hosting a special Year of Glass educational event for high school students. Music and Magic with Glass Engineering will offer students a deep dive into glass engineering with at a week-long summer camp session.
Celebrate with Optica
Optica is continuing to celebrate the International Year of Glass by reflecting on its immense role in optics. To learn more, read OPN’s feature article Optical Fiber: Through the Looking Glass and the Discover Optica blog post on optics and the International Year of Glass. Stay tuned for a special edition of Optical Materials Express “Celebrating Optical Glass” to be released in July!
