Celebrating a Century of Glass Technology

You would be welcome at any or all of the events we plan to hold during this special year.

 

Origins

The year 1916 saw the United Kingdom embroiled in war - that war which later generations would describe at The Great War, expressing the hope that this would be "the War to end all wars". Amid the chaos and privations which embraced universities and factories alike, one man had the vision to create a movement deticated to the study and appreciation of glass.







Professor WES Turner established in Sheffield the first university department dedicated to the study of glass in all its aspects. Because his vision included studies of the art, history, design and manufacture of glass, as well as the application of science to these studies, his new department was named "The Department of Glass Technology". In 1916 he also founded a learned society to foster the propagation of these studies and to bring together experts and enthusiasts from every field of glass interest - the Society of Glass Technology.



Such a landmark achievement is worthy of acknowledgement, and we are glad to celebrate it throughout 2016.



 

The Centenary Conference

Our Flagship Event for the centenary year is to be the Centenary Conference, and the Conference Organisers cordially invite all who wish to offer papers for presentation to send in their abstracts. Full details of the Conference and the submission procedures are given here.



For this significant event, Society of Glass Technology will be joining forces with the European Society of Glass to mount a conference which will draw together all the threads of glass study and interest, thus following the vision of our founder Professor WES Turner. He wanted the scientific discipline to burst out of its academic box and enlighten the whole glass community - artists and historians as well as industrialists and scientists.

A Year of Celebration

The year of celebration will be marked by a number of events which, centered on glass and the enthusiasms of those who study it, will reflect the ethos of the Society founded a hundred years ago. We invite you to join us in these celebration events. Details are available here.