Seminars

The American Scientific Glassblowers seminar is a lecture or presentation from one or more people to symposium participants. They last ½ day to full day seminar. Full day seminars include lunch.

We invite you or someone you know to share a seminar. Please fill out the proposal application and share your expertise in glass.

Introduction to Quartz Working
Monday June 26th
6:00pm - 9:00pm,
Location General Howard Room
Instructor: Bob Singer

This workshop is designed for glassblowers new to working with quartz. This is a 3 hour long seminar that will touch on safety, handling, and cleaning of quartz. This seminar will also discuss what is bloom and how to remove it, basic operations such as flattening the end of a tube, attaching side arms, and attaching quartz windows to the end of a tube.

Cost will be $30.00 for the symposium evening pass, open to the Exhibitor nights on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Plus a Seminar cost of $30.00.

Total for this seminar will be $60.00 each

Wale will provide loaner Quartz Glasses or glasses will be available at a discounted price.

Safety
Tuesday June 27
8:00am - Noon, Location Sacajawaea Room
Instructor: TBA
More information coming soon

Why Did It Do That?
Wednesday, June 28th
8:00am - Noon - Location: General Marshall
Instructor: Erich Moraine

Basic glass physics and fracture analysis to explore the cause of a failure and potentially how to avoid it. How do cracks form? Why do seals fail? What is repairable and how? How to evaluate strain and it's potential for initiating failure. Please bring stories and examples of broken scientific glass tow share, this will be a collaborative seminar.

Erich Moraine is a 1979 graduate of Salem Community College. He has worked both as a production and research glassblwer at a series of glass positions including WA Sales, Aldrich Chemical, University of Nebraska, R.J. Brunfeld, and now self-employed as Wild Rose Glass where he provides scientific glassware design, cunsulti, fabrication and repair services. Erich has been active in the ASGS since 1980 having recently stepped down as chair of teh Midwest Section. He remains active in the scientific glass community offering workshops, seminars and demonstrations at regional section meetings as well as national symposia. He is the father of tree amazing adult daughters and has a small shop next to his country farmhouse in southeastern Wisconsin.

Vacuum History, Science & Technology
(The Theory and Practice)
Wednesday June 28
8:00am - 5:00pm - Location Sacajawea
Instructor: Gary Coyne

This seminar will cover the history of humans creating a vacuum, the physics and laws of vacuums (without the math), pumps used to create a vacuum, traps used for keeping your vacuum system clean, gadgets used to determine what your vacuum is, leak detection, vacuum system design, and what to ask the customer when the customer asks for a vacuum system.

Gary was a scientific glassblower for over 40 years, 32 of which were at Cal State, University, Los Angeles. Gary has held many offices in the ASGS, including Section Director, National Secretary, and President. He has written numerous papers that have been presented at the National Symposia, as well as written many articles that appeared in Fusion. He is the author of The Laboratory Companion. Gary has been retired for the past seven years (and has never been busier).

Techniques of Glass to Kovar Seals
Thursday June 29
8:00am - Noon Location TBA
Instructor: Victor Nunn

Details outlining the proper procedures to prepare Kovar for glassing will be presented, followed by a demonstration of the steps needed to successfully seal glass to Kovar. Both 8250 and 7052 sealing techniques are planned.

A master at his craft Victor Nunn is a respected member of the American Scientific Glassblowers Society (ASGS). Blowing glass since 1981, fashioning some of the world's finest glass-to-metal seals, including stainless steel directly to Pyrex. Passionate about integrating scientific glassblowing principles with artistic applications, Victor enjoys working with local artists whenever his schedule permits.

Elayne Ashley (Co-Chair) is a Scientific Glassblower living and working in the Pacific Northwest area of the United States. Elayne studied Scientific Glass Technology at Salem College as well as Fine Art Glassblowing and Ceramics at Jacksonville University. She worked for Precision Electronic Glass and various other production glassblowing and quartz companies before joining the Chemistry Department at Georgia Institute of Technology as the Scientific Glassblower. She is currently the Scientific Glassblower and Quartz Materials Specialist for Helion Energy, a company working to produce a Fusion energy machine.

Elayne has attended many international conferences including the Glass Art Society, the British Society of Scientific Glassblowers, and the VDG (German/Swiss Society of Scientific Glassblowers), in her passion to connect with Glassblowers on a global scale. Elayne is the current Pacific Northwest section Director for the American Scientific Glassblowers Society and has volunteered much of her time as a demonstrator, organizer and member of the ASGS.

Bob Singer (Co-Chair) started his Glassblowing career in 1972 at Quartz Scientific in Fairport Harbor, Ohio. Attended and graduated from Salem Community College in 1978 and has extensive quartz experience. Bob was employed at Quartz Scientific, Quality Quartz and Behm Quartz, both of Mentor, Ohio, Until 1990 when he co-founded Technical Glass Products, in Painesville Ohio. Bob has been Vice President of Technical Glass Products, in Mentor, Ohio for ten years and now heads the company’s Baton Rouge, Louisiana division. In addition, he has taken artistic glassblowing courses at Kent State University and Cleveland State University. Bob’s activities for the ASGS include Chair of the Outreach Committee, as well as the National Symposium chair from 2017 – 2020, Director of the Pittsburgh Tri-State Section, Director of the Southwest Section, ASGS President-Elect in 2006 and ASGS National President in 2007. Bob was the Technical Papers Chair for the 39th ASGS Symposium in Pittsburgh, PA and Co-Chair for the 55th Annual Symposium in San Antonio, Texas and co-chair at the 62nd Annual Symposium in Austin, Texas and is currently the Seminar/Workshop chair for the 66rh symposium in Vancouver Washington.