UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The 2023 Nelson W. Taylor Lecture in Materials will be held from 8:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. on Thursday, April 20, in the HUB-Robeson Center’s Freeman Auditorium on Penn State’s University Park campus. The theme of this year’s lecture series is "Frontiers in Glass Science and Technology."

Keynote speaker Arun Varshneya, president of Saxon Glass Technologies Inc. and professor emeritus of glass science and engineering at Alfred University, will deliver the keynote “Technical glass products in the service of humans” at 11:20 a.m.

Contribution of glass as a material to the service of humans was recognized by the United Nations General Assembly in its declaration of 2022 as the International Year of Glass. Varshneya’s presentation will continue that celebration by briefly reviewing three of the many topics associated with the use of glass products in the service of humans: strength, healthcare and sustainability.

The Nelson W. Taylor Lecture in Materials also includes three additional talks by Penn State faculty, sponsored by the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences’ Department of Materials Science and Engineering. All talks are free and open to the public.

• At 8:20 a.m., Shadi Nazarian, associate professor, Stuckeman School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, will present “Concrete glass frontiers.”
• At 9:15 a.m., Seong Kim, distinguished professor of chemical engineering and professor of chemistry and materials science and engineering, will present “Solving the puzzle invented by the devil – glass surface.”
• At 10:20 a.m., John Mauro, Dorothy Pate Enright professor of materials science and engineering, will present “Throwing stones in glass houses.”

The Nelson W. Taylor Lecture Series in Materials Science and Engineering honors the memory of Nelson W. Taylor (1869-1965) who was head of Penn State's Department of Ceramics from 1933-1943. During his tenure as department head, Taylor refined the ceramics undergraduate curriculum, strengthened the graduate program, expanded ties with industry and was able to attract important scientists to the faculty. He is recognized as the individual most responsible for establishing the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences as a major center for ceramics research. The Nelson W. Taylor Lecture Series was established in 1969 and has consistently attracted scientists of international prominence.

For more information, visit matse.psu.edu/2023-taylor.