NEWS

Glass Futures, the planned Global Centre of Excellence for Glass in R&D, Innovation and Training, announces the appointment of two new Members to the Advisory Board.

Joining the Advisory Board are Dr Paul Bingham, Reader in Materials Engineering, at Sheffield Hallam University and Gerold Sprachmann, Vice President Glass Factory at Swarovski, Austria.  Both Dr Bingham and Mr Sprachmann bring significant experience of the industry which will be of enormous value in taking Glass Futures forward.

Paul Bingham has a BEng (Hons) degree in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Sheffield and a PhD in glass science and technology.  He is a Reader in Materials Engineering at SHU and has published over 80 research papers in the fields of glasses; glass-ceramics; energy and the environment; waste management and nuclear and toxic waste treatment. He has co-edited and co-authored a book on the subject of low-energy, environmentally-friendly glasses and has a strong track record in attracting research funding from bodies as diverse as Innovate UK, European Union, US Department of Energy, UK Research Councils and industry. Paul is a Fellow of the Society of Glass Technology and currently holds a number of active research grants. 

Gerold Sprachmann is Vice President of the Glass Factory at Swarovski in Wattens, Austria, and has been leading the crystal glass production for 20 years. Gerold is a proven and highly skilled expert in the field of glass making. In the course of his career as developer and leader of the crystal glass production, he has been deeply involved in disruptive innovations. He holds several patents including the patent for lead and barium free crystal glass which set industry standards as ″Advanced Crystal” formula.

Brian McMillan, Glass Futures Chairman said: “We’re delighted to welcome Dr Paul Bingham and Gerold Sprachmann to the Glass Futures Advisory Board. Both are leaders in their respective fields.  They bring a mix of skills and experience which are invaluable in ensuring the success of Glass Futures.”

Paul Bingham said: ‘I’m both honoured and delighted to join the Glass Futures Advisory Board on behalf of Sheffield Hallam University and look forward to assisting in the development of the Centre of Excellence for Glass’.

Gerold Sprachmann said: ‘Having been involved with the growth of Swarovski for more than 20 years, I endorse Glass Futures’ aims to create a Global Centre of Excellence for Glass to develop new methods of manufacture, substantially reducing the industry’s carbon footprint and energy utilisation’.

Ends/07 December 2017

Notes to Editors:

About Glass Futures

Glass Futures Limited, a not-for-profit company, limited by guarantee, has been created as a core entity to allow the evolution of the “Catapult-like” Centre of Excellence in glass comprising R&D, innovation and training and up-skilling.  Central to our proposition is a demonstration-scale glass making facility of 30 tonnes per day capacity.

www.glass-futures.org

Sheffield Hallam University

Sheffield Hallam (SHU) is the seventh largest university in the UK, with 31,484 students and a turnover of £266.5 million. In 2015/6 our students were enrolled on 672 different courses, and more than half of all courses offer integrated practice or work placement opportunities. SHU is in the top five of all UK modern universities for research quality. SHU’s Materials and Engineering Research Institute (MERI) is a dynamic interdisciplinary research institute dedicated to addressing industrial problems through the application of fundamental science and engineering. We have highly successful track record applying cutting edge research to find innovative solutions to industry problems. The quality of our research has been confirmed by the results of the national Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014, where 56% of the submitted research received the prestigious 4* and 3* rating as world-leading and internationally excellent.

www.shu.ac.uk

Swarovski Group

What started in 1895 as a small crystal manufacturing business in Wattens, Austria, has grown to be a leading group of companies. The Swarovski Group comprises Swarovski Optik, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of high-precision long-range optical products such as telescopes and binoculars; Tyrolit, a leading manufacturer of bonded grinding, cutting, sawing, drilling and dressing tools, as well as a provider of tools and machines for the construction industry; and the Swarovski Crystal Business. Swarovski designs, manufactures and sells highest quality crystal, genuine gemstones, created stones, and finished products such as jewellery, accessories and lighting solutions.

The Swarovski Group has revenue of EUR 3.36 billion and employs approx. 32,000 people around the world.

www.swarovskigroup.com

For more information contact Richard Katz, Glass Futures Ltd: rk@glass-futures.org
or Maria Chanmugam, Clevercoms Ltd: maria@clevercoms.com