>> >> INSIDE THE LEDERLE GRADUATE
RESEARCH CENTER ON THE CAMPUS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS
AT AMHERST, YOU'D EXPECT TO FIND RESEARCH LABORATORIES,
CONFERENCE ROOMS, CLASSES AND OFFICES -- ALL SUPPORTING THE
MANY DEPARTMENTS WITHIN THE COLLEGE OF NATURAL SCIENCES.
WHAT YOU MAY NOT EXPECT TO FIND IS A GLASS BLOWING STUDIO.
BUT AS PRODUCER DAVE FRASER EXPLAINS, THIS GLASS STUDIO
PLAYS AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE RESEARCH WORK BEING DONE ON THE
AMHERST CAMPUS.
>> I LIKE IT BECAUSE YOU CAN MAKE ANYTHING WITH GLASS.
YOU CAN ABSOLUTELY MAKE ANYTHING WITH GLASS.
HERE I'M A SCIENTIFIC GLASS BLOWER, AND WHAT THAT MEANS SI
CREATE THINGS LIKE YOU SAID ON LATE NIGHT TV THE MAD SCIENTISTS
AND ALL THE LITTLE THINGS GOING UP AND DOWN.
WELL, THOSE SCIENTISTS NEED CERTAIN THINGS MADE.
CERTAIN THINGS CAN BUY OUT OF THE CATALOG AND SOME THINGS HAVE
NEVER BEEN MADE BEFORE AND THAT'S WHAT I'M HERE TO CREATE
SOME THINGS FOR THEM AND REPAIR THINGS THAT THEY HAVE BROKEN.
WHEN I WAS 13 I TOOK A COURSE AT THE LOCAL YMCA WITH A SCIENTIFIC
GLASS BLOWER FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA AND I APPRENTICE
WITH HIM JUNIOR HIGH AND HIGH SCHOOL AND THEN I WENT TO
COLLEGE AND GOT A DEGREE IN GLASS AND THEN ANOTHER DEGREE IN
LIFE SCIENCE AND ANOTHER DEGREE IN SCIENTIFIC GLASS TECHNOLOGY.
SCIENTIFIC GLASS BLOWER, WE'RE WORKING WITH SPECIFIC TYPES OF
GLASSES IS MAKING SPECIFIC THINGS AND TO GET IT REALLY
PRECISE.
SO I USUALLY TELL PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, PLUS/MINUS .5 MILLIMETERS.
I DON'T DESIGN.
THEY DESIGN IT.
I MIGHT HAVE SOME INFLUENCE ON IT BUT IT'S THEIR DESIGN.
WE HAVE DIFFERENT SIZES OF FLAMES AND DIFFERENT SIZE OF
TORCHES DEPENDING WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON.
WE ALSO HAVE GLASSBLO LATHE THA ROTATE THE GLASS FOR US.
WE HAVE GRINDING WHEELS.
WE HAVE CUTOFF SAWS SO WE CAN DRILL HOLES IN GLASS, ALL
DIFFERENT KINDS OF THINGS THAT WE CAN DO WITH GLASS HERE.
>> SO I HAVE THIS HOSE HOOKED UP TO THE TUBE AND THE OTHER END OF
THE TUBE PLUGGED UP AND SO I CAN BLOW INTO THIS AND GET THE GLASS
TO EXPAND.
IF YOU THINK OF SCIENCE AND YOU THINK OF GLASS THEY'RE KIND OF
INTERMIXED.
WITHOUT THE GLASS YOU CAN'T DO THE SCIENCE, AND SO MUCH HAS
BEEN MADE FROM GLASS.
YOU THINK, OKAY, WE'RE LOOKING THROUGH LENSES THAT'S GLASS.
YOU LOOK AT SEMI CONDUCTORS THAT'S GLASS, YOU KNOW, IT'S
CHANGING AS SCIENCE CHANGES BUT GLASS IS ALWAYS A PART OF IT.
SO YOU THINK OF GLASS AS A VERY STIFF, HARD SUBSTANCE BUT IT CAN
ALSO BE FLEXIBLE AND WE HAVE THIS COIL THAT YOU CAN SEE AND
IT'S PRETTY FLEXIBLE TO SHOW HOW GLASS IS FLEXIBLE.
NOW, WE WOULD USE THAT MAYBE IN SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
THIS IS A CERTAIN TYPE OF CONDENSER.
THIS COIL INSIDE OF HERE WILL ACTUALLY FLEX JUST SLIGHTLY
INSIDE OF THIS.
SO WE HAVE SOME INDEPENDENT STUDIES THIS SEMESTER THAT ARE
COMING IN.
WE HAVE AN ART STUDENT COMING IN AND ALSO A SCIENCE STUDENT
COMING IN.
STARTING NEXT FALL WE'RE GOING TO BE OFFERING CLASSES IN THIS
AND WE'LL ALSO HAVE SOME WEEKEND WORKSHOPS AND STUFF LIKE THAT
STARTING NEXT FALL.
THAT'S LOOKING REALLY GOOD.
GOOD JOB.
>> SO RIGHT NOW I'M WORKING ON MAKING A GLASS TO METAL SEAL.
GLASS AND METAL ARE DIFFERENT PROPERTIES BUT BY HEATING THEM
UP AND FEW DEGREES THEM TOGETHER YOU CAN CREATE AIRTIGHT AND
WATERTIGHT SEALS BETWEEN THE TWO MATERIALS.
THE REASON I'M DOING THIS IS BECAUSE I'M DESIGNING AN
INSTRUMENT THAT EMPLOYS THE TWO MATERIALS TO MAKE MEASUREMENTS
THAT HAVEN'T BEEN MADE BEFORE.
>> I WANTED TO LEARN GLASS FOR A LONG TIME SO WHEN I ENROLLED IN
THE PROGRAM, I ASKED IF I COULD TAKE GLASS AND THE CHEMISTRY
DEPARTMENT AND SALLY WAS KIND ENOUGH TO LET ME DO AN
INDEPENDENT STUDY.
IT HAS LED TO CREATING MY OWN GLASS CITIES AND OTHER SHAPES
AND THINKING OF GLASS IN A WHOLE NEW WAY.
I JUST CONTINUE TO LEARN HOW FAR I CAN GO WITH IT.
>> THE GLASS COMMUNITY IS KIND OF A TIGHT COMMUNITY AND SO I'VE
BEEN TO JAPAN 4 TIMES AND ITALY AND SWEDEN AND HAVE TAUGHT GLASS
THERE AND SHARED GLASS-BLOWING SKILLS THERE.
I'VE BEEN DOING THIS SINCE 1970 AND I'M STILL LEARNING ABOUT
GLASS.