Penn State University has officially launched the Center for Glass Research (CGR), a major initiative dedicated to advancing glass science and industrial innovation. The center unites leading experts from Penn State, Alfred University, and the Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) to address the glass industry’s most urgent technical and environmental challenges.
Directed by Dr. Maziar Montazerian, assistant research professor of materials science and engineering at Penn State, CGR will focus on developing energy-efficient glass manufacturing methods, low-carbon melting processes, and high-performance glass compositions. The center aims to integrate experimental testing, computational modeling, and machine learning to design and optimize next-generation materials.
John Mauro, Penn State’s Dorothy Pate Enright Professor and Department Head of Materials Science and Engineering, notes that the initiative comes at a critical time as the industry faces increasing demands for decarbonization, durability, and advanced functionality. The three universities previously collaborated under the National Science Foundation’s Industry-University Cooperative Research Program, building partnerships with key glass manufacturers and contributing to breakthroughs in optical, biomedical, and defense applications.
The CGR kickoff meeting, bringing together academic and industry leaders, will take place at Penn State on October 29, 2025, officially marking the start of a new era in collaborative glass research and sustainable innovation. 
Source: USGlassMag with additional information added by Glass Balkan
