By Alyra Rain, Editor-in-Chief
On April 4th, Dr. John C. Mauro gave the annual Samuel R. Scholes Memorial Lecture in glass science. Prior to the lecture, Dean Gabrielle Gaustad of the Inamori School of Engineering memorialized Dr. Scholes, whom the lecture honors. Dr. Scholes essentially created Alfred’s glass science program, in addition to founding the Scholes Library, which was first located in his house on Main Street. Dean Gaustad also honored this year’s Scholes Scholar award recipient, glass engineering student Elene Taniashvili.
Dr. Mauro, an Alfred alumnus and current professor at Penn State, began the lecture by reviewing his education in glass science, and thanked many of his professors for their help in shaping his career. He then discussed the usefulness, commonality, and beauty of glass, with examples like centuries-old stained glass windows in Paris, and the glass of Westminster Abbey (he did not steal any windows from said abbey, he clarified, but simply recreated its glass).
While the topic is very technical, Dr. Mauro did not bog down his lecture with detailed information about glass structure and physics. He showed diagrams and discussed mathematical principles, but the presentation remained accessible, and sometimes humorous, to a general audience. Overall, the lecture was interesting for everyone in attendance, no matter their level of experience with glass science. The annual Samuel R. Scholes Memorial Lecture is a prestigious Alfred tradition, and Dr. Mauro’s presentation this year was no exception to that history of excellence.