Glass is a solution to many modern challenges, and there remains ample opportunities for further improvements. William LaCourse, Emeritus Professor of glass science in the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, shares how several serendipitous encounters with giants in the glass field led to his employment at Alfred, highlights some of the untapped markets for ion-exchanged glass products, and gives some fun anecdotes from his time as the Alfred sports announcer for football and basketball.
View the transcript for this episode here.
About the guest
William LaCourse is Emeritus Professor of glass science in the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. He has conducted extensive research in the field of glass strengthening, with a current focus on ion-exchange processing of commercial soda-lime-silica glasses, as described in the May 2025 ACerS Bulletin.
About ACerS
Founded in 1898, The American Ceramic Society is the leading professional membership organization for scientists, engineers, researchers, manufacturers, plant personnel, educators, and students working with ceramics and related materials.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com