Welcome to the Glass Age

13 1. Creating a United Nations International Year of Glass J ohn M. P arker , A licia D urán and L. D avid P ye A seed is sown In 2014 L. David Pye, Past President of The International Commission on Glass and The American Ceramic Society, learned that The United Nations General Assembly had declared 2015 an International Year of Light and Light- Based Technologies. As editor of The International Journal of Applied Glass Science (IJAGS) he realized that it was an opportune moment to showcase “Glass and Light” through a special edition. In 2016 a second special edition dealt with the emerging paradigm that we have entered The Age of Glass . David L. Morse and Jeffrey W. Evenson, senior administrators, Corning Inc., eloquently summarized this new thinking in their contribution “Welcome to the Glass Age” which was strongly reinforced by other contributions in this issue. Collectively and individually they argued that we are at a special moment in time where the arrival of The Age of Glass can be declared —with certainty and pride— by glass scientists, engineers, educators, artists, and glass manufacturers across the globe. From all of this, it is clear that glass has played a major role in advancing civilization and mankind throughout recorded history be it in the arts, architecture, transportation, medicine, communication, and especially important, other branches of science. Had it not been for glass, the microscopic biological world might never have been revealed, nor would we have discovered the universe beyond the earth, moon, and stars. How can we not marvel that several centuries ago glass allowed light to enter darkened buildings while keeping away the cold,