Glass and Glass-ceramic

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Design the future with glass!

Glass is a material with outstanding material applications. The most obvious property, the transparency, ensures that glass is used in many fields of application. Double and triple glazed windows ensure that buildings are energy-efficient and that we can at the same time let light into the interior of our houses and cars. High-resolution smartphone displays with scratch-resistant surfaces or light-guiding glass fibers connect us worldwide and are the prerequisite for extremely fast communication. Without glass, modern wind power plants or similar ecologically valuable renewable energies such as solar energy from photovoltaic systems would not be as efficient. Even our view into the long past times of the universe would not be possible if the optical glass industry were not able to build large telescopes. Glasses, modern LASER systems or the well-proven microscopy techniques that are a standard in every laboratory are only made possible by the material and the knowledge of glass. The properties of the different glasses are adjusted by the chemical composition and the process control during the production according to the target condition.

Glass in life sciences.

Usually glasses are corrosion resistant compared to many other materials. For this reason, e.g. container glasses do not influence the taste of food. The properties of glasses can be adjusted to react with solutions by changing the chemical composition. So-called bio-glasses are able to be dissolved by body fluids and hence accelerate the healing process.

Glass industries in Germany.

In recent years, manufacturers of container and flat glass in Germany have recorded rising sales volumes. On the one hand, this trend can be attributed to the fact that people in our society again attach more importance to recyclable and reusable bottles. On the other hand to the popularity of flat glass among architects and designers from the construction industry. Due to the fragility and high transport costs of glass products, it can be expected that the glass industry will certainly remain located in Germany.

Interested?

If the material glass appeals to you and you would like to participate in its development, then you can set the foundation with a study in Materials Engineering, Materials Science or Business Administration and Engineering, Materials and Process Engineering. After the basic subjects in the Bachelor's program, you have the chance to delve deeper into the world of glass and glass ceramics in the Master's program. You are also welcome to contact our chair if you would like to get more information about the study of glass or current research topics.