For more than a decade, Corning has hosted its annual Gordon S. Fulcher distinguished scholar program, allowing faculty from academic institutions to take part in a sabbatical program within Corning’s Research & Development organization.
Sullivan Park welcomed Professor David Sidebottom, professor of physics at Creighton University, for a sabbatical that ran from June 2023 to December 2024. During his time at Corning, Professor Sidebottom has been working on model oxide glass systems and photon correlation spectroscopy on chalcogenide glasses.
“The understanding of composition dependent dynamic processes is critical for almost all Corning glass products,” said Ozgur Gulbiten, Research Associate, Thermophysical Properties, and chair of the Fulcher Sabbatical Committee. “Glass development relies on the understanding of the physics governing the behavior of products, and academic level fundamental research has direct and long-term impact on our glass business.”
Sidebottom used his time at Corning to build on his diagnostic capabilities in a variety of areas.
“I come at glass from the perspective of a physicist with no real thought about applications. To me, glassy materials represent a larger forum of discussion that encompasses related phase transitions such as gelation, aggregation and second order transitions that just have many unanswered riddles,” Sidebottom said. “Despite the application-driven mindset at Corning, I have come to appreciate how Corning scientists are genuinely curious about some of these same unanswered riddles.”
The sabbatical program was named after Dr. Gordon Scott Fulcher, a Corning glass and ceramics scientist who worked at the company 1920 until 1934. Dr. Fulcher was responsible for pioneering research and development of refractory materials with high electrical resistivity and introducing the Fulcher equation for viscosity.
“The thing that has always fascinated me most in glass science is peculiar way that the glass transition seems dependent on the perspective of the observer,” Sidebottom said. “When we sample the dynamics too quickly a material can appear frozen, but if we are more patient the material still appears to be flowing. To me, it is this inherent ambiguity about the transition which still retains an element of mystery.”
Since 2014, Corning has hosted many talented professors from across the globe through the Fulcher Sabbatical programs with the goal of further strengthening relationships between academia and the glass industry.
“At Corning, we care about the future of glass overall, and this program provides us with valuable insight into areas where more collaboration can exist,” Gulbiten said.
