Kathleen Richardson of UCF was one of the international experts that kicked off the United Nation’s Year of Glass celebration. Richardson directs the Glass Processing and Characterization Laboratory, where her team designs and processes novel glass materials for numerous and varied applications.

“Most people don’t realize the role glass plays in our lives,” Richardson says. “From Egyptian glass art to infrared security cameras made possible because of glass with special properties, glass has changed our lives. And only now is glass really being recognized for its versatile and renewable possibilities as a sustainable option for challenging problems.”

• Kathleen Richardson