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Glassblowers Have Important Science Jobs

03 Jan, 2014 | Labroots

When most of us think about potential science jobs that may hold promise as a career choice, glass blower isn’t typically one of the first areas that comes to mind. However, an article in New Scientist explains the important role that scientific glass-blowers play in the overall scheme of things. The story focuses on Stephen Ramsey, the scientific glass-blower at Imperial College London, who is on hand when experiments go wrong and equipment needs to be repaired. As the resident glass-blower, Stephen also designs and creates custom-made tools that are used for research. Stephen came to be in his current position when he realized the need for faster repair of equipment. Previously, students would need to wait as much as eight weeks to get repairs from an external company. Sometimes, in particular, when students were working towards their master’s degree, losing weeks put them in a situation where valuable time was lost that could make the difference in whether their degree was completed. Stephen realized that repairing equipment and getting it back to the students the next day would have a big impact on a lot of people. In their quest to find answers, scientists require solutions to science questions that cannot be answered with traditional procedures and equipment. Scientists often turn to Stephen for the unique designs required for their specific research. Although he left school with the dream of being an engineer, the job that found him is a bridge between science and art. This choice has come with a long period of training, including five years to learn the basic skills and five years of focusing on design, to become a senior glass-blower. Stephen’s experience and career choice are evidence that there are many careers in science that may not be as obvious as basic research assistant jobs, but which appeal to the talents and interests of a variety of individuals.