14 June 05
Caithness Glassblower Heads For USA Symposium
Chicago, where reputedly the wind constantly blows, should prepare to batten down the hatches at the end of this month; it has been chosen as the venue for this years Symposium of the American Scientific Glassblowers Society!

Ian Pearson, scientific glassblower with UKAEA at Dounreay, has been invited to attend and present a paper at the event, which will be attended by some 200 fellow professionals from all over the world. Ian, who is chairman of the British Society of Scientific Glassblowers, said it was an honour for both him, and his employer, to receive this invitation. “It will be an opportunity for me to experience the many different aspects of working with glass, which in these times might be reducing in the amount used, but the requirements are becoming more specialised,” said Ian.

Ian’s paper will concentrate on the role that the glassblowing department played during Dounreay’s operational period, and how it has adapted to meet new challenges brought about by the site’s current focus, the safe decommissioning of the former nuclear site.

With this latter point in mind, Ian is hoping the symposium will help him increase his knowledge. “There are a number of specialised training sessions planned, and I would hope that these would help me develop new glassblowing skills that would be beneficial to a number of ongoing projects at Dounreay,” said Ian.