Scientific Glassblowing Facility

Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division at Argonne National Laboratory operates a state-of-the-art scientific glassblowing facility.  We are very fortunate to have fourth-generation Scientific Glassblower Joseph Gregar on the Chemistry staff. Joe is a world-renowned craftsman, has taught scientific glassblowing all over the country and has mentored many freshman scientific glassblowers. He has 41 years of industrial and research glassblowing experience and is a member of the American Scientific Glassblowers Society. Joe is continuously attending and instructing at national and local scientific glassblowing conferences to keep up to date with the latest technologies and advances.

The unique aspect of the scientific glassblowing facility is the complete full service treatment received by the researchers. The Chemistry Division glass shop has the experience to help researchers from design through fabrication to installation in their labs. The large scope of Joe’s experience allows researchers to obtain everything from specialized custom optical cells to hold samples with very tiny optical flats incorporated into the cell to apparatus and vessels as large as 18” in diameter.

Of course apparatus of varying sizes in between are also routine service to researchers. Under the same guidance is the ability to construct and design all of the apparatus from different types of glass ranging from, but not limited to: soft glass, borosilicate and aluminosilicate glasses and also quartz fabrication.

Joe has spent many years perfecting his skills to produce the highest quality quartz glasswork available in the industry.  Quartz and synthetic quartz materials are needed where high temperature and high purity is imperative for the success of experiments.

The Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division is very proud of the equipment that outfits the glass shop. Some of these include various glass lathes to accommodate glass fabrication of many different sizes, as well as specialty annealing ovens including one that anneals quartz apparatus. We are also proud to have a highly specialized vertical glass lathe for jobs that cannot be fabricated in the conventional horizontal manner. The shop has up-to date cutting and grinding equipment using high quality diamond cutting wheels and diamond core drilling equipment.

The glass shop also maintains an extensive inventory of the latest products and supplies to ensure quick response to researcher’s requests. Our glass shop can accommodate a range of jobs from the sophisticated one of a kind prototype to mid-scale production runs. The glass shop seldom sends work outside to be fabricated. By doing this the glass shop is solely in control of the quality assurance of its products.

Whatever your glassblowing needs, contact Joe Gregar in the Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division's Scientifid Glassblowing Facility.

Joe Gregar
Scientific Glassblowing Facility
Chemistry Division
Bldg. 200, N-wing
Phone: 630-252-3550
Fax: 630-252-9289
E-mail: jgregar@anl.gov