Heart of glass

Paul Le Pinnet is SOG Group’s Chief Scientific Glassblower. He is a fellow of The British Society of Scientific Glassblowers and has written numerous scientific papers, contributed to glassblowing journals and has been awarded an OBE.

Congratulations on your award! You’ve been a glassblower for 50 years, how did you enter this profession? In 1960 I joined Unilever as a “trainee” learning about the companies various chemical products which happened to be sodium and potassium silicate (water glass) which was made in large glass furnaces. I was taught simple analysis eventually progressing to laboratory work while attending Warrington Technical College and progressively more complex work while coming into contact with all forms of laboratory glassware, culminating with vacuum lines which were far more interesting than routine analysis. I made a decision to follow the scientific glassblowing aspect further. In 1966 I had found a course in London and resigned from Unilever. Fortunately I found that I had an aptitude to glassblowing, the gamble had paid off and with a determination to succeed I did six months full time training at the end of which I gained a further seven years training at Manchester University – covering a vast range and type of glassware and so it began…

What do you enjoy the most about your job? Over the years I have found that the problem solving aspect of the work, and working closely with people from all branches of science, while using such skills as I possess to help design and enable someone’s project to progress has given the most enjoyment. It’s been nice to come to work!

Is there one piece you’ve made that is particularly memorable and why? I think the most memorable piece was an Ebuliometer. I had found a drawing of one while working at ICI Mond Divisions Research Centre at Winnington, Cheshire. Its design was based upon the need to analyse a polymer which eventually was found to be polythene. I thought the design challenging and made one. I was pleased with the final piece and entered it into the British Society of Scientific Glassblowers, Norman Collins competition for glassblowing excellence – l and won! The design is now one of the test pieces for a master glassblower. I would also mention that having made a gas laser then to see it on a test bed and actually working was fantastic!

There are less than 200 scientific glassblowers in the UK – does this worry you? I have always been concerned by the low numbers within the profession. I am aware that glass is used less and less within the laboratory but there is still a need for a material which is relatively inert but with the big advantage that one can see how the chemicals are reacting. Standard catalogue items of glassware, as good as they are, can cause the chemist to say three little words “can you just...”, can you just alter this or that. Without a scientific glassblower the answer is quite often No. We have seen the demise of the larger chemical companies who were capable of supporting large research establishments with in-house facilities where young people can be trained. A research scientific glassblower takes seven years to train, which is a long time commitment for both the company and the trainee. I am concerned as at the moment there are no training centres in this country although there are in Germany, America, and France and around the world.

Tell us a bit about the book you have written... In September 2014 I was approached by Imperial College Press in association with World Science Publications and asked if I would be prepared to write a training manual on scientific glassblowing as there had been few if any for decades. I looked upon this as a chance to repay those who had trained me. I would take this opportunity to pass on what skills I may have to trainee glassblowers, students, those who require a working background knowledge of a glasses potential and also to those who may have a general interest in all things glass. There will be a technical and safety aspect to the book together with a practical step by step explanation of how to make various items and also the tools required. I have asked respected glassblowers from around the world to contribute an article with respect to an interesting piece of glassware while importantly explaining the problem solving and sequence of manufacture. I submitted my final draft to the publishers in July last year. Laboratory Scientific Glassblowing: A practical training method will be published in various languages and will also be available in e-book format.

Paul joined SOG Group when they bought the ex-ICI chemicals HQ site in 2000 and transformed it into a business and technical park. Instead of working exclusively on ICI-related projects, SOG promoted Paul’s unique skills to a far wider audience. Over the past 15 years he has undertaken assignments for research & development scientists from across the UK and around the world. He was made an MBE in The Queen’s Birthday Honours List in June, 2016.

Watch Paul and his fellow scientific galssblowers in action on our exclusive video at: http://tinyurl.com/hv5dlxg