UFSCar researchers receive award from American Ceramic Society

Edgar Dutra Zanotto has coordinated research on the process of controlled crystallization of glass and the development of vitroceramic materials for more than 35 years

By Karina Toledo

Agência FAPESP – Professor and researcher Edgar Dutra Zanotto, of the Department of Material Engineering at Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar), was chosen to receive the George W. Morey Award granted by the American Ceramic Society (ACerS).

The award recognizes the most relevant research in the field of glass science and technology and was granted for the first time to a Latin American researcher. On the list of awardees is Charles Kuen Kao, Nobel Laureate for his work in light transmission via fiber optics.

“It is an award for researchers with at least 20 years of research experience. It was granted for a body of research developed at the Vitreous Material Laboratory (LaMaV) of UFSCar in the last three decades,” explains Zanotto in an interview with Agência FAPESP.

The researcher founded LaMaV in January of 1977, after he had just completed his education in Material Engineering, and he still coordinates the laboratory. During this period, he has been dedicated primarily to studying the controlled crystallization process of glass and its properties, while working to develop new vitroceramic materials.

“If the crystallization occurs in an uncontrolled manner during the process of manufacturing glass, the product will be ruined. But when the process is controlled, the mechanical, optical, thermal, electrical, magnetic and chemical properties of the material change radically, giving rise to new materials that we call vitroceramic,” he explains.

The technology is present in the hard disks of laptops, the bulbs used in multimedia projectors, cooktop stoves, thermal shock-resistant pans, and mirrors used in large telescopes. The material is also used to manufacture bones and artificial teeth and as a substitute for marble and granite in civil construction.

“These are more resistant high-technology products that do not scratch or stain. They are not cheap, but offer numerous advantages over marble and granite. They can be manufactured in any color and hold their beauty longer,” affirms Zanotto.

The work conducted at LaMaV has guaranteed Zanotto two of the sector’s most important awards. In 1990, he won the Zachariasen Award, granted by the Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids. In 1993, he was awarded the Vittorio Gottardi Memorial Prize, from the International Commission on Glass.

“There are six important international awards related to research with vitreous materials, and our team has won three,” he said.

The award ceremony will be held in May in the city of St. Louis, Missouri, during the annual congress of ACerS’ Glass and Optical Materials Division. On the occasion, Zanotto will present a keynote address on the most relevant results that he, his students, and LaMaV collaborators have achieved.

“It is a major honor. I hope it serves to attract good students and more financing for our research,” he stated.

Currently, Zanotto coordinates the Thematic Project “Kinetic Processes in Glass and Vitroceramics,” funded by FAPESP.

Zanotto also served as an adjunct coordinator on FAPESP’s Scientific Board from 1995 to 2005. During this period, he participated in the creation and coordination of the Technology Patents and Licensing Center (Nuplitec), with the objective of protecting the intellectual property of inventions created through projects funded by the institution.

In the future, he plans to create an education, research and innovation center on vitreous materials, which should bring together specialists from UFSCar and Universidade de São Paulo (USP), along with numerous collaborators from Brazil and abroad.