Todd Carter gets to play with fire on a daily basis.
Well, perhaps 鈥減lay鈥� isn鈥檛 the right word. Carter is the university鈥檚 scientific glassblower, operating as part of the Department of Chemistry. Inside his shop, under smouldering orange light, he uses fire and heat to mould unique glassware for Dal鈥檚 research community.
鈥淭est tubes and beakers are made by machines, but a scientific glassblower takes glass tubing and rod and precisely fashions individual component pieces according to the dimensions provided by blueprints or design parameters specified by the researcher,鈥� he explains.
The glass used is typically borosilicate glass, and it鈥檚 moulded by oxygen-enriched flames that can reach temperatures of 2000 degrees Celsius or hotter.
Becoming a regional resource
Carter has 28 years of glassblowing experience beginning with an apprenticeship under Master Glassblower Wolfgang Eberhart in Windsor Ontario. He then graduated with an associate degree in glassblowing from Salem College in southern New Jersey 鈥� the only program of its type in North America. He then worked for a decade at the University of Alberta, acquiring advanced techniques from two other highly experienced glassblowers.
He came to Dal three years ago. Most of his work is with the Department of Chemistry but his glass blowing shop is starting to work with other Faculties, as well as other educational institutions.
鈥淭he intent is to become a regional resource centre in the Maritimes, as this specialty is somewhat rare in Canada,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e currently building a new glass shop which will expand our production capabilities鈥� [it] should open spring or summer of this year.鈥�
In addition to custom productions, a good amount of the shop鈥檚 work is in repairs, as it鈥檚 far less expensive to fix something than have it replaced altogether.
Compelling work
Sometimes, the jobs can be rather interesting.
鈥淚 have been privileged to have been able to provide vacuum manifolds and rotovap glassware to Alzheimer researcher Don Weaver鈥檚 group, as well as assist Gregory Welch, who鈥檚 new to the department, in outfitting his new lab,鈥� he says.
鈥淎lso by working with other departments, I was able to collaborate with Keith Taylor in providing the custom quartz components used in assembling the new ultra high vacuum (UHV) carbon extraction line for John Gosse and the AV俱乐部 Geochronology Centre.鈥�
Undoubtedly, Dal researchers will be providing Todd Carter with similarly compelling work, hopefully for years to come.