UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Center for Glass Research and the Materials Research Institute’s (MRI) Materials Characterization Lab (MCL) will hold a webinar titled “Optimizing Glass Surfaces for Manufacturing: From Root Causes to Real Solutions” on Wednesday, April 8, from 1 to 2 p.m.
Penn State’s glass research ecosystem enables partners to address surface‑driven performance challenges, such as rapid, targeted analyses and long-term fundamental research collaborations. From architectural glazing and containers to automotive glass, advanced packaging, and functional coatings, glass surfaces are an increasingly critical driver of performance, reliability, and product differentiation across manufacturing sectors. Yet many surface‑related failures trace back to subtle chemical and structural effects that are difficult to detect without surface‑sensitive tools and specialized expertise.
This webinar will provide a brief introduction to the core challenges associated with glass surfaces, explaining why surface chemistry, morphology and processing history often control real‑world outcomes such as adhesion, durability, corrosion resistance, and optical performance. Attendees will gain a practical primer on how glass surfaces interact with coatings, environments, manufacturing processes and why traditional bulk measurements often fall short.
The session will also highlight real‑world industrial case studies from MCL, demonstrating how advanced tools such as XPS, AFM, FTIR and related techniques are used to diagnose failures, identify root causes, and guide engineering decisions.
The live session will enable attendees to learn more, share their thoughts and ask questions for the expert panelists. More information, including how to register, can be found at the Materials Research Institutes event page.