The Norbert J. Kreidl Award for Young Scholars, recognizing research excellence in glass science, is open to all degree-seeking graduate students (MSc or PhD) or those who have graduated within a twelve-month period of 2025 Glass & Optical Materials Division Annual Meeting (GOMD 2025) in Vancouver, BC, Canada, May 4-9, 2025. A letter from a faculty advisor verifying compliance to this rule must accompany the application. The selection is based on an extended abstract of the nominee’s work (approximately 2,000 words plus figures) relevant to interests of the Division.
Nomination Process
All applicants are required to submit two abstracts:
- Submit one short abstract on the ACerS online abstract submission site for the GOMD annual meeting. Contact Karen McCurdy at kmccurdy@ceramics.org for access if the GOMD abstract deadline has passed. This short abstract will be used in organizing the technical program of the meeting and in publication of the meeting’s abstracts.
- Submit an extended abstract of the same title, (2,000 words maximum plus figures and tables) to the GOMD Division Chair Michelle Korwin-Edson for evaluation by the Kreidl Award Committee. Note that the extended abstract (and faculty advisor letter) is required for consideration of the nominee by the Kreidl Award Committee. The winner of the Kreidl Award will be asked to present his/her lecture at a special Awards Session at the 2025 GOMD meeting. The presentation may be co-authored by a faculty advisor, but the technical work must be conducted by the student. The winning presentation will be given by the student only.
The winner receives a $500 honorarium, a certificate, complimentary meeting registration, and a commemorative glass piece.
Attendance at the 2025 GOMD meeting to present the Kreidl lecture is a requirement, so only those who can attend the meeting should apply.
Contact
Nominations should be sent electronically to:
Michelle Korwin-Edson
2024–2025 Chair, Glass & Optical Materials Division
and ACerS Staff Member Vicki Evans
Award Winners
Brian Topper
Brian Topper is a post-doctoral fellow at Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina, USA. He received a BS in Physics from the University of Richmond and an MSc in Materials Science and Engineering from Alfred University. His doctoral work in Optical Science and Engineering was carried out under the supervision of Arash Mafi at the University of New Mexico working on high power laser cooling of ytterbium doped silica. He has authored/co-authored 19 peer-reviewed publications, 1 book chapter, and 18 conference contributions in optics, spectroscopy, and glass science. Brian received the Oldfield Award from the Society of Glass Technology in 2021 for his MSc thesis on highly modified borate glasses. Brian, an ACerS member since 2018, shared the Varshneya-Mauro-Jain Guru-Chela award from GOMD with MSc thesis supervisor, Doris Möncke (Alfred University). He is currently working on fabrication of optical fiber for high energy laser systems at Clemson University’s Center for Optical Materials Science and Engineering Technology (COMSET).