The Glass & Optical Materials Division invites nominations for the Stookey Lecture of Discovery, named in honor of materials pioneer Dr. S. Donald Stookey. Dr. Stookey created major life-changing inventions including photosensitive and photochromic glasses, and glass-ceramics and in 1986 was presented with the National Medal of Technology from President Ronald Reagan in recognition of his scientific achievements.
This award recognizes an individual’s lifetime of innovative exploratory work or noteworthy contributions of outstanding research on new materials, phenomena, or processes involving glass, that have commercial significance or the potential for commercial impact.
The winner presents a distinguished lecture at the Glass & Optical Materials Division Annual Meeting and receives a glass piece and a $1000 honorarium sponsored by Corning Incorporated and Coe College. The criterion for winning the award is technical innovation.
Nomination Process
Nomination package should include:
- Sponsor’s executive summary;
- Patents and publications related to the nominee’s career and discoveries;
- Two letters of recommendation by those knowledgeable of the nominee’s technical achievements and pre-eminence in their fields.
For more details on all GOMD awards you may qualify for, see the attached GOMD Awards Table.
Contact
Nominations should be sent electronically to:
Jose Marcial
2025–2026 Chair, Glass & Optical Materials Division
and ACerS Staff Member Vicki Evans
Award Winners
Daniel Schwoerer
Daniel Schwoerer attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison from 1961 to 1969, studying art and engineering. He earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering, with graduate studies in Mechanics of Materials, and special studies in the graduate art department under Harvey Littleton, the father of the American Studio Glass Movement and a pioneer of contemporary glass art.
In 1974, he co-founded Bullseye Glass Co with Ray Ahlgren and Boyce Lundstrom to produce hand-rolled colored sheet glass from recycled bottle glass. Inspired by the Oregon Bottle Bill of 1971—the first legislation of its kind in the United States—the company from the outset linked material innovation with resource stewardship, serving the emerging contemporary stained glass field. In 1977, Bullseye was awarded a U.S. patent for formulations to manufacture opalescent glass from recycled bottle cullet.
In the early 1980s, Bullseye developed a comprehensive palette of fusing-compatible colored glasses that could be combined without residual stress in the finished work, opening a new way of working with colored glass in applications for both art and architecture.
Schwoerer continues to work with a team of creative people at Bullseye, where each day is filled with uplifting activity—from collaborating with artists in residence to formulating new glass colors to the fabrication of large architectural projects. Rarely a dull moment!
Education has always been central to Bullseye’s mission. Together with his partner, Lani McGregor, he has long focused on children’s education, using glass to lead children beyond the danger they’ve been taught to associate with glass (don’t touch it, it breaks, it will hurt you!), to spark curiosity, and then to transform that curiosity into learning. They sponsor classes for children ages 5 to 11, where students cut, break, and fuse glass to create self-portraits, animal figures, and more. The kids thrive on it. Watching glass melt and fuse in the kiln naturally leads to deeper questions: Why does it flow? Why can it be scored and broken? The success of the program led Schwoerer and McGregor to establish a foundation promoting glass as a tool for teaching science to young learners.
This same commitment to responsible, socially beneficial material use extends to Bullseye’s pursuit of continual innovation in its operations. In 2004, for example, the company received the City of Portland Water Conservation Award in recognition of its investment in a cooling water recycling system that reduced water consumption by 60%. And in 2005, Bullseye converted its air-gas furnaces to oxy-gas, reducing carbon emissions by 40% and NOx emissions by nearly 90%.
Schwoerer’s contributions to the field have been recognized with several honors, including the Glass Art Society Honorary Lifetime Membership Award (2005), the American Association of Contemporary Glass Award (2023), and the Coolest Thing Made in Oregon Award (2025), presented by Oregon Business & Industry—recognitions that reflect a career defined by advancing glass not only as a creative and engineered material, but as one that brings people together through shared process, education, and discovery.