Student Injured On School Property By Unsafe Glass Door

Case Overview

One of the children pushed a fellow student who fell into a glass door. The impact of the student shattered the door completely, severely injuring the student. It was alleged that this type of door was unfit for this facility because the force from the push should not have caused the door to shatter. An expert in glass was sought to examine the door in question and discuss whether this type of glass was appropriate for use in this school.

Questions to the Materials expert and their responses

Please explain your experience with glass.

I have taught, studied and worked on glass related projects for nearly 40 years. I have taught glass manufacturing, especially thermally treated glass, for over 30 years.

Are you able to determine whether the glass was appropriate for this type of facility?

From the fracture pattern, I can tell whether the glass was thermally tempered, which will further determine whether the glass was appropriate for the application. I have examined similar cases involving tempered glass.

About the expert

This expert has over 35 years of experience in the field of glass science and engineering. He earned his BA in chemistry from Capital University and his PhD in physical chemistry from Purdue University. He is active in his field as a member of numerous professional societies, including the American Ceramic Society and the Materials Research Society. He has been the principal investigator for over $21,000,000 in sponsored research contracts and grants in glass science and engineering from agencies including NASA, the US Department of Energy, the US Navy, and the National Science Foundation. In addition, he has published nearly 200 journal articles, abstracts, books, and book chapters, and is the owner of 12 patented inventions. He formerly served as an associate staff member of metallurgy and ceramics, condensed matter physics, and materials engineering and physics at Ames Laboratory. He is recognized as one of the world?s leading glass scientists and has won the George W. Morey Award in glass from the glass and optical materials division of the American Ceramic Society for contributions to his field. Currently, he serves as a distinguished professor of materials science and engineering at a major university and an associate staff member of materials science and engineering at a prominent university-affiliated national laboratory, both located in Iowa.