60 seconds with...

60 seconds with... University Glassblower, Steve Williams

Our new video series 鈥�60 Seconds with鈥︹€� offers a glimpse into the brilliant work happening across the University, spotlighting the people in our community who work together to make 糖心TV special. Our first episode meets Steve, our resident glassblower, whose craft has quietly shaped world-leading research over the last 30 years.

"It really is a unique and rewarding role and I鈥檝e been lucky to have a job that I鈥檝e enjoyed for so long. It鈥檚 also quite therapeutic at times.

Everything I make is bespoke, test tubes and common bits of glassware are mass produced, I make the things that you can鈥檛 buy off the shelf. If there鈥檚 a specific bit of glassware that鈥檚 needed for an experiment, something intricate or complex then I鈥檓 your man. I鈥檓 not perfect, it鈥檚 such a volatile material and mistakes do happen! The great thing with that though is I鈥檓 always recycling, if I make something and it gets broken, I can mend it. I like to think I鈥檓 doing my bit for the planet."

Transcript

Steve Williams: As a 16鈥憏ear鈥憃ld school leaver, I knew that I wasn't going to be a world鈥憀eading scientist, but what I didn't know was the contribution that I was about to make to world鈥憀eading science.

Now I work at the University, or have been since 1993, which is over 30 years. I've made a lot more bespoke stuff and got involved with a lot. When I first started glassblowing, my focus was on actually just making the item and not really thinking about who's gonna use this and what it's gonna be used for.

But then when I started working at the University and the work was more interesting, you just ask the question and what they're using it for, and so I've done a lot of work for Cancer Research, Jaguar, Rolls鈥慠oyce, Wall's Ice Cream.

All the work I do is not just limited to Chemistry. It's used in a lot of the scientific disciplines. I actually love glassblowing, love doing what I do. I'm a doer, and I love a challenge.

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