Alicia Durán, Research Professor of CSIC, elected for the period 2018-2021 during September meeting in Yokohama, Japan
The Council of the International Commission on Glass (ICG) elected Prof Alicia Durán as its newest president for the period 2018-2021 at its meeting on 25th September 2018 in Yokohama, Japan.
The ICG is an association of scientists and technologists, research centres, universities and companies, whose main objective is to promote and stimulate understanding and cooperation in the fields of glass science and technology, as well as in glass history and art. Founded in 1933, the ICG is now a lively 85 years old; currently it has representation from 33 countries on four continents. Its activities focus on various topics, including education, the promotion of young people, and a structure of 25 Technical Committees, which bring together more than 600 experts in all branches of glass science and technology, www.icglass.org
Spain has participated in the ICG since its founding, being one of the core promoters, together with the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the United States and France. Since 1967 Spain has been represented by the Spanish Society of Ceramics and Glass (SECV), in particular by its Glass Section.
Alicia Durán is a PhD in Physics and a Research Professor at CSIC, the Spanish Research Council. She has developed her entire professional career at the Institute of Ceramics and Glass (CSIC) being the leader of the Glass research group in the Department of Glass. She has also been Secretary of the Glass Section of the Spanish Ceramic and Glass Society for more than 25 years.
Her relationship with the ICG goes back to 1988, when she received the Gottardi Award dedicated to the promotion of young researchers in glasses. Soon after she assumed the scientific secretariat of the 16th International Congress on Glass held in Madrid in 1992. Since she has collaborated in many different activities of the association. In particular, she has participated in its Technical Committee on Education (TC23) for more than 20 years; she is part of the Editorial Board having published several books on the history of the ICG, three editions of ‘Making Glass Better’, based on prospective studies of the sector, and in 2018 ‘Teaching Glass Better’, a textbook that gathers the experience of 10 years of the ICG Summer School in Montpellier.
In 2002, she was appointed as Honorary Treasurer, which involved moving the ICG headquarters to Madrid. She continued in this position until 2015, when she was elected Vice-President. Now she has become the President of the association. It is the first time that Spain has accessed this role in its 85 years, and Prof Duran is the second woman to be awarded the role among the 25 presidents of the association.
The new President has established as her main objectives: the promotion of Education through the ICG Summer School, ICG Winter School, and a new ICG North America School; continuing support for the initiative on Young Scientists and Technologists; and the reinforcement and promotion of the activities of the Technical Committees, accepted as the backbone of the ICG. As new objectives, she is promoting the ICG2030 project as the tool to adapt the structure of the association to the new challenges of the world of glass and will develop a new initiative for the Promotion of Women in the field of glass and in the ICG.
Contact and more information:
Prof J M Parker
Sir Robert Hadfield Building
University of Sheffield
Mappin Street
Sheffield, S1 3JD, UK
e-mail: j.m.parker@sheffield.ac.uk
FAX: +44 114 2225943
About the International Commission on Glass (ICG)
ICG is a non-profit international GLASS SOCIETY consisting of 34 national organizations in glass science and technology. The aim of ICG is to promote cooperation between glass experts.