Fostering Glass Research

Professor Alfred R. Cooper, Jr., one of the world’s foremost ceramicists, shared his brilliance with Case students as a professor of ceramic engineering from 1965 to 1992. He helped shape the distinguished careers of Arun Varshneya, MS ’68, PhD ’70, and Robert Smialek, ’65, MS ’67, PhD ’70.

Recently, the former students repaid the favor by endowing a research fund in Cooper’s honor.

The Cooper, Varshneya & Smialek (CV&S) Endowment Fund will provide support for undergraduate students who are undertaking a glass focused senior capstone project. It was established at the Case Alumni Foundation by the couples Arun and Darshana Varshneya and Robert and Anita Smialek.

Creating the fund is an especially fitting act for Varshneya, one of the world’s foremost glass scientists. He developed the glass science and engineering program at Alfred University and helped develop the nearly unbreakable glass for the lifesaving EpiPen. Darshana and Arun chose to fund their generous gift through their IRA Required Minimum Distributions.

Smialek, an esteemed materials scientist and former president and CEO of Applied Innovation Inc., is a longtime supporter of the Case School of Engineering. Anita and Bob provided their support from a donor advised fund.

The CV&S Fund is important to the future of glass science, as undergraduate students are not always able to undertake creative research projects due to a lack of financial support for laboratory time and materials. It will provide future generations with an opportunity to think outside the box, as Cooper often did, and experiment with inorganic glass in new ways.

To learn more about establishing an endowed fund at the Case Alumni Foundation, please contact Stephen Zinram at (216) 368-8841 or stephen.zinram@casealum.org.