Award for Waikato glassblower

16 December 2014

Award for Waikato glassblower

University of Waikato glassblower Steve Newcombe has won the award for the best scientific piece at the 11th Biannual Scientific Glassblowing Symposium in Canberra.

Steve is somewhat of a legend at the symposium, having won three out of the four prizes on offer at the 2012 event and 14 awards in total over the years.

“I worked on a glass instrument for an engineering student which involved an Archimedes Screw. I had a few pieces left over and thought I’d have a go at making something interesting and fun,” says Steve.

Using the glass screws and a motor from his granddaughter’s science kit, Steve produced the scientific piece which sends a set of ball bearings around a circuit. View the circuit in action here.

During the conference, which was held at the Australian National University (ANU), Steve also gave a lecture on 3D printing and led a workshop titled First Surface Silvering.

“This was the biggest symposium yet, with glass blowers from overseas attending alongside the usual Australian and New Zealand attendees. In my opinion it was also the most technically inspiring conference I’ve been to,” says Steve.

At Waikato University Steve works an advanced technical officer in the Faculty of Science & Engineering’s Glassblowing Workshop.

Glassblowing is more than a just a job and Steve says “it beats working for a living”. Throughout his 30 years of scientific glassblowing and 22 years at the University, he has also managed to fit in glass blowing as a hobby, and has created everything from glass caricatures for wedding cakes to a fully functional glass didgeridoo.

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