Engineering
Charles R. Kurkjian
Dr. Charles “Chuck” Kurkjian specializes in the study of the mechanical properties of glass. This involves the measurement of fundamental properties of simple and commercial glasses and the mechanical properties and reliability of lightguide fibers. Achievements include development of ultrasonic, fluorescent and lightguide glasses, strengthening and fusion splicing of optical fibers, determination of the composition dependence of strength and indention behavior of glasses.
Dr. Kurkjian received the B.Sc. in Ceramics from Rutgers University and the Sc.D. in Ceramics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has worked at Sheffield University, Bell Laboratories, and Bell Communications Research. He was a visiting research collaborator at Princeton University, is currently a visiting scientist at Rutgers University and an Adjunct Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Southern Maine.
He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the Academy of Ceramics, the American Ceramic Society, and the Society of Glass Technology. He was Distinguished Visiting Professor at American University of Cairo, Visiting Fellow at Churchill College, University of Cambridge, National Academy of Sciences Visiting Scholar in the U.S.S.R. and Adjunct Professor at the Gwanju Institute of Science and Technology in Korea.
Dr. Kurkjian has more than 180 scientific and engineering publications, has edited several books and scientific proceedings, and holds seven patents.
We often see Chuck in the mechanical engineering laboratory, where he is either making indentations in glass or studying their tensile strength by making such measurements in a 2-point bending apparatus. To learn more, visit his web site: http://glass-fracture.org.
Chuck Kurkjian lives in Falmouth with his wife Dorrie. Hobbies include music, cycling and skiing.
