Research and Development
Living the pioneering spirit
Our company founders set out to advance the world with groundbreaking glass innovations, fueling science and inspiring progress in a huge range of industries. Our researchers and engineers carry on this tradition with great passion and motivation, always striving to stay one step ahead, driving glass innovations forward to advance sustainable breakthroughs.
Our Expertise
19th Otto Schott Research Award
The Otto Schott Research Award acknowledges exceptional scientific and technological achievements in the area of ground-breaking glass and materials science. Whether talented young scientists, seasoned researchers, or innovative thinkers: Let’s pave the way to a brighter future together.About the award
Innovation is in our DNA. So, every two years, excellent researchers are honored with the Otto Schott Research Award for their scientific and technological achievements in basic and applied research in the fields of glass, glass-ceramics or related special materials. The Ernst Abbe Fonds is granting the award, that has been set up by the Carl-Zeiss-Foundation together with SCHOTT and ZEISS. First presented in 1991, it recognizes outstanding scientific achievements in fundamental research and technology development of special materials, components, and systems for applications like optics and electronics, solar power, health, and living. It is also intended to encourage support for collaboration between science and industry. The Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft manages the Ernst Abbe Fonds, which is responsible for funding the endowment of 25,000 €. Past winners include experts from fields like physics and chemistry representing nations such as the United States, Japan, China, Germany, and various European countries. It is named after the founder of the SCHOTT AG Otto Schott, who is considered the inventor of modern glass technology. Borosilicate glass, one of his many inventions, has changed the world. Unlike any other invention, these products have influenced and, in some cases, even enabled the development of optics, the large-scale chemical industry, and people's everyday lives all over the world.
About the application and upcoming award ceremony
Application
If you are a scientist or leading researcher and have an interesting scientific or technological achievement in one of the following fields (glass, glass-ceramics and related advanced materials), please do not hesitate to apply via the following link: Otto Schott Research Award.
Application criteria
Central criteria for the awarding of the prize are the candidate´s scientific activity in recent years, the quality and originality of his/her original scientific publications, and the extent how he/she has influenced the research field.
Award ceremony 2026
The OSA 2026 will be presented in Lyon/France during the ICG (International Commission on Glass) Annual Meeting (April 13-17, 2026). The award ceremony will be a part of the program of the Annual Meeting. Please find all information about the conference here: https://glass-lyon2026.sciencesconf.org/.
The jury
The Board of Trustees of the Ernst Abbe Fonds decides on the final awarding of the prize. Members of the Board of Trustees:
- Dr. Matthias Müller, SCHOTT AG, Chairman
- Dr. Michelangelo Masini, Carl Zeiss AG, Vice chairman
- Prof. Dr. Jürgen Mlynek, Falling Walls Foundation
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Prof. Heike Ebendorff-Heidepriem, Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS)
- Prof. Dr. Christine Silberhorn, Paderborn University
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Daniel Neuville, French National Centre for Scientific Research
- Rainer Lüdtke, Stifterverband for German Science
Wall of fame - award winners over the years
- 2024: Prof. Prof. Setsuhisa Tanabe, Kyoto University, Japan
- 2022: Prof. Alicia Duran, Spanish Research Council (CSIC) in Madrid, Spain; Prof. Daniel Neuville, Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris at the University of Paris
- 2020: Prof. Sabyasachi Sen, University of California, Davis; Prof. Josef Zwanziger, Dalhousie University in Canada
- 2018: Dr. Jean-Pierre Guin; University of Rennes 1, Glasses and Mechanics Department, Rennes, France
- 2016: Dr. Sheldon M. Wiederhorn; National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, USA; Prof. Satoshi Yoshida; The University of Shiga Prefecture, Departement of Materials Science, Hikone, Japan; Dr. Jean-Pierre Guin; University of Rennes 1, Glasses and Mechanics Department, Rennes, France
- 2014: Prof. Donald Bruce Dingwell; Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Department for Earth-and Enviironmental Sciences, Munich, Germany
- 2012: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Joachim Deubener; Institute of Non-Metallic Materials, Clausthal University of Technology, Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Germany; Prof. Dr. Adrian C. Wright; University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom
- 2010: Prof. Dr. Tanguy Rouxel; LARMAUR (Applied Mechanics Laboratory), University of Rennes 1, France
- 2008: Dr. Akio Ikesue; World-Lab Co., Ltd., Nagoya, Japan
- 2007: Prof. Himanshu Jain; Lehigh University, Bethlehem, USA; Prof. Walter Kob, Universiity of Montpellier, France
- 2005: Prof. Jianrong Qiu; Shanghai institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, China; Prof. Kazuyuki Hirao; Kyoto University, Japan; Dr. Kiyotaka Miura; Kyoto University, Japan
- 2003: Dr. Andreas Tünnermann; Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Germany
- 2001: Dr. Boris A. Shakhmatkin; Institute of Silicate Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia; Dr. Natalia M. Vedishcheva; Institute of Silicate Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia; Prof. Dr. Reinhard Conradt; RWTH Aachen, Germany
- 1999: Dr. John H. Campbell; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, USA; Prof. Elias Snitzer; Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA
- 1997: Anne-Jans Faber, Frank Simonis, Dr. Ruud Beerkens, Erik Muijsenberg; TNO-Institute of Applied Physics and Glass Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
- 1995: Dr. David L. Griscom; Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, USA
- 1993: Dr. Dieter R. Fuchs, Fraunhofer Institut für Sillicatforschung, Wuerzburg, Germany & Prof. Prabhat K. Gupta, Ohio State University, Columbus, USA
- 1991: Prof. Werner Vogel, Friedrich Schiller Universität Jena, Germany & Prof. Hideo Hosono, Nagoya Institute of Technology