Scientific glassblowing is a specialty field of lampworking used in industry, science, art and design used in research and production.
Scientific glassblowing has been used in chemical, pharmaceutical, electronic and physics research including Galileo's thermometer, Thomas Edison's light bulb, and vacuum tubes used in early radio, TV and computers.
The field combined hand skills using lathes and torches with modern computer assisted furnaces, diamond grinding and lapping machines, lasers and ultra-sonic mills.
Salem Community College in Carney's Point, New Jersey offers the only degree program in the United States, an Associate in Applied Science, with a focus on the construction of scientific glass apparatus.
Students come from throughout the United States and from around the world to develop this specialized skill at Salem Community College.