Inventor of CorningWare hailed as a pioneering glass scientist
S. Donald Stookey, who created the versatile household item, dies at 99
S. Donald Stookey was a young scientist researching the properties of glass in1952 when he put a glass plate into an oven to heat it. But the oven malfunctioned.
Instead of heating to about 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit, the oven shot up to more than 1,600 degrees. Stookey expected to find a molten mess. Instead, he found an opaque, milkywhite plate.
As he was removing it from the oven, his tongs slipped, and the plate fell to the floor. But instead of shattering, it bounced.
Stookey, who died Tuesday at 99, had just discovered glass ceramics — a breakthrough that soon led to the development of CorningWare, the durable, heat-resistant ceramic glass used to make millions upon millions of baked lasagnas, tuna casseroles and other potluck-dinner dishes.
Although he was never a household name, Stookey’s best-known invention found a home in most American kitchens in the form of white dishes decorated with small blue cornflowers. The space-age material was so strong that the military used it in guided missile nose cones.
Stookey died at an assisted-living centre in Rochester, N.Y., said his son Donald Stookey. He said his father broke a hip in a fall a few months ago and underwent surgery, but his health deteriorated.
“He was one of the great glass scientists in the history of the world,” said Steve Feller, a physics professor at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where Stookey earned an undergraduate degree in chemistry and mathematics and remained active in alumni activities.
CorningWare was celebrated for its versatility. It was strong enough to withstand minor kitchen mishaps, and it gave home cooks the ability to bake and serve food in the same dish. The dishes could go straight from the oven to the dinner table and then into the refrigerator or freezer.
You could also put them in a microwave, and some types could be heated atop a stove. For decades, they were a common sight at family gatherings.
Stookey joined Corning Glass Works in New York in1940, the same year he graduated with a doctorate in physical chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “He was fearless — the unknown never daunted him,” said David Morse, Corning’s chief technology officer. “Don was recognized throughout the glass technology community as a world-class scientist.”