American Ceramic Society Bulletin, Vol. 100, No. 8 | www.ceramics.org 3 Celebrating 100 years To ACerS members and Bulletin readers, We are pleased to share that on May 18, 2021, the United Nations General Assembly formally approved a resolution declaring the year 2022 as “The International Year of Glass.” This seminal and celebratory moment for the global glass community is noteworthy because it is the first time that the United Nations accord- ed such a recognition to a specific material. It represents an acknowledgment of the vital role glass has played and will continue to play in the advancement of human society. The IYOG initiative was led by the International Commission on Glass, headed by its president, Alicia Durán. The proposal went to the U.N. General Assembly with about 1,700 letters of support from companies, universities, professional societies, trade associations, museums, individuals, and other organizations from 81 countries. This strong global support was crucial for the approval of the resolution. The North American Steering Committee for IYOG was established to coordinate activities in the U.S. and Canada with members from all the key constituencies associated with glass, such as academia, industry, artists, R&D institutes, museums, and professional associations. We are honored to serve as the chairs of this distinguished committee. Many events to mark the occasion and to celebrate all things glass are being planned all over the world, and those that are known at this time are summarized in the sidebar table. A key event in North America will be a “National Day of Glass” in April in Washington, D.C. We plan to bring together scientists, engi- neers, artists, academicians, students, and government institutions to celebrate the importance of glass in our lives. The National Day of Glass will be followed by the Annual Meeting of the Glass & Optical Materials Division of The American Ceramic Society in May in Baltimore. At the international level, an inaugural conference will be held in the Human Rights Room in the Palace of Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, in February 2022. In addition, the International Congress on Glass will be held in Berlin to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the German Glass Society. The North American Steering Committee and ACerS will play major roles in these and other activities. Besides the aforementioned events, the Society is working on other plans to commemorate IYOG, including a special issue of the International Journal of Applied Glass Technology, special features in the Bulletin, and short courses on glass. We will be compiling activities related to IYOG on the website at www.ceramics.org/IYOG. All companies, organizations, and universities are welcome to contribute their IYOG-related activities. The webpage contains an online form for you to provide your details. Please watch the webpage, the Bulletin, and the Ceramic Tech Today blog for future announcements. On behalf of the North American Steering Committee for IYOG, we seek your counsel, participation, and support of the events we are plan- ning. We welcome your comments and inquiries. Sincerely, letter to the editor Manoj K. Choudhary Chair, North American Steering Committee for the International Year of Glass 2022 Adjunct professor of materials science and engi- neering, The Ohio State University Past president, International Commission on Glass (2015–2018) mchoudhary61@gmail.com Kathy Jordan, Co-chair President, American Glass Guild president@americanglassguild.org Younès Messaddeq, Co-chair Professor, Universitè Laval, Quèbec, Canada younes.messaddeq@copl.ulaval.ca UN International Year of Glass 2022 events* Event Dates in 2022 Location Organizers IYOG Inaugural Conference February 10–11 Palace of Nations IYOG Geneva, Switzerland National Day of Glass April 5–7 Washington, D.C. ACerS ACerS Glass & Optical May 22–26 Baltimore, Md. ACerS GOMD Materials Division Annual Meeting International Congress on July 3–8 Berlin, Germany International Commis- Glass and German Glass sion on Glass Society centennial recognition American Glass Guild July 14–17 Corning Museum of American Glass Guild Annual Conference Glass, Corning, N.Y. *as known at press time.