Founded in 1810, the Yale School of Medicine is a world-renowned center for biomedical research, education and advanced health care.

Among its 27 departments are one of the nation’s oldest schools of public health and the internationally recognized Child Study Center, founded in 1911.

Affiliated institutions include the 944-bed Yale-New Haven Hospital—flagship of the Yale New Haven Health System—and the Yale Cancer Center, Connecticut Mental Health Center, Pierce Laboratory, and VA Connecticut Healthcare System in nearby West Haven.

12 Pioneering the West Campus
The Center for High Throughput Cell Biology becomes the first scientific team at West Campus.
By Jenny Blair

18 Yale’s Physician Associate Program nears 40
As it approaches its 40th year, the PA Program fills a niche in American medicine.
By Jennifer Kaylin

Visit Yale Medicine Magazine, Autumn 2009 Download Page

Read Yale Medicine Magazine, Autumn 2009 online, or you can download Yale Medicine Magazine, Autumn 2009 in PDF format.

END NOTE
A touch of glass
At this most modern of universities, with its particle accelerators, radiochemistry facility, and stem cell center, a lone craftsman in a small workshop helps unravel today’s scientific mysteries using techniques developed centuries ago.

Daryl Smith is Yale’s scientific glass blower. At the Yale Glass Shop in the Sterling Chemistry Laboratory, Smith helps scientists and researchers design the equipment they need for their experiments.

“Anything they see in a catalog I can make and customize to fit their specific needs,” said Smith, who came to Yale in 2005 after working for private glass companies. He completed his undergraduate degree in aquaculture from Texas A&M University in College Station and studied scientific glass technology at Salem Community College in Carneys Point, N.J. “I like working with my hands,” he said, “but I like the science part of it, too.”

Smith also teaches a semesterlong course titled “Introduction to Scientific Glass Blowing,” which focuses on the dexterity needed to be a glass blower as well as the tools and materials. Last spring, his six students watched a brief demonstration by Smith before beginning their final project, a Hero’s engine—a device invented by Hero of Alexandria around A.D. 10 that propels itself by shooting steam from one or more orifices.

Many research universities outsource their glasswork to private companies, but Smith can meet face to face with researchers to develop customized products, and he can create or repair a device the same day if necessary. But perhaps most important, Smith’s loyalty is to Yale, so when he and a researcher develop a new design, he treats it as proprietary information; he won’t share it as an outside contractor might.

When Smith isn’t creating or repairing scientific equipment at Yale, he enjoys the artistic side of glass blowing, creating glass ornaments and gifts at his home studio. Not surprisingly, the Christmas season is his busiest time. “You’ll find me sitting in front of my bench torch,” he said, “instead of going to the mall.”

—Jennifer Kaylin

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