The Iowa State glassblowing shop, tucked away in Room 551 of Gilman Hall, is a unique resource on campus.

“We do work for all of Iowa State,” said manager Trond Forre.

Forre teams with Art Ciccotti to serve a “pretty diverse” assortment of businesses and colleges in and around Iowa.

Forre said the shop mainly caters to professors and graduate students who need specialized equipment to conduct research.

“The main reason we’re here is because ISU is big on research,” Forre said.

He said most of the shop’s customers come from the chemistry department and Ames Laboratory, but anyone on campus can use the shop’s services, including students.

“A lot of people don’t know that we’re here,” Forre said. “But we do keep busy year-round.”

Forre said the shop charges by the hour, but the rate for ISU projects is lower than for outside jobs.

“We also do a lot of repairs,” Forre said.

He said the entomology and agronomy departments typically have a large amount of glassware that needs repair.

“It’s more cost-effective for us to repair it than to throw it away and buy new,” Forre said. “It saves quite a bit of money.”

Some examples that Forre gave of pieces made in the glassblowing shop included vacuum manifolds, dewars and transfer flasks.

“A dewar is a glass tube sealed inside another glass tube, with a vacuum in between. It’s like a Thermos,” Forre said.

He said researchers use dewars to hold liquid nitrogen because it keeps the nitrogen from evaporating as quickly.

“The main glass we use is Pyrex, because it is real durable and can tolerate extreme cold and quite a bit of heat before it breaks,” Forre said.

Forre is the senior glassblower, and Ciccotti is his apprentice.

“I’ve been here almost 10 years, and Art has been here about two years,” Forre said.

He said training to be a glassblower involves a five-year apprenticeship.

“Harold, the guy that was here before me, trained me, and I’m doing the same for Art,” Forre said. “It’s a lot of self-teaching, too, and a lot of handwork.”

He said the hazards of the job include a few cuts and burns on occasion.

“It’s a unique art, and it takes a lot of practice,” Forre said. “It’s very interesting … it’s something different every day.”