Google Honours Marga Faulstich On 103rd Birth Anniv

Marga Faulstich was a German glass chemist who worked on over 300 types of optical glasses in her career span. A gifted woman, her extensive work on lenses and optics continues to be used in contemporary times in numerous ways. Today, on her 103rd birth anniversary, Google dedicated its doodle to the late chemist.

Early Work

Born in 1915, Marga started her work on glasses as soon as she graduated high school. She started training with one of the leading optical and technical specialty glass manufacturers in Europe, Scott AG in 1935. In the beginning, she worked tirelessly on the development of thin films. She even started studying along with her work. But, she couldn't complete it due to the advent of the Second World War.

After the Second World War, Faulstich continued working on her research and experimentation. She started developing new optical glasses, with a particular focus on lenses for microscopes and binoculars.

Faulstich fast progressed in her career, starting at Scott AG from a trainee and leading up the ranks to a scientist. She was also the first women executive at Scott AG

Major Contributions

Her invention of the lightweight lens SF 64 gained her international recognition. Additionally, she was honoured for her work in 1973. She received the IR100 award from the American Industrial Research Council for her invention. Her research findings are used till today in the manufacture of sunglasses, anti-reflective lenses, and glass facades.

In 1979, she retired after working at Schott AG for 44 years. By this time, Marga had over 40 patents registered in her name. After retirement, she continued to attend conferences related to her work and gave presentations. She died on 1 February, 1998, in Mainz, at age of 82. Her work in the field of glass chemistry led to important developments and inventions that are used till date.

Picture Credit: Financial Express

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