Dr. Atiar Rahaman Molla currently serves as a Senior Principal Scientist at CSIR-Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute, Kolkata, India and holds a professorship at the Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR) within the Engineering Science Division. He earned his B.Tech in Ceramic Technology from the Government College of Engineering and Ceramic Technology, Kolkata, his M.Tech from IIT Kanpur, and his PhD from Jadavpur University, Kolkata. With over 20 years of research experience in specialty glasses and glass-ceramics, Dr. Molla has also contributed as a Visiting Scientist at the Federal University of Sao Carlos, Brazil. His research has taken him to various countries, including Brazil, USA, Canada, Germany, Singapore, and Turkey. Dr. Molla has authored more than 50 research papers in prestigious international journals, contributed to 3 book chapters, and holds 7 granted patents. He served as the editor of the book "Glasses and Glass-ceramics - Advanced Processing and Applications," published by Springer Nature in 2022. Currently, he holds the position of Editor in Chief for the "Journal of Condensed Matter" and serves as Chief Editor for the forthcoming book "Advances in Glass and Glass-ceramics," to be published by Springer Nature. He is actively involved with the International Commission on Glass (ICG), serving as a technical committee (TC-23) member on glass education and as Organizing Secretary for the International Congress on Glass 2025, scheduled to take place in India. His current research focuses on transparent ferroelectric/anti-ferroelectric glass-ceramics for multifunctional applications and transparent nanocrystalline ultra-high strength glass-ceramics for display and armor applications.Dr. K. Annapurna is presently working as Chief Scientist at CSIR-Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute and also serving as Professor at Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), an Institute of National Importance. She obtained her Ph.D. in 1993 followed by postdoctoral research at Sri Venkateswara University, India. She joined CSIR-Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute, India, in 1996, and since then, she is actively involved in the research and development of specialty glasses like Nd-doped phosphate laser glass for high power laser systems, infrared absorbing and infrared transmitting filter glasses, non-oxide chalcogenide glasses for thermal imaging applications, space grade optical glasses, including their process technology. Her basic research includes structure and property studies of rare earth/transition metal-doped glasses and transparent glass ceramics for photonic and energy applications. She has around 140+ publications in international and national journals of repute and 1 Indian and 6 international patents to her credit. She has served as Lab Coordinator for the Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR) at CSIR-CGCRI. For notable contributions in field of materials science and technology, she has been conferred with the R. L. Thakur Award for Young Scientists 1998.Prof. J. M. Parker is Emeritus Professor of Glass Science and Engineering, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield. Prof. John Parker moved to Sheffield from the University of Cambridge in 1971, having completed a first-class MA in Natural Sciences, a PhD and a post-doctoral NERC fellowship studying aluminosilicates with incommensurate structures. At Sheffield, he has developed interests in both the optical/structural properties of glasses and the technology of bulk glass making. He is actively involved in the International Commission on Glass and is past-president of both the Society of Glass Technology and the European Society of Glass Science and Technology. His research interests are in glass structural analysis, particularly using information derived by optical spectroscopy, and the processes involved in glass crystallisation. He has worked closely with industry, including organisations such as British Telecom, Pilkingtons, Johnson Matthey, and Rockware Glass. I have also interacted with the Physics Departments at Sheffield, Brunel and Paisley, and with the Rutherford Appleton Laboratories. He has published several books, chapters and research papers.
