SCHOTT North America Awarded Multimillion-Dollar Contract SCHOTT, the international technology group and inventor of specialty glass, has been awarded a multimillion-dollar contract from a leading defense contractor for infrared glass. The order supplies glass for launch tube windows, a critical component of air defense systems provided to the U.S. Army. The contract was secured through the advocacy of Rep. Matt Cartwright, from Pennsylvania’s 8th congressional district, who has long supported a robust defense budget. SCHOTT’s Duryea, Pennsylvania facility will manufacture the specialty glass, as it does for other products that support the U.S. Department of Defense. U.S. Representative Matt Cartwright (PA-08) inspecting a launch tube window for the U.S. Army Air Defense System with SCHOTT Project Engineer Elizabeth Chase (Credit: SCHOTT). SCHOTT’s infrared glass, manufactured in its Duryea, PA facility, is used in launch tube windows for air defense systems provided to the U.S. Army. SCHOTT’s recent order was the result of congressional funding for the U.S. Army Matt Cartwright (D-PA), who was instrumental in securing the contract, attended a press conference and production tour at SCHOTT’s Duryea facility. SCHOTT is already producing launch tube window parts for an existing order and will now be able to extend production and further support employment at its site in Duryea. The company has been working with U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) programs since 1969 as a leading developer of high-tech materials and components and is eager to continue its support of the department. The security and defense industry requires high-performance base materials and optical components to enable reliable and precise defense systems. “Our expertise in creating specialty glass suitable for defense applications has earned the trust of the U.S. Army and the DoD, and we’re appreciative of the chance to show why they keep turning to us,” said Christopher Cassidy, President of SCHOTT North America. “This contract not only supports our production site of over 150 employees in Duryea, but also strengthens our commitment to supply the U.S. defense and security market. We especially want to thank Congressman Cartwright for his continued support of SCHOTT and the entire Northeastern Pennsylvania community.”“America’s security and defense require the best materials available, and we’re able to build them right here in Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District,” said Rep. Matt Cartwright (PA-08), a senior member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee and Ranking Member of the Commerce, Justice and Science Subcommittee. “SCHOTT has proven its mettle with a history of innovation, and its expertise allowed us to bring federal funding back to this district.”Rep. Cartwright visited SCHOTT’s Duryea facility Wed. April 12 and highlighted the importance of this contract and its impact on the local community.SCHOTT’s U.S. Innovation and Technology Hub, also located in Duryea, continues to be a leader in the research and development of high-tech materials. Its participation in basic materials research has helped create the supply of dual-use products for both civilian and military applications. The company’s glass-ceramic ZERODUR® has been used in space telescopes since 1968, and SCHOTT has supported NASA’s lunar missions with optical lenses for cameras since the early 1960s.Learn more about SCHOTT’s infrared glass and the capabilities that make it applicable to a variety of uses.
Geisinger Awarded $3.6 Mmillion to Study Genetics of Cancer The National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded a 5-year, $3.6 million contract to Geisinger to study the role of genetic variation in cancer. Researchers from Geisinger and the NCI’s Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics (DCEG) will analyze genetic data from Geisinger’s MyCode Community Health Initiative, a precision medicine project with more than 276,000 consented participants. The work will be led by David J. Carey, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Molecular and Functional Genomics at Geisinger and a MyCode principal investigator, and Douglas Stewart, M.D., a senior investigator at DCEG. The investigative team will use a “genome-first” approach, analyzing data from MyCode participants to identify specific gene variants and then linking that information to the participants’ electronic health records. This approach will allow investigators to determine the effect of these gene variants on cancer risk. The size and scope of the MyCode project provides an opportunity to investigate the relationship between multiple genes and cancers to develop a better understanding of genetic cancer risk in a large clinical population. This will expand the list of genes that can be used to guide genetic cancer screening, improving care for patients and families. This project builds on a history of successful collaboration between Drs. Carey and Stewart to investigate the role of gene variants in specific cancers, including a recent study of DICER1 syndrome, which is linked to lung, thyroid, and other kinds of tumors, published in JAMA Network Open. “This partnership allows Geisinger and NCI investigators to combine our expertise in cancer diagnosis, epidemiology, cancer biology, and genetics,” Dr. Carey said. “The data available through MyCode provides us with a unique opportunity to investigate the genetic risk of cancer in a large regional population.” Since 2007, MyCode has enrolled more than 276,000 participants in Pennsylvania. With DNA sequence and health data currently available on nearly 175,000 of these participants, MyCode is one of the largest studies of its kind in the world. This project has been funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contract No. 75N91021C00006. Geisinger has an exciting research environment with more than 50 full-time research faculty and more than 30 clinician scientists. Areas of expertise include precision health, genomics, informatics, data science, implementation science, outcomes research, health services research, bioethics and clinical trials.
