Glass Service’s Erik Muijsenberg was honoured to receive the 2023 W.E.S. Turner Award from the International Commission on Glass (ICG) last week.

The Glass Service Vice President received the award at the opening ceremony at the annual ICG Conference in Hangzhou, China.

Erik earned this recognition for his contributions to the development and widespread acceptance of furnace simulation tools.

His long-term commitment to ICG Technical Committee 21 & 18, specifically focusing on Furnace Design & Operation, where he served as Chairman and Vice Chairman, played a pivotal role in his achievement.

Erik actively promoted TC21 in conferences internationally and organised special events, including the well-known Glass Service Seminar on Furnace Design & Simulation.

His journey began in 1989 at the TNO Glass Research Institute in the Netherlands, where Erik introduced advanced simulation models by simultaneously simulating the combustion space and glass space.

Since 1998, he continued these efforts under the Glass Service umbrella. Thanks to Erik's dedication, these simulation tools are now widely accepted and utilised by the global glass industry.

Today it would not have been possible to study and develop decarbonized glass melting such as heavily electric boosted, hybrid or large electric melters.

The leading Glass Service Glass Furnace Model (GS GFM) stands as a crucial component in the ongoing decarbonization efforts of the glass industry.

Erik's excellence in the field was previously acknowledged with the Otto Schott Award in 1997 (shared with three former TNO colleagues) and the Adolf Dietzel Industry Award in 2012 from the German Glass Society.

Since 2016, he has been an active member of the ICG Steering Committee. In 2017, he joined the Phoenix Award Committee and, as of October 2023, is its Chairman.

Additionally, in 2023, Erik was honoured with the NL Varshneya Memorial Award in Cambridge, UK.

The W.E.S. Turner Award, initiated in 2002, aims to recognise individuals for their valuable contributions to the Technical Committees of the ICG.