PLANNED?:

Dr. Stookey invented synthetic glass ceramics, the highly versatile range of materials that continue to be refined for new uses, including glass stovetops. He also developed photosensitive glass and glass used in eyeglasses that darken in response to light.

He was credited with creating thousands of jobs, limiting squinting and averting countless broken dishes. In 1986, he received the National Medal of Technology.

In May 1957, Corning announced that it had trademarked Pyroceram, a ceramic made from glass that could withstand temperatures up to 1,300 degrees. The company displayed a cone it had developed for a guided missile, saying the material was harder than carbon steel and would allow radar signals to pass through it. But missiles were only part of its plan for Pyroceram.

A 1957 article in The New York Times reported that the material was "expected to be used in combustion-type electric turbines, guided missiles, jet engines of airplanes that fly at supersonic speeds, oil refining, chemical processing and home cookware."

Dr. Stookey, then the head of what Corning called its fundamental research department, was present for the announcement. Not long afterward, marketing teams from Corning tested prototypes of CorningWare with consumers, particularly women.

They fried pork chops in one of the new dishes on a stovetop, then put the dish into the oven. Then they put an ice cube on the heated dish to show how it could handle extreme changes in temperature. By 1958, CorningWare was being sold in stores.

Dr. Stookey had not planned to invent it.

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