Optical Materials
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Lothar WONDRACZEK
Investigation of the melting process of optical glass.
Image: Jan-Peter Kasper (University of Jena)
Prof. Lothar Wondraczek
Image: PrivateProf. Dr.-Ing. Lothar WONDRACZEK
Email: lothar.wondraczek@uni-jena.de
Phone: +49 3641-9-48500
Research Areas
Professor Wondraczek holds the Chair of Glass Chemistry at the Otto Schott Institute of Materials Research (OSIM). His research spans fundamental and applied glass science, with a particular focus on understanding and tailoring structure–property relations in non-crystalline materials. The work ranges from conventional inorganic glasses and glass ceramics to hybrid and porous glass-forming systems and combines materials synthesis, advanced physical characterization, computational methods and application-oriented demonstrators.
A central objective is the rational design of glasses with tailored optical, mechanical and responsive properties. Current activities address optical and photonic materials, mechanically robust glasses, multi-responsive and hybrid glasses, porous materials and membranes, as well as data-driven and autonomous approaches to materials discovery. Research interests include:
- Optical and photonic glasses and functional optical materials
- Hybrid and metal-organic-framework-derived glasses
- Multi-responsive materials and optical sensing
- Mechanical properties, damage resistance and strengthening of glass
- Structure–property relations in non-crystalline materials
- Computational and data-driven glass science
- Autonomous experimentation and accelerated materials discovery
Teaching Fields
Prof. Wondraczek teaches interdisciplinary materials science at the interface of materials engineering, chemistry and physics. His teaching covers topics including:
- Glass science and optical materials
- Structure and properties of non-crystalline materials
- Materials thermodynamics and kinetics
- Functional, composite and hybrid materials
Research Methods
The Laboratory of Glass Science combines materials synthesis and processing with advanced experimental characterization, computational analysis and application-oriented prototyping. Available capabilities include:
- Extensive glass melting, forming and high-temperature processing
- Processing of inorganic, hybrid and porous glass-forming materials
- Optical spectroscopy, including luminescence, Raman, FTIR and UV–Vis–NIR characterization
- Thermal and thermomechanical analysis
- Micro- and nanomechanical characterization, including indentation, scratching and tribological testing
- Structural and surface characterization across multiple length scales
- Processing and characterization of optical and responsive glass components
- Computational glass science, statistical data analysis and machine-learning-assisted materials design
- Automated and increasingly autonomous experimental workflows
Recent Research Results
A central goal of Prof. Wondraczek's research is to understand how the structural organization of non-crystalline materials determines their macroscopic properties and to translate this understanding into new functional materials and processing concepts.
Recent work increasingly extends classical inorganic glass science towards hybrid and multi-responsive materials. Metal-organic-framework-derived glasses, for example, combine the processability and optical quality of glasses with molecular-scale porosity and chemical functionality. Optical-quality ZIF-62 hybrid glasses have been processed by thermal imprinting into micro-optical elements. Their refractive properties respond to the adsorption of guest molecules, providing a route towards compact, responsive optical sensors [1].
A second focus lies on mechanically robust glass materials and new strengthening concepts. The group investigates the structural origins of deformation and fracture and develops processing strategies for enhancing the mechanical performance of glasses, including approaches for strengthening very thin glass products [2].
Computational and data-driven methods are becoming an increasingly important part of this work. Statistical analysis, machine learning and materials databases are used to identify composition–structure–property relationships and to accelerate the discovery of new glass formulations [3].
More recently, these concepts have been extended towards autonomous materials research. AI-based agents are being explored for operating and coordinating experimental instrumentation, with the long-term objective of linking materials synthesis, characterization and data analysis within increasingly autonomous laboratory workflows [4].
[1] Smirnova et al., Nat. Commun. 15, 5079 (2024).
[2] Wondraczek et al., Adv. Mater. 34, 2109029 (2022).
[3] Pan et al., J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 106, 4924 (2023).
[4] Pan et al., Nat. Commun. 16, 8350 (2025).
[5] Knebel et al., Nat. Commun. 17, 1373 (2026).
Link to the Laboratory of Glass Science at the Otto-Schott-Institute of Materials Research