The preform chandelier has been a vision of mine since I first started working with optical fibre! In the fibre-making process, the initial stage involves cutting off the ‘drop-off’ end (hot glass naturally elongates under its own weight, forming a tapered structure). When heated in the furnace, these glass forms glow, revealing intricate, transparent shapes that resemble a large-scale version of an optical fibre’s internal structure. They look almost like fragments of a futuristic, scientific chandelier.

With the help of two MPhys students, Isobel Jager and Ibraheem Choudhary, who chose this as their final-year project, we finally brought this vision to life. The chandelier showcases a collection of preform drop-offs gathered from fabricators at the University of Bath over the course of a year. Although these glass structures are technically waste materials, they beautifully illustrate the process behind the creation of novel optical fibres—an area in which the University of Bath has a unique research capability.

The preform chandelier was displayed at the Royal Society’s prestigious Summer Science Exhibition 2024, highlighting our department’s contributions to photonics and biomedical research. This marks the third time our optical fibre research has been showcased at the event, as well as my second time representing optical fibre research at this event. This installation is now displayed outside of the undergraduate labs within the University, to celebrate our world-class research, our commitment to scientific outreach and the success of our students.