Delbert E. Day is an American engineer, currently the Curator's Professor Emeritus of Ceramic Engineering at

Missouri University of Science and Technology Missouri University of Science and Technology, or Missouri S&T, is a public research university in Rolla, Missouri. It is a member institution of the University of Missouri System. Most of its 7,645 students (fall 2020) study engineering, busin ...

, who made the first U.S. glass melting experiments in micro-gravity on

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program na ...

. Day was elected a member of the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy ...

in 2004 for the development of radiotherapeutic glass microspheres and their transfer to medical applications. He is also a fellow of the

Society of Glass Technology The Society of Glass Technology (SGT) is an organization for individuals and organizations with a professional interest in glass manufacture and usage. The Society is based in the United Kingdom, with its offices in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, En ...

American Ceramic Society The American Ceramic Society (ACerS) is a non-profit professional organization for the ceramics community, with a focus on scientific research, emerging technologies, and applications in which ceramic materials are an element. It is located in W ...

National Institute of Ceramic Engineers The American Ceramic Society (ACerS) is a non-profit professional organization for the ceramics community, with a focus on scientific research, emerging technologies, and applications in which ceramic materials are an element. It is located in W ...

, and

National Academy of Inventors The National Academy of Inventors (NAI) is a US non-profit organization dedicated to encouraging inventors in academia, following the model of the National Academies of the United States. It was founded at the University of South Florida in 2010. ...

. Day earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree in

ceramic engineering Ceramic engineering is the science and technology of creating objects from inorganic, non-metallic materials. This is done either by the action of heat, or at lower temperatures using precipitation reactions from high-purity chemical solutions ...

from the

Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy Missouri University of Science and Technology, or Missouri S&T, is a public research university in Rolla, Missouri. It is a member institution of the University of Missouri System. Most of its 7,645 students (fall 2020) study engineering, busi ...

(now Missouri S&T) in 1958, and a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

degree and

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

in ceramic technology from

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

in 1959 and 1961, respectively. Day co-invented

TheraSphere TheraSphere is a radiotherapy treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) that consists of millions of microscopic, radioactive glass microspheres (20–30 micrometres in diameter) being infused into the arteries that feed liver tumors. These ...

glass microspheres for medical and dental applications, and Glasphalt which recycles waste glass for use in asphalt paving. In 1984, Day founded the Mo-Sci Corporation in Rolla, Missouri, which manufacturers high-tech glass products; as of 2007, the company is solely owned by Day's son, Ted. In 2011, the Delbert Day Cancer Institute was initiated at the Phelps County Regional Medical Center (now Phelps Health), funded by a gift from Day's son and daughter-in-law, Ted and Kim Day. The facility, completed in January 2017, occupies the first two floors of a new building on the north side of the medical center campus. Day and his wife, Shirley, have donated to his Missouri S&T alma mater for establishment of a Day Family Endowed Scholarship in Materials Science & Engineering. In May 2019, Day received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Penn State University, their highest honor for alumni.

References

Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American engineers Fellows of the American Ceramic Society Living people Missouri University of Science and Technology alumni Missouri University of Science and Technology faculty Penn State College of Earth and Mineral Sciences alumni {{US-engineer-stub