Delbert Day
Delbert E. Day is an American engineer, currently the Curator's Professor Emeritus of Ceramic Engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology, who made the first U.S. glass melting experiments in micro-gravity on NASA’s Space Shuttle. He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Engineering, Society of Glass Technology, American Ceramic Society, National Institute of Ceramic Engineers, and National Academy of Inventors.
Day earned a bachelor of science degree in ceramic engineering from the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy in 1958, and a master of science degree and doctorate in ceramic technology from Pennsylvania State University in 1959 and 1961, respectively.
Day co-invented TheraSphere 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, 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.
