Functional glasses for energy and information technologies.

The article discusses the highlights of the International Interactive Conference on Functional Glasses: Properties and Applications for Energy and Information held in Siracusa, Italy from January 6 to 11, 2013. Speakers at the conference talked about the needs and opportunities for glass in solid-state lighting, photovoltaics, energy-efficient windows and batteries. Topics covered by the sessions include fiber optics, laser-glass interaction and nonlinear optical properties.