During experimentation, Corning chemist S. Donald Stookey discovered a heat treatment process for transforming glass objects into an entirely new substance: fine-grained ceramics.
The heated substance, which later came to be known as Pyroceram®, not only retained its shape at extraordinary temperatures but also boasted shatter-resistance. These properties made glass-ceramic perfect for use in laboratory equipment for biology and chemistry, as the tops for hotplates and stirrers.
Further development of this new Pyroceram® composition led to its best-known role in 1957: Corning Ware®. This affordable dinnerware and cookware, like Pyrex® before them, could go from freezer to oven to table. The consumer line met almost instant fame–and made Corning a household name.