From the first light bulb to today’s AI breakthroughs to the future of driving, Corning has been moving the world forward for 175 years.
For 175 years, our boundless curiosity has led to some of the world’s biggest breakthroughs: the lightbulb, PYREX® glass, emissions control, low‑loss optical fiber, smartphone glass, and much more. What’s driving discovery? Corning.
In 1879, Corning helped Thomas Edison crack the code. He had an idea — we developed the specialty glass to make it work. Within a year, Corning became Edison’s sole glass supplier for the new-fangled lightbulbs, and by 1926, our ribbon machine made lightbulbs at massive scale — turning a fragile invention into everyday life.
Corning’s bakeware lines set the standard for modern cooking, holding a legendary spot in your family’s kitchen and in pop culture. We shifted away from the dish business after many successful decades, but Corning is still a staple in your life — in your car, your phone, your electronics, and so much more.
At Corning, top scientists and researchers show up every day to push what’s possible. They challenge each other, share the work, and stay with problems others walk away from. Recognized by the world’s leading organizations, they’re driven by something bigger than awards: the zeal to make things that matter.
Corning teams regularly come together to reflect on projects that didn’t move forward, sharing lessons learned and improving how innovation happens. It’s a chance to ask better questions, refine the process, and keep pushing. Because progress isn’t just about success. It’s about the curiosity to keep trying and the discipline to learn along the way.
At Corning, work can be a family tradition. Tommy Shirley is a third-generation employee, following his grandfather, who helped build Corning’s Kentucky factory in 1952, and his father before him. Today, Tommy and his brother Tim both work at Corning — having once walked across the street together to meet their dad after work. Now, they help keep the operation running and the quality high, contributing to technology used by people around the world.
For generations, Corning manufacturing teams have shown up every day to do work that matters. Skills are passed down, refined, and reinvented — one shift at a time. From furnaces to finishing lines, these are people who take pride in precision and care. The result isn’t just products. It’s progress, built by hand and shared with the world.
Corning’s work spans generations. The Overstrom family’s story began in 1903, when Henning Overstrom brought his glassmaking skills from Sweden to Corning. More than 120 years later, five generations and over 25 family members have followed. From the factory floor to Sullivan Park, the Overstroms have built careers, raised families, and grown with Corning. It’s more than a workplace. It’s a legacy.
Innovating without limits, reshaping industries, and improving lives worldwide. Corning’s innovations are everywhere, powering how we work, learn, and live.
The challenge was clear: move data farther, faster, through glass that could bend without breaking the signal. Years of work followed. Doubt, too. The project nearly ended. Corning scientists kept going. What they delivered—low-loss optical fiber—ignited a telecommunications revolution, connecting the world. Over the next half-century, Corning continued to develop these powerful strands of glass, enabling the next big thing: AI.
Corning glass has flown on every U.S. human space mission. From spacecraft windows to critical optical components, our materials are built to perform in the harshest conditions imaginable. When astronauts look back at Earth from space — like from NASA’s Artemis mission in 2026 — that view reshapes how we understand our place in the universe.
Image credit: NASA
In 2007, a call came in asking for glass that could survive real life—thin, tough, scratch-resistant. Corning delivered. Today, Gorilla Glass protects billions of smartphones and devices, showing up everywhere people do. On mountain tops. In remote labs. After long days and big wins. Before the call even goes through, Gorilla Glass is there when it matters most.
Air pollution used to be the norm. But in the 1970s, Corning rushed to help carmakers meet regulations set by the Clean Air Act. Since then, Corning’s ceramic-based emissions control products have helped eliminate 99% of vehicle-originating emissions, cleaning the air for us and future generations.
When the world needed vaccines fast, every vial mattered. Corning helped manufacture pharmaceutical glass vials at massive scale — with the strength and consistency needed to reduce breakage and keep production moving. Those vials supported the delivery of more than 8 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses worldwide. Because in moments like that, pride in the process becomes part of saving lives.
Wherever Corning operates, community comes first — from Reynosa, Mexico to Hanoi, Vietnam. Employees come together to support neighbors, families, and local needs — whether through health services, volunteer efforts, or simply lending a hand. These aren’t one-time moments. They’re part of how Corning shows up, generation after generation, in the places we call home.
For 175 years, Corning has looked ahead — anticipating challenges and pioneering solutions with partners around the world. For us, what’s next isn’t a single idea. It’s a mindset. One rooted in possibility, progress, and the belief that tomorrow can always be better than today.
To see deeper into space, Corning produced telescope assembles supporting the Fine Guidance Sensor and Tracker on the James Webb Space Telescope. Now more than a million miles from Earth, Webb is revealing never-before-seen views of the universe.
One promising cell + Corning’s life sciences technology = A path forward for scientists cracking the code on cell therapies. With closed systems, high‑density expansion technologies, and environments designed for stem cells to thrive, Corning helps turn science into clinical reality, moving new treatments closer to the people waiting for them.
Decades ago, Corning developed deep expertise in ultra-pure polysilicon for the semiconductor industry. Today, that same material science is powering a new chapter. As global energy demand rises, Corning polysilicon is helping launch high-efficiency solar solutions. We’re putting proven materials to work in new ways to meet the world’s energy needs.
Before a microchip can run a device, it has to be made with extreme precision. Corning’s ultra-pure glass helps manufacturers shape chip features at nanometer scales — again and again, without error. You may never see Corning’s role, but it’s there in every step that helps power devices.
At Corning, curiosity and collaboration drive innovation. By working closely with automotive partners, we help enable sleek, beautifully integrated designs like dashboards and consoles that move the industry forward — balancing aesthetics, performance, and durability.
AI runs on data, but its impact is human. As data demands exploded, Corning reinvented optical fiber for data centers, solving challenges in speed, scale, and reliability. That work now powers the networks that train and run AI worldwide. Corning keeps intelligence moving, so progress reaches people.
As we celebrate 175 years of discovery, partnership, and progress, we’re inspired by what lies ahead. With the shared spirit that brought us here, Corning is helping shape the next 175 years – advancing innovation, empowering industries, and creating a better world for generations to come.