Knoxville, Tennessee (2/19/25) — “We’ve been envisioning wall art and signage as a great use for this recycled glass material for years now, and this project feels like the beginning of something.” That’s Alex Stiles, CEO of Vitriform3D, a startup member of IACMI – The Composites Institute®. He’s putting the finishing touches on the largest, most ambitious project he’s ever done. It’s a sign that does more than showcase IACMI’s logo. It represents one of the most important reasons IACMI exists: to foster collaborations.
Art as Inspiration
It started as a what if idea. What if we had a cool piece of art on the wall that used patent-pending technology to 3D print glass? And what if it also used other composite materials? Moving into IACMI’s new headquarters at Innovation South in Knoxville, Tennessee, was the perfect time to turn a what if into let’s make it happen!
Back in 2021, Stiles had identified wall art as a viable market in his initial business plan. Since then, he’s made several smaller framed recycled glass pieces for clients that sparkle and glow, the largest of which has been a 2-foot by 2-foot custom panel for the UT Research Park. Backlit with LEDs, they look amazing, but to scale this up further, there’s one problem—the weight. To make really big pieces of art, he would need to mix in lighter materials with the heavier glass.
His solution came in collaboration. “Partnering with Endeavor Composites, we could incorporate recycled carbon fiber, which of course is very high strength, very lightweight,” says Stiles, who was tasked with creating the 5foot by 5foot sign.
Carbon fiber has been a go-to material for composites manufacturers for decades, but cost has been a limiting factor. By repurposing post-production excess from IACMI member Zoltek that would otherwise go to landfill, Endeavor Composites’ CEO Hicham Ghossein has created a non-woven mat that’s a third of the cost of a non-woven made with virgin material. Finding cost-effective solutions opens up all kinds of new markets.
As Stiles monitors the acrylic on a laser cutter, he adds, “It seems fitting that IACMI’s logo would be a combination of advanced composites and that it’s bringing multiple members together on a project. It’s what they do.”
The Worker Bees
Another key piece to the collaboration puzzle is gathering skilled labor to meet a tight deadline. That’s where undergrads from the University of Tennessee come in. Hallie Cooper, Haley Henderson, and Kylie Corvin are all seniors pursuing an engineering degree. They also confess to being artsy; so, they’ve jumped at the chance to use both talents.
Henderson shares, “I love hands-on experience. That’s how I learn the best.” She and Cooper are cutting and taping a giant bag needed for a process called VARTM, Vacuum-Assisted Resin Transfer Molding. Meanwhile, Corvin, who happens to have her own jewelry business called the Rectangular Pickle, is cutting carbon fiber mats into triangles for maximum strength and design aesthetic.
She says, “There’s a certain sense of accomplishment being able to contribute to a larger idea – one that shows people why they should care about science.”
Corvin cares a great deal about biomedical engineering and dreams of manufacturing organs for people who need them.
“My best friend from high school had a child who was born with one kidney, and my grandma needed a heart transplant after going into heart failure,” she says. “I want a career where I do research in a lab and make progress towards big goals.”
This semester, she’s taking an important step towards that career with an IACMI-sponsored internship at Endeavor Composites. She’s excited about not only working on ways to make composites more uniform but getting to learn from a mentor like Ghossein. She’s in good company. Of the 100+ internships that IACMI has coordinated, 100% have been offered a job or entry into higher education.
“I like those statistics,” laughs Corvin, as she listens for any leaks in the “vacuum” bag. Not a bad way to spend the first day of her internship.
And a huge shout-out to essential hands on this project every step of the way: Pablo Castrejon, Eric Johnston, Matthew Sausen, and Mandy Tietjen. Operations manager of Fourth and Glass, Tietjen single-handedly collects nearly two tons of glass from 161 subscribers around Knoxville every month to provide a steady supply of glass for Vitriform3D.
While the vacuum forms a tight seal, the team mixes resin with powdered glass from old bottles and solar panels and spreads it like icing into silicone molds of letters. The VARTM carbon fiber and the engineered stone will cure overnight. The texture for both processes will have small imperfections, an asset Stiles prefers. “In artwork, it is important for recycled materials to look like they are recycled.”
How Art Pushes Science
“Many new materials being developed make their public debut as art,” says Stiles, who has a PhD in Energy Science and Engineering with a focus in Additive Manufacturing. “Art has that role of inspiring and showing what is possible. It can highlight new materials and manufacturing methods in a way that science can struggle with on its own. Not everybody is going to read a journal article about a new material, but if they see a beautiful piece of artwork that was made with that new material, then that might inspire someone. That inspiration could lead to more interest and a pathway to become mass-produced.”
That idea of mass-producing goods like decorative sea glass, coasters, and backsplash tiles — products where art and science collide — is what fuels Stiles to keep pushing forward and dreaming big. He’s one of the 70% of IACMI industrial members that are SMEs (Small & Medium Enterprises). For 10 years, SMEs have particularly benefitted from IACMI’s focus on convening, connecting, and catalyzing collaborations between industry, academia, and government. As Steve Bassetti from IACMI member Michelman puts it, “IACMI gives the little guys a chance.”
From interns starting out to entrepreneurs pushing boundaries, IACMI is proud to support the innovators in composites.
“It’s been exhilarating and nerve-wracking at the same time, to have to think on your feet and do this kind of problem solving,” confides Stiles, “but it’s worth it to see it all come together.”
