S. Donald Stookey is no household name, but his best-known invention
truly is: CorningWare, the durable, heat-resistant ceramic glass used
since the 1950s to make millions upon millions of baked lasagnas, tuna
casseroles and other potluck-dinner dishes. The scientist, who died
Tuesday at 99, created a type of glass so strong that the military
used it in guided missile nose cones. His space-age material found a
home in most American kitchens in the form of white dishes decorated
with small blue flowers. Stanley Donald Stookey died at an
assisted-living center in Rochester, New York, said his son Donald
Stookey. He said his father broke a hip in a fall a few months ago and
underwent surgery, but his health deteriorated. "He was one of the
great glass scientists in the history of the world," said Steve
Feller, a physics professor at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa,
where Stookey earned an undergraduate degree in chemistry and
mathematics and remained active in alumni activities. "Virtually
everyone has had CorningWare at some point in time, and there were all
sorts of spinoff applications from his fantastic work."

Stookey was born in Hay Springs, Nebraska, on May 23, 1915. His family
moved from Nebraska to Cedar Rapids when he was 6. He graduated from
Coe College in 1936 before earning a master's degree in chemistry from
Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, followed by the MIT
doctorate.