In glass and for everyone

At the UM, human biodiversity is alive and well. Meet a particularly rare bird at the heart of the Triolet campus: Tristan Beldi, scientific glassblower. From simple Pyrex to almost pure silica, he transforms the hardest materials into fiery marshmallows.
With a fervour for this art of fire that has not left him in some 25 years in the business, this "job out of the ordinary"he says. Tristan Beldi is always busy. The phantasmagorias he breathes out, with a sure and steady breath, give rise to some very useful scientific tools...

Repairing and creating

From flasks and test tubes to refrigerators and micro-distillation apparatus, we can provide you with the full range of scientific glassware. From the indispensable Pyrex, the all-purpose pan used by chemists, to silica glass utensils used for manipulations at very high temperatures.
A full-time glassmaker at the university? It opens up a whole range of possibilities," explains Tristan. Fast repairs, the possibility of creating one-off pieces that would otherwise be unaffordable on the market, or even the possibility of working in the labs on complex assemblies for research purposes. In that case, don't hesitate to contact him:

Drawing up plans with the researcher and participating in the creation of a specific project is a real thrill!

Out-of-the-ordinary workshop

The customers of this unusual workshop? Teachers and researchers from all walks of life: mainly chemistry, but also pharmacy, medicine, physics... "In fact, the entire scientific community may have a need for glassware", explains this enthusiast, whom even the university's mathematicians have come to see. Their request: the manufacture of a "Klein bottle", a strange, self-contained container that bears some resemblance to the no less strange but better-known Möbius strip.
And if Tristan's art occasionally flirts with artistic creation, it's not to his displeasure. At the request of the UM's art and culture department, he took part in the Chimaera exhibition as part of the Microclimax collective's artist residency, creating an incredible glass prototype for the occasion: a forest of fragrant vases emerging from an undergrowth of fused chemical balloons.
While these forays into the art world remain limited, the business itself is still in its infancy, predicts Tristan, whose order book is expanding rapidly. Particularly as the Campus chimie Balard project is likely to further expand the community likely to use this local service.
The next project on Tristan's mind? An introductory glassmaking workshop, to help everyone get their hands dirty. Glass, of course.