Gary L. Messing, distinguished professor of ceramic science and engineering, and his group at Pennsylvania State University, are developing a brand new class of ceramics that are so pure and perfectly transparent, they can be used as a substitute for crystals in solid-state lasers. Unlike traditional ceramics–such as your favorite coffee mug–materials scientists like Messing focus on what’s called advanced ceramics. These have unique mechanical, electrical, optical or thermal properties that make them useful in all sorts of applications. Advanced ceramics are already used in catalytic converters in cars, protective tiles covering the space shuttle, and electronic components in a…