Pyrex (trademarked as PYREX and pyrex) is a brand introduced by Corning Inc. in 1915 for a line of clear, low-thermal-expansion borosilicate glass used for laboratory glassware and kitchenware. It was later expanded to include kitchenware products made of soda-lime glass and other materials. In 1998, the kitchenware division of Corning Inc. responsible for the development of Pyrex spun off from its parent company as Corning Consumer Products Company, subsequently renamed Corelle Brands (and would later merge with Instant Brands). Corning Inc. no longer manufactures or markets consumer products, only industrial ones. Both trademarks, PYREX (all uppercase) and pyrex (all lowercase, introduced in 1975), were used interchangeably in the marketing of kitchenware products made of both borosilicate and soda lime glass, in addition to related accessories, for several decades. The latter trademark is now used for kitchenware sold in the United States, South America, and Asia. In Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, a variation of the PYREX (all uppercase) trademark is licensed by International Cookware for bakeware that has been made of numerous materials including borosilicate and soda-lime glass, stoneware, metal, plus vitroceramic cookware. In the past, the brand name has also been used for kitchen utensils and bakeware by other companies in regions such as Japan and Australia. History Borosilicate glass was first made by German chemist and glass technologist Otto Schott, founder of Schott AG in 1893, 22 years before Corning produced the Pyrex brand. Schott AG sells the product under the name "Duran". In 1908, Eugene Sullivan, director of research at Corning Glass Works, developed Nonex, a borosilicate low-expansion glass, to reduce breakage in shock-resistant lantern globes and battery jars. Sullivan had learned about Schott's borosilicate glass as a doctoral student in Leipzig, Germany. Jesse Littleton of Corning discovered the cooking potential of borosilicate glass by giving his wife Bessie Littleton a casserole dish made from a cut-down Nonex battery jar. Corning removed the lead from Nonex and developed it as a consumer product. Pyrex made its public debut in 1915 during World War I, positioned as an American-produced alternative to Duran. A Corning executive gave the following account of the etymology of the name "Pyrex": Corning purchased the Macbeth-Evans Glass company in 1936 and their Charleroi, PA plant was used to produce Pyrex opal ware bowls and bakeware made of tempered soda-lime glass. In 1958 an internal design department was started by John B. Ward.