Quartz glass is the preferred material for applications that require long-term use because of its high chemical and mechanical stability and excellent optical properties. The engineer Prof. Dr. Bastian E. Rapp from the Department of Microsystems Engineering (IMTEK) at the University of Freiburg and his team have developed the Glassomer process, a method that enables scientists to shape glass like plastic. In the scientific journal Nature Communications, they recently presented a new application: They are now able to produce three-dimensional hollow structures in quartz glass.