Grading

Gem Researcher Thomas Hainschwang Receives $10K Grant

GradingJun 20, 2017

Gem Researcher Thomas Hainschwang Receives $10K Grant

The grant from the Accredited Gemologists Association will help fund his cutting-edge work on origin of color in diamonds.

Gem Researcher Thomas Hainschwang Receives $10K Grant
The Accredited Gemologists Association has awarded Thomas Hainschwang, managing director of the Liechtenstein branch of the GGTL Laboratory, a $10,000 research grant.

San Diego--The Accredited Gemologists Association has awarded Thomas Hainschwang, managing director of the Liechtenstein branch of GGTL Laboratories and one of the lab’s founders, a $10,000 research grant to help fund his cutting-edge diamond research.

AGA President Stuart Robertson said that Hainschwang’s proposed study outlines an incredibly advanced diamond treatment research, and the AGA’s Education Scholarship and Research Grant Committee recognized that this study could unlock new and important details for determining origin of color in diamonds.

Hainschwang will conduct this study in cooperation with other institutions in Switzerland, Germany and the Ukraine. It will include more than 100 diamonds, the properties of which will be analyzed in rigorous detail before and after each phase of research.

This comprehensive study could be the “most significant on the subject to date,” the AGA said in a press release.

AGA Committee Chair Heidi Harders said: “It was immediately clear to us that this research would have important implications for the international gemological community.”

Robertson said that Hainschwang has “demonstrated that he is one of those exceptional people who has not only a keen mind and extensive knowledge in multiple sciences, but also the curiosity, passion for the field, and dedication to approaching all that he does with integrity.”

The AGA Research Grant provides funding of up to $10,000 per year for approved research; only one grant is awarded per year.

The application process is open to anyone who is aiming to conduct a scientific gemological research project with an appropriate background defined in the application form.

Funding for the grant comes from the support of AGA members and benefactors.
Michelle Graffis the editor-in-chief at National Jeweler, directing the publication’s coverage both online and in print.

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