Exploring Materials Through Patent Information

A guide for students on how to use patents as a source of information using different materials as case studies.

David Segal read natural sciences at Trinity Hall, Cambridge University and graduated in 1972. He obtained a M.Sc. with commendation in surface chemistry and colloids at the University of Bristol and completed a Ph.D. on foaming in lubricating oils at the same university. Post-doctoral work was carried out at Brunel University on the surface chemistry of copper phthalocyanine pigments. He has been employed in both the public and private sectors in the United Kingdom and throughout his working life has maintained an interest in materials chemistry and patent literature. David Segal wrote the book ＂Chemical synthesis of advanced ceramic materials＂ that was published by Cambridge University Press in 1989. He is an author or co-author of over forty scientific papers and an inventor or co-inventor of over twenty patent families.