If you’re like me, you’ve uttered this phrase more than once. With an open mind, one never stops learning—and sometimes those lessons may come from unexpected sources.
In 1987, as I was completing my studies in chemistry, I participated in two seemingly unrelated events that have since figured significantly in my professional development. Those two events were patenting and writing a book.
Following graduation, I put my education to use developing technology—initially at a contract R&D firm (Bend Research, Inc.) and later in startups that I co-founded. As a result of this work I have been awarded 100 US patents and a larger number of foreign patents in fields ranging from sensors to catalysts to alternative energy production and industrial gas separations. Not surprisingly, inventing is a significant part of technology development.
And how does writing fit into this picture? As chemistry students learn early on, writing is the fundamental method of communicating experimental results. Professors are very familiar with the age-old motto “publish or perish.” Writing a book is a bit different, and my first exposure to this was the drafting of my doctoral thesis. It was quite an undertaking, requiring a degree of organization and logical presentation of information that far exceeded lab reports. Plus the editorial feedback from my committee members was a humbling and educational experience. This process continued in industry as I authored technical reports and proposals, sometimes up to 50 pages in length, and I learned under several wonderful mentors.
It was several years later that I was invited to write book chapters on hydrogen separation technology, and then an editor for Pan Stanford Publishing (part of the Wiley group) asked me to write a complete text on hydrogen and fuel cell technology. I accepted these challenges with trepidation, and grew through the process.
Patenting and writing technical publications have identical goals—to disseminate knowledge. What I did not expect is that these activities awoke within me a keen passion to write fiction. My first two novels have received critical acclaim and best-seller status—number three is on the way.
Although fiction writing may seem worlds away from science and engineering, I’d argue that the foundational skills I learned as a scientist and inventor have enabled a measure of success as a fiction author. My goal is to share those lessons about patents, copyright, and other forms of intellectual property, in a context that is useful to a wide audience. I hope you’ll check in for more, coming soon.
Cheers, and Go Ducks!
Dave Edlund, PhD '87
david@e1na.com
DUCK ALUMNI CAREER BLOG
August 27, 2015