Carlton Washburn

Lecturer, Engineer and Product Development Expert

Connect with Carlton Washburn on LinkedIn
Website: https://www.elsevier.com/

About the author:

Though trained as a mechanical engineer with a background in physics, Carlton Washburn found a home in chemical and process development for the semiconductor industry early in his career. Serving in both technical and business roles, he offers insights into the methods that teams use to develop custom chemical solutions and how they integrate the products into manufacturing processes. Having also spent some time in academia, Carlton taught graduate and undergraduate courses on project management, marketing and technology management. When he’s not mentoring young engineers and solving technology problems, Carlton enjoys cycling and downhill skiing.

Posts by Carlton Washburn

The Future of Materials

Posted on August 19th, 2016 in New Materials & Applications

Recently Google was issued a patent for an adhesive applied to the hood of a car (U.S. Patent No. 9,340,178, 2016).  The adhesive’s purpose is to catch a person who has been struck by a car, keeping them from bouncing off the hood and getting run over. Continue reading “The Future of Materials” »

The Typical Innovator

Posted on June 20th, 2016 in Chemical Manufacturing Excellence

As the popular story goes, true innovators labor alone, hidden, toiling over their invention. Iteration after iteration, moving through a learning cycle that removes an idea that didn’t work. Continue reading “The Typical Innovator” »

The Ideal Team Size

Posted on March 10th, 2016 in Chemical R&D

I have always found the world of research and product development interesting, in part due to its counterintuitive nature.  For example, have you ever noticed that when your job description says Individual Contributor, you work on more teams than you have fingers to count them? Continue reading “The Ideal Team Size” »

Research and Development: The Struggle is Real!

Posted on January 19th, 2016 in Chemical R&D

I have spent most of my career serving in research and development teams. A couple of years ago I was asked during a meeting, “How long will this development project take?” Continue reading “Research and Development: The Struggle is Real!” »