
xvii
Author
Dr. Alan Comyns has had an unusually varied career in academic, government, and industrial
research laboratories. He graduated with rst-class honors in chemistry from the University
of London at the age of 19. His PhD work, in the Hughes–Ingold School of Physical–Organic
Chemistry at University College London, was followed by postdoctoral studies at the California
Institute of Technology and the University of Wisconsin. He has worked at the Atomic Energy
Research Establishment, Harwell (United Kingdom); British Titan Products (now Huntsman), United
Kingdom; Westinghouse Electric, Pittsburgh, PA; and National Lead (now Kronos), Sa ...