Maurice Ward

Maurice Ward was an English inventor best known for his invention of Starlite, a thermal shielding material. He was a former hairdresser from Hartlepool, County Durham, England. Ward believed he should not sell his material directly or allow unsupervised research due to the potential for reverse engineering, and he maintained that he should keep 51% ownership of the formula for Starlite because he valued the material to be worth billions; this is believed to have stunted its commercial success. Starlite is considered by many to be a lost invention, a technology which might have revolutionised the world of aerospace and materials science. Thermashield, LLC claims to have purchased the secret formula and all rights from Maurice's widow Eileen in 2013.