Materials science includes those parts of chemistry and physics that deal with the properties of materials. It encompasses four classes of materials, the study of each of which may be considered a separate field: metals; ceramics; polymers and composites. Materials science is often referred to as materials science and engineering because it...

This series, established in 1965, is concerned with recent developments in the general area of atomic, molecular and optical physics. The field is in a state of rapid growth, as new experimental and theoretical techniques are used on many old and new problems.
Topics covered include related applied areas, such as atmospheric science,...

This book grew out of our efforts to provide a balanced coverage of essential elements of machine vision systems to students in our undergraduate and early graduate classes. The field of machine vision, or computer vision, has been growning at a fast face. The growth in this field, unlike most established fields, has been both in breadth and...

The growth of the web can be seen as an expanding public digital library collection. Online digital information extends far beyond the web and its publicly available information. Huge amounts of information are private and are of interest to local communities, such as the records of customers of a business. This information is overwhelmingly...

With the advent of digital computers more than half a century ago, researchers working in a wide range of scientific disciplines have obtained an extremely powerful tool to pursue deep understanding of natural processes in physical, chemical, and biological systems. Computers pose a great challenge to mathematical sciences, as the range of...

Over the years, I’ve created many homemade robots (some of which, only the builder could love). However, with each successive robotic generation, I try to gradually expand my knowledge of electronics, mechanics, machining, software, and art by experimenting with new techniques, features, or parts...

Managing knowledge networks (KN) within organizations has taken on enhanced importance in recent years because of the decline of middle management and other changes in formal organizational structures, the growth of information technologies, and our increasingly competitive global economy. KN can be manifested in a variety of forms: project...

The number of students aswell as colleagues in the field who have learned neuroanatomy according to volume 3 of the color atlas has been steadily increasing. Kahle’s textbook has proved its worth. What should one do after taking on the job of carrying on with this text book, other than leaving as much as possible as it is? However, the...

From liquidating excess inventory to B2B materials procurement, corporate America has discovered online auctions as a catalyst for redefining old supply-chain relationships and business practices. Most analysts...

The twentieth century began with the rediscovery of Mendel’s rules of inheritance and ended with the complete sequence of the human genome, one of the most monumental scientific accomplishments of all time. What lies in the future? What will the twenty-first century, the century of genomics, bring? Will geneticists a hundred years from...

There are some issues in human paleontology that seem to be timeless. Most deal with the origin and early evolution of our own genus – something about which we should care. Some of these issues pertain to taxonomy and systematics. How many species of Homo were there in the Pliocene and Pleistocene? How do we identify the earliest...