2008-08-25 16:28:12 - The McGraw Hill book Materials Science and Engineering by William F Smith Professor Emeritus of Engineering University of Central Florida and Javad Hashemi Professor of Mechanical Engineering Texas Tech University has been a popular book for teaching Structure and Properties of Materials in various universities world over. However the adaptation of the book in India was a problem as it was in FPS Units instead of the desired SI Units.

Professor Ravi Prakash presently Dean Research and Consultancy as well as Coordinator for Centre for Materials Science and Technology at BITS Pilani has made the dream come true by coauthoring the fourth edition of this popular book in SI Units. Currently Professor Ravi Prakash also is the coordinator for Centre for Robotics and Intelligent Systems and Center for Desert Development Technology at BITS Pilani.

Prior to joining BITS in 1995, he has two decades of Teaching and Research experience at Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University in various capacities which includes his stint as Science Counsellor at Embassy of India, Washington D.C., USA.

He obtained his B.Sc. (Mechanical Engineering) Hons from Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India, 1971; M.Sc. (Engineering Design) from University of Salford, Lancs, U.K., 1973; and Ph.D. (Materials) from Cranfield University, U.K. 1975. He has over 100 research papers and has guided eight PhDs in addition to various dissertations at Masters level.

This book provides an eminently readable and comprehensive overview of engineering materials for undergraduate students. Through concise explanations, numerous worked-out examples, a wealth of illustrations and photographs apart from online resource, the new edition provides the most student-friendly introduction to the subject.

There are 14 chapters in the book covering Introduction to Materials Science and Engineering, Atomic Structure and Bonding, Crystal and Amorphous Structures in Materials, Solidification and Crystalline Imperfections, Thermally Activated Processes and Diffusion in Solids, Mechanical Properties of Metals I and II, Phase Diagrams, Engineering Alloys, Polymeric Materials, Ceramics, Composite Materials, Corrosion and Electrical Properties of Materials.

The salient features of the book apart from SI Units include focused coverage on modern topics including nanotechnology, biomedical engineering and semi conductors; materials selection and design problems in each chapter relating concepts to engineering practice; chapter openers giving the reader a sense of how engineers use concepts in the real world. The Excellent pedagogy of the book include 1284 exercise problems, 143 solved problems, 184 materials selection and design problems and 104 objective type questions.

The book ISBN is 9780070667174 and has 968 pages and is priced at an affordable Rs 450/-. This Special Indian Edition is for sale in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan only.

Dr Ravi Prakash can be contacted at Email: rprakash@bits-pilani.ac.in or raviprakash.ravi@gmail.com

About BITS Pilani: Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) Pilani Rajasthan which has the reputation of pioneering the online examinations for admissions through the path breaking BITSAT and setting a bench mark in industry university collaborations is one among the top ranking universities towering above the rest in various best college surveys in India today. BITS offers degrees in various disciplines presently at Pilani, Dubai, Goa and Hyderabad campuses apart from an array of work integrated learning programmes for HRD of a vast spectrum of Indian corporates. The alumni of the Institute who are who is who in various professions and Proud to be BITSians peaking with Passion Quotient for Alma mater are spread across the globe from Australia to America.

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