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Books in Physical sciences and engineering

  • Sustainability and Construction

    The Global Context and the New Zealand Perspective
    • 1st Edition
    • September 1, 2026
    • Kamal Dhawan + 3 more
    • English
    Sustainability and Construction: The Global Context and the New Zealand Perspective explores various dimensions of sustainability in construction. It commences with a comprehensive discourse on the sustainability concept and its construction context.Next, it examines sustainability across the various phases of a typical construction project—from inception, through operationalization, to end-of-life management—on one hand, and, on the other, the sustainability of associated processes and domains such as supply chains, logistics, delivery models, and waste management. The narrative is extended through sustainability rating schemes, regenerative built environment, and the context of technology in construction. A strategic organizational viewpoint is presented through an integrated treatment of corporate sustainability, its assessment, reporting, and benchmarking, against the backdrop of the sustainability imperative. Stakeholder perspectives and the “wickedness” of sustainable construction in New Zealand conclude the work.The unique treatment of the overarching themes impacting sustainability in the global construction industry and their intersection with the New Zealand standpoint delivers a well-balanced and thoroughly researched resource. It is a value-added, highly visual text for engineers, students, researchers, policy makers, and industry stakeholders alike.
  • Humanizing Artificial Touch

    Skin, Sensing, and Structures
    • 1st Edition
    • September 1, 2026
    • John-John Cabibihan
    • English
    Humanizing Artificial Touch: Skin, Sensing, and Structures contains recent advances in artificial skin modelling and robotic tactile sensing technologies, integrating these in the structure of an artificial hand mimicking its important features. This book will give special treatment to the relationship between the artificial skin material and embedded tactile sensors, describing how artificial skin and embedded sensors can be designed and constructed using 3D printing technologies with case examples on how these were created for amputees achieve a more a natural and rich human-robot tactile interaction.This book is oriented towards students, researchers, and clinical practitioners who are working in the design and construction of artificial hands for prosthetics and social robotics.
  • Protonic Ceramic Fuel Cells

    Principles, Design, and Applications
    • 1st Edition
    • September 1, 2026
    • Abu Yousuf + 3 more
    • English
    Protonic Ceramic Fuel Cells: Principles, Design, and Applications is an essential resource that brings together the latest advancements in materials, design, fabrication techniques, and applications. This book offers a comprehensive, interdisciplinary understanding of Protonic Ceramic Fuel Cells technology, identifying challenges and future opportunities. By providing a step-by-step approach, practical examples, and case studies, it serves as an invaluable guide for researchers, students, engineers, R&D scientists, policymakers, and professionals interested in fuel cells, energy storage, renewable energy, and the wider energy sector.In addition to introducing the basics of fuel cell systems, thermodynamics, Protonic Ceramic Fuel Cells, materials, and electrochemical reactions, the book delves into cell, stack, and system-level modeling, transport of charged particles, performance characterization techniques, degradation, system design, application, and stack manufacturing cost. Further chapters explore future research directions, environmental impact, sustainability, safety, and risk assessment.
  • Applied Thermodynamics

    Low Temperature and Renewable Energy Systems
    • 1st Edition
    • September 1, 2026
    • Andriy Redko + 1 more
    • English
    Applied Thermodynamics: Low-Temperature and Renewable Energy Systems pairs key fundamentals with practical applications that support sustainability. After outlining basic concepts and positions of thermodynamics, the book breaks down theory, the classic governing laws of thermodynamics, and overviews thermodynamic processes. The text then shifts to practical application examples, examining open systems, heat power plants, HVAC and power supply systems from renewable sources, methods and the efficiency of thermal systems, and machines and equipment. Geared to students and researchers, the book is packed with solved problems and self-control tests to facilitate understanding.The text fosters practical innovation in a well-established field by offering readers a contemporary examination of a topic as essential to energy as heat itself. Grounded in classical principles, this contemporary reference considers throughout the context of our current energy mix, applying the critical lens of sustainability and sustainable options for energy conversion.
  • Solar Stills for Sustainable Water Purification

    Innovations, Policies, and Applications
    • 1st Edition
    • September 1, 2026
    • Zafar Said + 1 more
    • English
    Solar Stills for Sustainable Water Purification: Innovations, Policies, and Applications explores recent developments in solar distillation technology, highlighting the use of solar energy in the efficient production of clean water, combining renewable energy and water purifying methods to address water scarcity and related challenges in a sustainable way. The book begins by introducing the basic principles and connections between solar stills, solar energy, and water purification. Subsequent chapters offer in-depth coverage and analysis of design, mechanics, and maintenance, strategies for enhanced productivity, heat storage, thermal modeling and analysis, economic viability, machine learning for optimization, environmental impact, policy, legal, and regulatory aspects, social and community impact, and innovative applications and materials. Finally, emerging technologies, potential future enhancements, and research gaps are discussed. Within several chapters, case studies are used to practically illustrate applications and impacts of solar still technology, providing real-world context for the theoretical and technical content. This is a useful resource for all those with an interest in solar still technology, solar energy applications, water resource management, green technology, and environmental engineering, including researchers, advanced students, faculty, engineers, R&D, industry practitioners, and policy makers.
  • Climate Change

    The Root Causes and Ways to Overcome Climate Change
    • 1st Edition
    • September 1, 2026
    • Trevor Letcher
    • English
    Climate Change: The Root Causes and Ways to Overcome Climate Change focuses on the underlying cause of global warming, investigates other possible causes, and evaluates ways to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. The book includes a discussion on atmospheric chemistry and the effects of CO2 in the atmosphere, the influence of ozone on global warming, a history of the earth’s climate, solar radiation changes, the effect of space weather on global warming, agricultural practices and global warming, and the effect of the Earth’s movements.
  • GNSS Applications to Monitor Natural Hazards

    • 1st Edition
    • September 1, 2026
    • Joseph Awange
    • English
    Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) are a cornerstone of modern geodetic positioning, but their true potential extends far beyond traditional applications. GNSS Applications to Monitor Natural Hazards presents a systematic, step-by-step methodology for leveraging satellite-based positioning to detect, analyze, and mitigate environmental threats—from floods and droughts to seismic shifts and landslides. As climate change intensifies natural hazards, this book bridges the gap between theory and practice, offering researchers, engineers, and policymakers reproducible techniques to enhance early-warning systems. For the first time, it also explores AI-enhanced GNSS, demonstrating how machine learning can unlock real-time hazard prediction and adaptive monitoring. Designed for both experts and newcomers, this work translates cutting-edge research into actionable strategies, empowering readers to harness GNSS technology for a more resilient future. Whether optimizing disaster response or decoding subtle environmental changes, this book is an essential guide to reducing the impact of catastrophic events through innovation.
  • Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for Safety-Critical Systems

    A Comprehensive Guide
    • 1st Edition
    • September 1, 2026
    • Rajiv Pandey + 3 more
    • English
    Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for Safety-Critical Systems: A Comprehensive Guide provides engineers and system designers who are exploring the application of AI/ML methods for safety-critical systems with a dedicated resource on the challenges and mitigation strategies involved in their design. The book's authors present ML techniques in safety-critical systems across multiple domains, including pattern recognition, image processing, edge computing, Internet of Things (IoT), encryption, hardware accelerators, and many others. These applications help readers understand the many challenges that need to be addressed in order to increase the deployment of ML models in critical systems. In addition, the book shows how to improve public trust in ML systems by providing explainable model outputs rather than treating the system as a black box for which the outputs are difficult to explain. Finally, the authors demonstrate how to meet legal certification and regulatory requirements for the appropriate ML models. In essence, the goal of this book is to help ensure that AI-based critical systems better utilize resources, avoid failures, and increase system safety and public safety.
  • Electric Vehicle Conductive and Wireless Charging Technologies

    Power Electronics for Grid Integration
    • 1st Edition
    • September 1, 2026
    • Yiming Zhang + 1 more
    • English
    Electric Vehicle Conductive and Wireless Charging Technologies: Power Electronics for Grid Integration provides a comprehensive overview of the latest advancements and challenges in the field of electric vehicle charging technology. The book begins by providing a clear assessment of the research history and context before proposing a set of implantation standards for both conductive and wireless charging. Each charging technology is given a detailed assessment, and the two are contrasted in a variety of case studies and scenarios. Specific challenges such as wide-voltage-gain efficient conductive charging and misalignment tolerance and interoperability in wireless charging are presented, with potential solutions.Critically... auxiliary systems from positioning to foreign object detection are put in context, and a practical assessment of integration challenge is provided. This book equips students, researchers, and engineer with a holistic view of the challenges, cutting-edge research landscape, and integration opportunities related to EV wireless and conductive charging.
  • Plastic Circularity

    Data Development, Flow Analysis, and Value Chain Coordination
    • 1st Edition
    • September 1, 2026
    • Paul T. Mativenga + 2 more
    • English
    Plastic Circularity: Data Development, Flow Analysis, and Value Chain Coordination presents a comprehensive framework for tackling the challenge of plastic waste through a circular economy approach. The book explores innovative methodologies for modeling plastic material flows, evaluating sustainability metrics and enhancing stakeholder participation across the value chain. This essential resource covers critical topics such as lifecycle impact assessments, data building, and stakeholder dynamics, providing actionable insights for transitioning to tighter circularity loops.By offering practical tools and case studies, the comprehensive resource empowers decision-makers to enhance recycling systems and promote sustainable practices, contributing to a more environmentally responsible plastic economy.