Invention and Evolution:Design in Nature and Engineering by M J French

Invention and Evolution:Design in Nature and Engineering by M J French

This textbook for engineering students provides an introduction to design for function, using many examples of manufactured artifacts and living organisms to demonstrate fundamental underlying principles. Nature has taken millions of years to evolve numerous solutions for many design problems. The author demonstrates that the same underlying design principles for man-made objects also apply to living organisms, and shows how common themes can be found in mechanisms such as knees and car suspensions, structures such as feathers and ships, and systems such as horses and hydrofoils. The examples forcefully illustrate the importance of the basic design principles as related to materials, energy and information. The author also discusses the relation of aesthetic and functional design, the crucial relation of design to production in artifacts, and reproduction in organisms. The book concludes with a brief summary of the role and requirements of designers and inventors.

'This book is strongly recommended for students and practitioner alikeIt is studded with gems of information and fascinating comparisons well illustrated both in the diagrams and the text.' Engineering Design Education and Training
'Indeed it deserves the same wide audience as J. E. Gordon's brilliant popular classic: The Science of Strong Materials and Structures. It deals largely with different aspects of design but it resembles them in its clarity, wisdom, humour, and in its astonishing range of examples.' The Times Higher Education Supplement

French, Michael: - A graduate of Stanford University with a degree in English and of Northwestern University with a master's in journalism, Michael French is the author of twenty-four books: adult and young adult fiction, art criticism, biographies, adaptations, and gender studies. A native of Los Angeles, he also is a successful businessman, an avid high-altitude mountain trekker, a world traveler to developing countries, an activist, and, with his wife, Patricia, a philanthropist raising money for programs aiding teachers in Santa Fe, N.M., public schools, which are some of the most challenged in the country.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780521314923
ISBN 10	0521314925
Title	Invention and Evolution:Design in Nature and Engineering
Author	M J French
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Cambridge University Press
Year published	1988-03-31
Number of pages	338
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable