Research Highlights
New Books by WPI Faculty Members
Algorithms in a Nutshell
Gary F. Pollice, Stanley M. Selkow, and George T. Heineman
O'Reilly Media Inc., 2008
Creating robust software requires the use of efficient algorithms. Pollice, Selkow, and Heineman, all faculty members in the Computer Science Department, describe a large number of existing algorithms for solving a variety of problems and help the reader select the right one for the job.
Childhood: An Autobiographical Fragment
Moses Rosenkranz; translated by David Dollenmayer
Syracuse University Press, 2007
Dollenmayer, professor of German, won the 2008 Helen and Kurt Wolff Prize (for an outstanding literary translation from German to English published in the United States) for this story of the acclaimed poet from Bucovina and his rise from poverty.
Computational Methods for Multiphase Flow
Edited by Andrea Prosperetti and Gretar Tryggvason
Cambridge University Press, 2007
Unrivaled for its thoroughness, this comprehensive graduate-level introduction to the computational modeling of multiphase flows, co-edited by Tryggvason, professor and head of the Mechanical Engineering Department, was "highly recommended" by the editors of the Journal of Fluid Mechanics.
The Court Poetry of Chaucer: A Facing-Page Translation in Modern English
Compiled and translated by James Dempsey
Edwin Mellen Press, 2007
The modernization of Chaucer’s verse has been restricted largely to the longer poems, such as The Canterbury Tales. These translations by Dempsey, adjunct instructor of English, show that the court poems offer something closer to the actual voice of Chaucer speaking to his contemporaries.
Egress Design Solutions: A Guide to Evacuation and Crowd Management Planning
Jeffrey Tubbs and Brian J. Meacham
Wiley, 2007
Designed as a primary resource for architects on designing for egress, evacuation, and life safety, the book was co-authored by Meacham, then research director and principal risk and fire consultant at Arup Fire and now associate professor of fire protection engineering at WPI.
God or Gorilla: Images of Evolution in the Jazz Age
By Constance Areson Clark
Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008
Clark, assistant professor of history, explores the efforts of biologists to explain evolution to a confused and conflicted public during the 1920s, and how scientists and anti-evolutionists used images and popularization to win the battle for public acceptance.
An Introduction to the Mathematical Theory of Dynamic Materials
Konstantin A. Lurie
Springer-Verlag, 2007
In this book, Lurie, professor of mathematical sciences, offers an extensive mathematical treatment of dynamic materials —a novel concept in materials science. The book is designed for applied mathematicians interested in optimal material design in dynamics, as well for researchers in the field of metamaterials.
Lennie Tristano: His Life in Music
Eunmi Shim
University of Michigan Press, 2007
The first in-depth treatment of the life, music, and teaching of this jazz pioneer won Shim, assistant professor of music, significant recognition, including a bronze medal in the 2008 Independent Publisher Book Awards in the category of Performing Arts.
Modeling Data Irregularities and Structural Complexities in Data Envelopment Analysis
Edited by Joe Zhu and Wade Cook
Springer-Verlag, 2007
In a relatively short period of time, data envelopment analysis has grown into a powerful tool for measuring and evaluating performance. This book, co-edited by Zhu, associate professor of management, deals with the micro aspects of handling and modeling data.
Negotiated Power in Late Imperial China: The Zongli Yamen and the Politics of Reform
Jennifer Rudolph
Cornell East Asia Series, 2008
Rudolph, assistant professor of history, explores the nature and functioning of reform during the 19th century of China’s Qing dynasty (1644–1911). She demonstrates the vitality of not only the Chinese state, but the institutional traditions of its Manchu rulers.
Pavement Engineering
Rajib B. Mallick and Tahar El-Korchi
Taylor & Francis Ltd., 2008
El-Korchi, professor and head of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, and Mallick, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, cover the entire range of pavement construction, from soil preparation to structural design and life-cycle costing and analysis.
The Sustainable Development Paradox: Urban Political Economy in the United States and Europe
Edited by Robert Krueger and David C. Gibbs
Guilford Publications Inc., 2007
Scholars have overlooked how policies aimed at promoting sustainability are shaped and constrained by capitalist social relations. Krueger, assistant professor of interdisciplinary and global studies, and Gibbs reexamine sustainability conceptually and as it exists on the ground.