Shape and Structure, from Engineering to Nature
"[A] unique, path-breaking and thought-provoking book of wide readership..."     International Journal of Applied Thermodynamics"Shape and Structure makes for a very interesting reading for anyone with a minimum background in mathematics and physics.  The books is well written in a lucid, enthusiastic style and meticulously copy edited and typeset by Cambridge.  It contains plenty of illustrations including 15 color plates, all instructive as well as beautiful."    Applied Mechanics Reviews"...unusual and fascinating...Anyone concerned with optimization, including students taking a course on the subject, will derive inspiration and insight from this book, and anyone with an interest in engineering and nature will get a great deal of pleasure from it."    Peter Bradshaw, Stanford University, AIAA Journal"This fascinating book is recommended as a text or reference for innovative, advanced design courses in all branches of modern egineering, including biomedical, transportation, and environmental engineering, architecture and spatail economics. Further, I strongly recommend it as a must read to all engineers who are experimenting with origainal, radically different concepts and ideas and who are poised to make a lasting impact on society."   Engineering Dimensions July- Aug 2001"This book provides some intriguing insights into the workings of both the natural world and that of engineering design....extremely well written, and the discussion is supported by clear graphical illustrations and some delightful photographs....excellent book."    Chemical Engineering Progress"this delightful read conducts the reader through the marvelous world of optimal system...this is an outstanding book, highly recommended not only for physicists and engineers, but also for life scientist, physicians, architects, economists and in general, for any person interested in how natural and man-made systems are composed and perform the way they do. Reading the book is a joyful experience that further stimulates the reader's mind and contributes to the creative observation of our natural and ingenuous world."    Pergamon"...this is a useful book for a general course on efficiency in design, both on the undergraduate and graduate level." - Helmut Kirchner, Pageoph