Book excerpt: Mechanical engineering, an engineering discipline forged and shaped by the needs of the industrial revolution, is once again asked to do its substantial share in the call for industrial renewal. The general call is urgent as we face profound issues of productivity and competitiveness that require engineering solutions, among others . The Mechanical Engineering Series features graduate texts and research monographs intended to address the need for information in contemporary areas of mechanical engineering. The series is conceived as a comprehensive one that covers a broad range of c- centrations important to mechanical engineering graduate education and research . We are fortunate to have a distinguished roster of consulting editors on the ad- sory board, each an expert in one of the areas of concentration . The names of the consulting editors are listed on the facing page of this volume . The areas of conc- tration are applied mechanics, biomechanics, computational mechanics, dynamic systems and control, energetics , mechanics of materials, processing, production systems, thermal science, and tribology .