Book excerpt: Many chemists – especially those most brilliant in their field – fail to appreciate the power of planned experimentation. They dislike the mathematical aspects of statistical analysis. In addition, these otherwise very capable chemists also dismissed predictive models based only on empirical data. Ironically, in the hands of subject matter experts like these elite chemists, the statistical methods of mixture design and analysis provide the means for rapidly converging on optimal compositions. What differentiates Formulation Simplified from the standard statistical texts on mixture design is that the authors make the topic relatively easy and fun to read. They provide a whole new collection of insighful original studies that illustrate the essentials of mixture design and analysis. Solid industrial examples are offered as problems at the end of many chapters for those who are serious about trying new tools on their own. Statistical software to do the computations can be freely accessed via a web site developed in support of this book.