Book excerpt: A unique interdisciplinary approach to inorganic materialsdesign Textbooks intended for the training of chemists in the inorganicmaterials field often omit many relevant topics. With itsinterdisciplinary approach, this book fills that gap by presentingconcepts from chemistry, physics, materials science, metallurgy,and ceramics in a unified treatment targeted towards the chemistryaudience. Semiconductors, metal alloys and intermetallics, as wellas ceramic substances are covered. Accordingly, the book shouldalso be useful to students and working professionals in a varietyof other disciplines. This book discusses a number of topics that are pertinent to thedesign of new inorganic materials but are typically not covered instandard solid-state chemistry books. The authors start with anintroduction to structure at the mesoscopic level and progress tosmaller-length scales. Next, detailed consideration is given toboth phenomenological and atomistic-level descriptions of transportproperties, the metal-nonmetal transition, magnetic and dielectricproperties, optical properties, and mechanical properties. Finally,the authors present introductions to phase equilibria, synthesis,and nanomaterials. Other features include: * Worked examples demonstrating concepts unfamiliar to thechemist * Extensive references to related literature, leading readers tomore in-depth coverage of particular topics * Biographies introducing the reader to great contributors to thefield of inorganic materials science in the twentieth century With their interdisciplinary approach, the authors have set thegroundwork for communication and understanding among professionalsin varied disciplines who are involved with inorganic materialsengineering. Armed with this publication, students and researchersin inorganic and physical chemistry, physics, materials science,and engineering will be better equipped to face today's complexdesign challenges. This textbook is appropriate for senior-levelundergraduate and graduate course work.