Dissatisfaction with the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as an indicator of a country’s development or a population’s wellbeing led to the development of the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI). The GPI is an aggregate index of over 20 economic, social and environmental indicators, and accounts for both the welfare benefits of economic growth, and the social and environmental costs which accompany that economic growth. The result is better information about the level of welfare or well-being of ...

This book systematically introduces readers to the operator method, which can be used in different stages of urban planning. Energy planning should ideally be accompanied by urban planning, ranging from comprehensive planning and detailed planning, to the design of individual construction projects. This book discusses a range of methods and models for defining energy planning objectives; analyzing and predicting energy demand; assessing available energy resources; optimizing integrated ene...

Additive Friction Stir Deposition is a comprehensive summary of the state-of-the-art understanding on this emerging solid-state additive manufacturing technology. Sections cover additive friction stir deposition, encompassing advances in processing science, metallurgical science and innovative applications. The book presents a clear description of underlying physical phenomena, shows how the process determines the printing quality, covers resultant microstructure and properties in the as-p...

Advances in wide bandgap semiconductor materials are enabling the development of a new generation of power semiconductor devices that far exceed the performance of silicon-based devices. These technologies offer potential breakthrough performance for a wide range of applications, including high-power and RF electronics, deep-UV optoelectronics, quantum information and extreme-environment applications.This reference text provides comprehensive coverage of the challenges and latest r...

Solid-State Metal Additive ManufacturingTimely summary of state-of-the-art solid-state metal 3D printing technologies, focusing on fundamental processing science and industrial applicationsSolid-State Metal Additive Manufacturing: Physics, Processes, Mechanical Properties, and Applications provides detailed and in-depth discussion on different solid-state metal additive manufacturing processes and applications, presenting associate...

Robotics and Artificial Intelligence for Reproductive Medicine provides fundamental principles underpinning robotic and AI techniques used for reproductive medicine. The book provides the state-of-the-art technical advances in clinical infertility treatment, along with the outlook on future challenges and opportunities of robotics and AI in reproductive medicine. It covers robotics, AI, computer vision, biomedical engineering, and reproductive medicine. - Covers robotic techniques for micr...