This volume includes 14 papers from the National Academy of Engineering's Ninth Annual U.S. Frontiers of Engineering Symposium held in September 2003. The U.S. Frontiers meeting brings together 100 outstanding engineers (ages 30-45) to learn from their peers and discuss leading-edge technologies in a range of fields. The 2003 symposium covered these four areas: environmental engineering; fundamental limits of nanotechnology; counterterrorism technologies and infrastructure protection; and biomolecular computing. Papers in the book cover topics such as microbial mineral respiration; water-resource engineering, economics, and public policy; frontiers of silicon CMOS technology; molecular electronics; biological counterterrorism technologies; Internet security; DNA computing by self-assembly; and challenges in programming living cells, among others. A talk by Aerospace Corp. president and CEO William F. Ballhaus, Jr. titled The Most Important Lessons You Didn't Learn in Engineering School is also included in the volume. Appendixes include summaries of the breakout session discussion that focused on public understanding of engineering, information about the contributors, the symposium program, and a list of the meeting participants. The book is the ninth in a series covering the topics of the U.S. Frontiers of Engineering meetings.

As our knowledge of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) continues to grow, so does The MEMS Handbook. The field has changed so much that this Second Edition is now available in three volumes. Individually, each volume provides focused, authoritative treatment of specific areas of interest. Together, they comprise the most comprehensive collection

The world's deserts are sufficiently large that, in theory, covering a fraction of their landmass with PV systems could generate many times the current primary global energy supply. This Energy from the Desert volume examines and evaluates the potential of very large scale photovoltaic power generation (VLS-PV) systems. Following from the success of the first book on the subject, the authors present practical case studies of both virtual and real projects based on selected regions (including the Mediterranean, the Middle East, the Gobi Desert and Western Australia) and their specific socio-economic dynamics, and argue that VLS-PV systems in desert areas will be readily available in the near future. As the essential companion to the previous International Energy Agency (IEA) volume it reiterates and develops key concepts introduced by the original study and provides firm practical recommendations to achieve long-term targets for policy-makers and investors.

Issues relating to the high-K gate dielectric are among the greatest challenges for the evolving International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS). More than just an historical overview, this book will assess previous and present approaches related to scaling the gate dielectric and their impact, along with the creative directions and forthcoming challenges that will define the future of gate dielectric scaling technology.