New Book on Automation

Publisher: InTech Publication
Year: 2012 Pages: 548 pages
ISBN: 978-953-51-0685-2

The following is the PREFACE written by Dr. Florian Kongoli:

Preface

Automation is closely related to the modern need for sustainable development in the 21st century. One of the principles of sustainability is "Doing More with Less" which in other words, is also one of the goals of automation. By replacing the routine part of human labor with the use of machines, automation not only increases productivity and the quality of products beyond what can be achieved by humans but also frees space, time and energy for humans to deal with the new, non-routine challenge of developing innovative and more advanced technologies. This magnificent cycle in which established developments are automated and the free resources achieved by this automation are used to develop newer technologies that are subsequently automated is one of the most successful recipes for the human race towards the goal of sustainable development.

Automation as a new discipline emerged in the second half of the 20^th century and quickly attracted some of the brightest scientists in the world. Although in the beginning its theory and industrial applications were mostly in the electrical, mechanical, hydraulic and pneumatic fields, the computer revolution has made possible the "invasion" of automation in all fields of life without exception. This phenomenon has perpetuated itself by such a degree that today computerization and automation can hardly be clearly distinguished from one another. This is also reflected in the contents of this book where interesting contributions cover various fields of technical as well as social sciences. At first sight it seems that the chapters of the book have nothing in common since they cover different fields and are directed only to specialists in their respective domains. In fact, they are bound together by the need for automation in the various routine aspects of our lives and it is here where the overlapping interest of the reader is expected. In order to facilitate and encourage broad interest from scientists of various fields, each chapter starts similarly with a plain and simple description of the related scientific field where automation is applied, a short review of previous achievements, and a capsule detailing what the new developments are.

For more information on the book and to get a copy please click here

Dr. Florian Kongoli, BSc (Honors), MASc, PhD,
MTMS, MGDMB, MCIM, MSME, MAIST,MISIJ,
MSigmaXi, MIFAC, MACS, MASM, MMRS, MACerS, MECS
Executive President (CEO), FLOGEN Technologies Inc.
Chairman, FLOGEN Star OUTREACH

Prof. Hong Yong Sohn was Awarded the 2012 Billiton Gold Medal from IOM3, UK

Prof. Hong Yong Sohn, University of Utah, for whom Dr Florian Kongoli organized a symposium in his honor and bearing his name "Sohn International Symposium on Advanced Processing of Metals and Materials", in San Diego California, in August 2006 (archived Web Site here) was awarded the 2012 Billiton Gold Medal, 2012 from The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining in the U.K.; for the paper entitled 'Penetration behaviour of an annular gas-solid jet impinging on a liquid bath: effect of the annular cross-sectional area', published along with coauthors in Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy Volume 20, Number 1, 2011. (Web Site: https://www.iom3.org/award-winners-2012)

This is another Award after the major "Sohn International Symposium on Advanced Processing of Metals and Materials", organized in his honor by Dr. Florian Kongoli in San Diego California, August 2006 with more than 500 presentations and 9 published volumes - the biggest stand-alone symposium in its class until 2006.