Preface

Summary

Simulation is an important component of the engineering design process in many sectors. The integration of simulation into undergraduate engineering education in an appropriate manner, so that it enhances the fundamentals, and also provides students with a cutting-edge tool, has been in the forefront of education thinking, as evidenced by the interest in a recent workshop at Cornell University (ISTEC, 2008), and in a report by the National Science Foundation (NSF, 2006). The tremendous growth in biomedical engineering over the last 10–15 years has encouraged increased quantitative treatment of biomedical product, process and equipment design, and design of treatment procedures. Such quantitative treatment has made simulation into a useful tool in biomedical applications as well. The synergy between increased use of simulation and the availability of improved interfaces has brought down the barriers to the use of simulation, from only specialized modelers, to just about anyone who has the necessary prerequisite of the physical process (engineering science content such as heat transfer or mass transfer). The increased need in industry and research, and the lower barrier to modeling can be integrated further by having all the essential information under one umbrella – which is the goal for this book. This introductory book walks a person without any prior knowledge in modeling through all of the necessary steps thus helping them to join the modeling community, and thereby enabling a productivity tool for design and research.