1st Edition
Experimental Research Brief Essays on Timeless Concepts
Preface
Section 1. Preliminary Concepts
Chapter 1. Knowledge Creation Throughout History
Chapter 2. Our Physical Universe: Laws and Principles
Chapter 3. A Great Question: Where Good Science Begins
Chapter 4. Literature Review: Mapping the Knowledge Landscape
Chapter 5. Elegance in Experimental Research
Chapter 6. In Pursuit of Reality: Truth Through Trial
Section 2. Cognitive Factors in Research
Chapter 7. Life Choices and Chances
Chapter 8. Creativity and Creative Individuals
Chapter 9. Hidden Magic in Science and Engineering
Chapter 10. Experiments and Our Dynamic Brain
Chapter 11. Tools for Reasoning: Disciplined Thought
Chapter 12. Biases in Decision-Making
Chapter 13. Biases in Communication
Chapter 14. Research Teams: Creative Synergy
Section 3. Experimental Design Concepts
Chapter 15. Variables
Chapter 16. Measurement and the Measurand
Chapter 17. Experimental Methods: Diverse Approaches
Chapter 18. Disruptive Technologies: Methodological Thinking and Paradigm Shifts
Chapter 19. Statistical Concepts for Experimental Design and Execution
Chapter 20. The Dimensional and the Dimensionless
Chapter 21. Buckingham Pi Theorem: Dimensionless Groups
Chapter 22. Similarity and Scaling Laws
Section 4. Devices and Sensors
Chapter 23. Introduction to Devices and Sensors
Chapter 24. Enduring Simple Machines: From Archimedes to Galileo and Pascal
Chapter 25. Devices: Design Strategies Enhanced by Digital Twins
Chapter 26. Material, Form and Function
Chapter 27. Reaction Frames and Vessels: Mechanical Design Principles
Chapter 28. Linear Actuators, Motors and Pumps
Chapter 29. Impedance: Opposing Energy Flow
Chapter 30. Boundaries: Framing Experiments in Space and Time
Chapter 31. Noise… What a Pain!
Chapter 32. Sensing the World Around Us: Our Natural Sensors
Chapter 33. Sensing the Experiment: Scientific Sensors
Chapter 34. Electronics: Fundamentals and Applications
Chapter 35. Waves: Carriers of Energy and Information
Chapter 36. Optics: Light and Photography
Chapter 37. Advanced Characterization Systems
Chapter 38. Safe Laboratory Operation: Discipline Sustains Discovery
Section 5. Analytical and Numerical Tools. The Role of Analysis
Chapter 39. Introduction to Data Processing and Modeling
Chapter 40. Signal Processing and System Analysis
Chapter 41. Correlation or Causation?
Chapter 42. Models and Functions: Balancing Elegance and Reality
Chapter 43. Error Statistics and Propagation
Chapter 44. Data and Models: Errors and L-Norms
Chapter 45. Information in the Data
Chapter 46. Inversion: Inferring Causes from Effects
Chapter 47. Differential Equations: Processes in Mathematical Form (Unstated Assumptions)
Chapter 48. Numerical Methods: Power and Peril
Section 6. Technical Communication
Chapter 49. Scientific Communication: Discovery Across Minds
Chapter 50. Plagiarism: The Subtle, the Bad and the Ugly
Chapter 51. Sketches and Plots: Visual Thinking and Communication
Chapter 52. Writing: Crafting Meaning One Piece at a Time
Chapter 53. Publishing: Join the Scientific Conversation
Chapter 54. Presenting: Tell the Story. Inspire
Section 7. Closing
Chapter 55. Free to Explore Causality?
Chapter 56. Pathological Science and Misconduct
Chapter 57. Final Thoughts for Experimental Researchers
Biography
J. Carlos Santamarina is Professor and Clough Chair at the Georgia Institute of Technology (United States). He earned his degrees from the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (Argentina), the University of Maryland and Purdue University (United States), and has held academic appointments at NYU-Poly (United States), the University of Waterloo (Canada), KAUST (Saudi Arabia) and Georgia Tech. His research integrates experimental and numerical approaches to investigate complex phenomena in energy geotechnics. A frequent invited speaker, Santamarina has delivered many of the field’s landmark lectures and has received numerous international honors and awards.
Andrea Muñoz-Ibáñez is a Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellow at the Universidade da Coruña (Spain). She earned her PhD from the same university and has held postdoctoral positions at the Universidade de Vigo (Spain), KAUST (Saudi Arabia) and Georgia Tech. Her experimentation-centered research integrates experimental and numerical approaches to explore materials and coupled multiphysics processes under extreme conditions. Supported by national and international funding agencies, she brings perspectives rooted in the current realities and cultural trends shaping the next generation of researchers.
