11 best engineering

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From the all-new foreword by Bret Victor

The Art of Doing Science and Engineering is the full, beautiful expression of what “You and Your Research” sketched in outline. In this delightfully earnest parody of a textbook, chapters on “Digital Filters” and “Error-Correcting Codes” do not, in fact, teach those things at all, but rather exist to teach the style of thinking by which these great ideas were conceived.

This is a book about thinking. One cannot talk about thinking in the abstract, at least not usefully. But one can talk about thinking about digital filters, and by studying how great scientists thought about digital filters, one learns, however gradually, to think like a great scientist.

Hamming demands that you do extraordinary work

“Hamming is here to tell you about excellence. His lessons unfold through personal stories of discovery and failure—life as an extraordinary scientist. But Hamming demands that you do extraordinary work, too, and for that he offers the best advice I know."

––Andy Matuschak, software engineer, designer, and researcher

One of the major US intellects

"Your last chance to read the words of thinking of one of the major intellects that the USA has produced."

––Eugene N. Miya, NASA researcher

Preparing the next generation for even greater greatness

“Hamming was always as much a teacher as a scientist, and having spent a lifetime forming and confirming a theory of great people, he felt he could prepare the next generation for even greater greatness. That’s the premise and promise of this book.”

––Bret Victor, founder of Dynamicland, designer, and engineer

About the author

Richard W. Hamming was a scientist and mathematician whose work inspired a generation of engineers, scientists, and researchers. He is best known for discovering mathematical formulas that allow computers to correct their own errors, a fundamental function of modems, compact disks, and satellite communications.

Born in Chicago in 1915, he provided crucial programming support as a member of the Manhattan Project. After World War II, he joined Bell Labs, where over the next 15 years he was involved in nearly all of its most prominent achievements. He later taught and lectured at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. Throughout his career, Hamming received many awards for his work, including the Turing Award in 1968, the highest honor in computer science. In 1988, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers created the Richard W. Hamming Medal in his honor, of which he was the first recipient. He died in 1998.

About the publisher

Stripe Press publishes books about economic and technological advancement. Stripe partners with hundreds of thousands of the world’s most innovative businesses—organizations that will shape the world of tomorrow. These businesses are the result of many different inputs. Perhaps the most important ingredient is "ideas." Stripe Press highlights ideas that we think can be broadly useful. Some books contain entirely new material, some are collections of existing work reimagined, and others are republications of previous works that have remained relevant over time or have renewed relevance today.

Other titles by Stripe Press:

• High Growth Handbook by Elad Gil
• The Dream Machine by M. Mitchell Waldrop
• Stubborn Attachments by Tyler Cowen
• The Revolt of the Public by Martin Gurri
• An Elegant Puzzle by Will Larson
• Get Together by Bailey Richardson, Kevin Huynh, and Kai Elmer Sotto
• The Making of Prince of Persia by Jordan Mechner

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Foundational info

Take a deep look into chemical, civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering as well as their various specialties.

Amazing inventions

Get inspired by the incredible things engineers have created, like life-saving medicines, fuel cells, or even the flexible material that makes up snowboards.

Engineering quiz

Find out what kind of engineer you should be with a short quiz designed to help you discover what interests you the most.

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Complete Review

The definitive review for passing the PE Mechanical CBT Exam.

Always Up-to-Date

Mirrors codes and standards NCEES currently uses for the PE Mechanical exam.

The People Have Spoken

Trusted by thousands of engineers to prepare for exam day.

NCEES Exam Specifications

Consistent with the NCEES exam content and format. Includes NCEES Handbook equations.

The Name You Trust

Michael R. Lindeburg, PE, is one of the best-known authors of engineering textbooks and references. His books and courses have influenced millions of engineers around the world. Since 1975, he has authored over 40 engineering reference and exam preparation books. He has spent thousands of hours teaching engineering to students and practicing engineers.

Product description

Do you ever wonder how bridges span huge distances and how skyscrapers stay standing? Structural engineers use physics and their knowledge of the properties of building materials and geometric shapes to design structures with sufficient strength and stability. With this kit of modular building pieces, you can learn the basics of structural engineering by conducting a series of 20 model-building experiments. Each model demonstrates a basic principle of mechanical physics or structural engineering in a hands-on way. Start out with small models that demonstrate how structural elements can be attached together to maximize the strength of a structure for a fixed amount of material used. Learn about basic structural elements including columns, beams, trusses, plates, arches, shells, and catenary. Explore the forces acting on structural components including tension, compression, shear, and bending. Move onto building more complex models of trusses, roofs, and small buildings. Experiment with different types of bridge construction: a truss bridge, arch bridge, cantilever bridge, rope bridge, and suspension bridge. Finally, build models of towering skyscrapers. What is the tallest tower you can build using only the pieces included in the kit? Learn about the strength and stiffness of materials. See how structural engineers optimize factors to maximize safety, and minimize cost and the risk of structural failure. A 36-page, full-color manual guides you through model building with step-by-step illustrated instructions.

• Build 20 different models that each teach about force, load, compression, tension and more
• Over 285 interchangeable building pieces
• Includes 36-page, illustrated experiment manual and Assembly guide
• Skill level: Intermediate

User questions & answers

Question:	Does the manual come in other languages like French
Answer:	No, the manual for this kit is in English.
Question:	Does it come with a case to store the parts when not is use
Answer:	No
Question:	can he play with it without reading the booklet
Answer:	Thank you for your question. With all of our engineering kits, we encourage our users to continue to build beyond the models in the manual. The experiment manual teaches the principles of Architectural Engineering that you can use to come up with your own designs.
Question:	are these compatible with legos
Answer:	No, they are not.

Product features

Structural Engineering: Bridges & Skyscrapers

Do you ever wonder how bridges span huge distances and how skyscrapers stay standing? Structural engineers use physics and their knowledge of the properties of building materials and geometric shapes to design structures with sufficient strength and stability.

With this kit of modular building pieces, you can learn the basics of structural engineering by conducting a series of 20 model-building experiments. Each model demonstrates a basic principle of mechanical physics or structural engineering in a hands-on way.

The Models: Bridges

After kids build small models to demonstrate how structural elements can be attached together to maximize the strength of a structure, they can move on to building more complex models and experiment with different types of bridge construction: a truss bridge, arch bridge, cantilever bridge, rope bridge, and suspension bridge.

The Models: Skyscrapers

First kids can follow the instructions to build two different towering skyscraper models. Then, they're tasked with using their imagination and the knowledge gained from their model building to build the tallest skyscraper they can, using only the pieces in the kit. Further information goes into detail about five types of skyscraper structural systems and the maximum number of floors that can be achieved with each type.

The Manual

The 44-page, full-color manual provides detailed step-by-step instructions for assembling the 20 models in the kit. After constructing each model, short experiments pose questions to get kids thinking like a structural engineer.

What's Inside

The kit comes with 323 building pieces to build and experiment with 20 different structural models of varying sizes, each designed to provide an introduction to structural engineering. The plastic building system is compatible with other Thames & Kosmos Construction, Engineering, and Physics kits--combine the pieces to create your own configurations limited only by your imagination!

Educational Value

Kids learn additional information about the forces acting on structural elements including tension, compression, shear, and bending in the 'Check It Out' sections of the manual. They'll also learn about basic structural elements including columns, beams, trusses, plates, arches, shells, and catenary. The manual also provides insight into the strength and stiffness of materials and how structural engineers optimize factors to maximize safety, and minimize cost and the risk of structural failure.

Quality Assurance & Customer Satisfaction

Thames & Kosmos is committed to providing quality products that users can enjoy and learn from for a long time. Our customer service department is available to troubleshoot any problems that may arise while using our kits, and replacement parts are also available. Should you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact us. We love our products and want you to have the best possible experience with them!