Introduction to Thermal and Fluids Engineering

Kaminski-Jensen is the first text to bring together thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer in an integrated manner, giving students the fullest possible understanding of their interconnectedness. The three topics are introduced early in the text, allowing for applications across these areas early in the course. Class-tested for two years to more than 800 students at Rensselaer, the text’s novel approach has received national attention for its demonstrable success.

Deborah A. Kaminski is the author of over 80 peer-reviewed articles in technical journals, an invited article in the New York Times, a featured article in Science, with associated podcast, and an engineering textbook published by John Wiley & Sons. After receiving her B.S. degree in Physics, Deborah Kaminski spent 5 years at the General Electric Research and Development Center in Schenectady, New York. Her work focused on heat transfer in electrical machinery, including motors, transformers, batteries, and generators. She then returned to Rensselaer for doctoral research on computational fluid dynamics in free convection. After receiving her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, she joined the Rensselaer faculty in 1985, and was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 1991.