Statics: Analysis and Design of Systems in Equilibrium

"[These authors speak] to the students in a manner that engages their minds in today's world. Students will grasp how statics enables us to analyze practical, everyday problems ... as well as advanced designs. It is much more practical than similar texts."--Roy Henk, LeTourneau University
"The descriptions of forces are great. The examples are great. Chapter 6 [focuses] only on [free body diagrams]. This is a novel concept that I think is great. I believe that the repetitive introduction of the [free body diagram] will really help the students. I would adopt this book for Chapters 4 and 6 alone."--Makola Abdullah, FAMU/Florida State University
"I like the idea that students start with a concrete experience (bicycle). That will help them understand why we are presenting what we are presenting..."--Paul Barr, New Mexico State University
Engineering success starts here.
Your coursework in engineering mechanics helps you develop key analytical skills that you will rely on throughout your subsequent coursework and career. That's why Sheppard and Tongue's Statics: Analysis and Design of Systems in Equilibrium, and their accompanying volume, Dynamics: Analysis and Design of Systems in Motion, focus on helping you build the skills and knowledge you need to succeed.
Drawing free body diagrams starts here.
The authors continuously emphasize the importance of communicating solutions through graphics. They focus on drawing correct free body diagrams through an innovative illustration program used throughout the text, and dedicate a full chapter to free body diagrams to help you develop this vital skill.
Strong problem-solving skills start here.
Sheppard and Tongue introduce a consistent analysis procedure early in the text, and use it throughout, including all worked examples. This problem-solving methodology helps you develop the skills to apply these principles systematically in your analysis of mechanics problems.
Learning to simplify the complexities of engineered systems starts here.
Innovative real-world case studies and system analysis exercises show you how to simplify and model the system to perform analysis. Exercises introduce some basic design issues, inviting you to suggest design improvements.
Also available by the same authors:
Dynamics: Analysis and Design of Systems in Motion
ISBN 0-471-40198-6

Sheri D. Sheppard, Ph.D., is the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching Senior Scholar principally responsible for the Preparations for the Professions Program (PPP) engineering study. She is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1985. Besides teaching both undergraduate and graduate design-related classes at Stanford University, she conducts research on weld fatigue and impact failures, fracture mechanics, and applied finite element analysis.

Dr. Sheppard was recently named co-principal investigator on a NSF grant to form the Center for the Advancement of Engineering Education (CAEE), along with faculty at the University of Washington, Colorado School of Mines, and Howard University. She was co-principal investigator with Professor Larry Leifer on a multi-university NSF grant that was critically looking at engineering undergraduate curriculum (Synthesis). In 1999, Sheri was named a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineering(ASME) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Recently Sheri was awarded the 20 04 ASEE Chester F. Carlson Award in recognition of distinguished accomplishments in engineering education. Before coming to Stanford University, she held several positions in the automotive industry, including senior research engineering at Ford Motor Company's Scientific Research Lab. She also worked as a design consultant, providing companies with structural analysis expertise.

In her spare time Sheri likes to build houses, hike, and travel.

Benson H. Tongue, Ph.D. is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at University of California-Berkeley. He received his Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1988, and Currently teaches graduate and undergraduate  courses in dynamics vibrations, and control theory. His research concentrates on the modeling and analysis of nonlinear dynamical systems and the control of both structural and acoustic systems. This work involves experimental, theoretical, and numerical analysis and has been directed toward helicopters, computer disk drives, robotic manipulators, and general structural systems. Most recently, he has been involved in a multidisciplinary stud of automated highways and has directed research aimed at understanding the  nonlinear behavior of vehicles traveling in platoons and in devising  controllers that optimize the platoon's behavior in the face of non-nominal operating conditions. His most recent research has involved in the active control of loudspeakers and biomechanical analysis of human fall dynamics.

Dr. Tongue is the author of Principles of Vibration, a senior/first-year graduate-level textbook. He has served as Associate Technical Editor of the ASME Journal of Vibration and Acoustics and is currently a member of the ASME Committee on Dynamics of Structures and Systems. He is the recipient of the NSF Presidential Young Investigator Award, the Sigma Xi Junior Faculty award, and the Pi Tau Sigma Excellence in Teaching award. He serves as a reviewer for numerous journals and funding agencies and is the author of more than sixty publications.

In his spare time Benson races his bikes up and down mountains,  draws and paints, birdwatches, and creates latte art.