This unique book provides excellent examples of ongoing, leading-edge research related to viruses, especially COVID-19. It is written from the viewpoint of various scientific fields including materials science. It introduces and describes viruses (submicroscopic infectious agents that replicate inside the living cells of an organism), various infections caused by viruses (human to human, human to other organisms to humans, humans to materials to humans, etc.), not only from the viewpoint of medical research but also from other scientific disciplines. A major focus of the book is the COVID-19 virus. Highlighted topics include the evolution of COVID-19, transmission of virus particles through the air, virus spread through various materials, detection of the virus by testing wastewater, the development and testing of vaccines and therapeutic drugs, and the preparation for future viruses and pandemics. This includes reform in funeral services to properly and safely accommodate very large numbers of bodies in a pandemic, like those seen in New York City when it was the epicenter for the virus in the United States. This book serves as an excellent and very informative guide (practical book) for engineers and researchers of various backgrounds and as a great academic textbook.
Dr. Dana M. Barry is a Research Professor in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at Clarkson University in the USA. She is the Scientific Board President for Ansted University, works part time at SUNY Canton, and has frequently served as a visiting professor and keynote speaker overseas. Dr. Barry has 5 graduate degrees including a M.S. degree in Chemistry from Clarkson University and a Ph.D. in Engineering from Osaka University, Japan. Her name is on the Mars Rovers (Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity), the NASA spacecraft that landed on the asteroid Bennu in 2020, and on the Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa -2, the first one in the world to land on an asteroid. She has over 300 academic publications including four Springer textbooks. Her honors include 21 consecutive APEX Awards for Publication / Communication Excellence, a Marquis Who’s Who Lifetime Achievement Award (2017), an Outstanding Volunteer Award (2017) and a National Chem-Luminary Award both from theAmerican Chemical Society. In 2019, she received an Outstanding Achievement Award from the Materials Research Society of Japan (MRS-J) for outstanding work involving biofilms. She was nominated (2021) by the Academic Union of Oxford, UK, to receive the special title “The Name in Science,” an award for the most respected personalities in the fields of science, technology, and innovations.
Dr. Hideyuki Kanematsu, FIMF (a Fellow of IMF) is a Specially Appointed Professor and Professor Emeritus at the National Institute of Technology (NIT KOSEN), Suzuka College, as well as a visiting professor at Nagoya University, Japan. He was the Dean of the Dept. of MS and Eng., and the former Deputy President of NIT (KOSEN), Suzuka, Mie, Japan. Now he serves as the Unit Leader (Director) of the KOSEN Materials Science and Engineering Center under the GEAR 5.0 Project and is a specially appointed professor (Professor Emeritus). He has been an active researcher in the areas of Surface Science and Engineering of Materials for many years. He is particularly interested in R&D of antibacterial, antiviral, and antibiofilm materials. Dr. Kanematsu holds a B.Eng. (1981), a M. Eng. (1983) and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering (1989), all from Nagoya University. He is a NASF Scientific Achievement Award winner. Also, he received Japan’s Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology Award in May 2021. This award is considered the number one prize from the Minister of Education in the Japanese government. In addition, he is an active member of many organizations like the ASM International, the National Association for Surface Finishing, etc.
