The second edition of this handbook provides a state-of-the-art overview on the various aspects in the rapidly developing field of robotics. Reaching for the human frontier, robotics is vigorously engaged in the growing challenges of new emerging domains. Interacting, exploring, and working with humans, the new generation of robots will increasingly touch people and their lives. The credible prospect of practical robots among humans is the result of the scientific endeavour of a half a century of robotic developments that established robotics as a modern scientific discipline. The ongoing vibrant expansion and strong growth of the field during the last decade has fueled this second edition of the Springer Handbook of Robotics. The first edition of the handbook soon became a landmark in robotics publishing and won the American Association of Publishers PROSE Award for Excellence in Physical Sciences & Mathematics as well as the organization’s Award for Engineering & Technology. The second edition of the handbook, edited by two internationally renowned scientists with the support of an outstanding team of seven part editors and more than 200 authors, continues to be an authoritative reference for robotics researchers, newcomers to the field, and scholars from related disciplines. The contents have been restructured to achieve four main objectives: the enlargement of foundational topics for robotics, the enlightenment of design of various types of robotic systems, the extension of the treatment on robots moving in the environment, and the enrichment of advanced robotics applications. Further to an extensive update, fifteen new chapters have been introduced on emerging topics, and a new generation of authors have joined the handbook’s team. A novel addition to the second edition is a comprehensive collection of multimedia references to more than 700 videos, which bring valuable insight into the contents. The videos can be viewed directly augmented into the text with a smartphone or tablet using a unique and specially designed app. Springer Handbook of Robotics Multimedia Extension Portal: http://handbookofrobotics.org/

One of the largest higher education networks in the United States, the Texas A&M University System, with a budget of some $6.3 billion, educates more than 150,000 students annually through its flagship campus in College Station and across its ten other member universities. Since 2011, the Texas A&M System has been under the leadership of John Sharp, former Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts and a member of the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Class of 1972. In Breaking Away: How the Texas A&M University System Changed the Game, author Tim Gregg chronicles the last ten years of the Texas A&M System. Though A&M’s decision to exit the Big 12 and join the SEC preceded Sharp’s tenure as chancellor, in many ways it foreshadowed the decisive steps that placed the Texas A&M University System at the forefront of multiple initiatives. Sharp’s and the Regents’ leadership set a new course for achievement throughout the System’s institutions and agencies. As Gregg shows, the last ten years have seen advances in emergency management, research funding, extension work, and other enterprises benefiting not only the university system but the entire state. Based on hours of interviews with an array of key participants from across the Texas A&M System and a host of former students and other stakeholders associated with Texas A&M, Gregg has assembled a highly readable account of a pivotal time. Including a foreword by Henry Cisneros, former secretary of housing and urban development, Breaking Away is replete with little-known stories from behind the scenes as well as major developments in the recent history of the System under Chancellor Sharp’s leadership, telling an important story about one of the nation’s leading higher education and public service networks.

This classroom resource provides clear, concise scientific information in an understandable and enjoyable way about water and aquatic life. Spanning the hydrologic cycle from rain to watersheds, aquifers to springs, rivers to estuaries, ample illustrations promote understanding of important concepts and clarify major ideas. Aquatic science is covered comprehensively, with relevant principles of chemistry, physics, geology, geography, ecology, and biology included throughout the text. Emphasizing water sustainability and conservation, the book tells us what we can do personally to conserve for the future and presents job and volunteer opportunities in the hope that some students will pursue careers in aquatic science. Texas Aquatic Science, originally developed as part of a multi-faceted education project for middle and high school students, can also be used at the college level for non-science majors, in the home-school environment, and by anyone who educates kids about nature and water. To learn more about The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, sponsors of this book's series, please click here.

When the A&M College of Texas opened its doors in 1876, its early buildings followed a Victorian architectural style. Classical architecture came to the campus with the Academic Building, after the 1912 fire that destroyed Old Main. Subsequent buildings generally followed this neoclassical path, but the growth of the campus in the Depression era saw the addition of an extraordinary group of buildings, sited in accordance with a master plan developed by college architect F. E. Giesecke and designed by S. C. P. Vosper, each of whom also held faculty positions in the first architecture program at a state college in Texas. The buildings designed by Vosper are arguably the finest buildings on the campus, uniquely expressive of the agricultural and mechanical origins of the university; they delight the senses with color, sculpture, and wit. Nancy T. McCoy and David G. Woodcock, distinguished preservation architects and scholars, review the history of Texas A&M campus architecture and provide in-depth coverage of Vosper and his legacy. Illustrated by the sumptuous photography of Carolyn Brown, Architecture That Speaks concludes with observations on recent approaches toward the reuse and rehabilitation of campus heritage architecture and a view to the future, as plans evolve for further development of the campus that maintains a respect for both strategic vision and historical heritage.

Most Texans today know of Lawrence Sullivan Ross only by his namesake, Sul Ross State University, or for his role in the capture of Cynthia Ann Parker as a fabled Texas Ranger. A few may know that he was a general in the Confederate army or that he served as the nineteenth governor of Texas. But for former and current students of Texas A&M University, he is known as “Sully”—an affectionate nickname referring to the oldest campus statue, which is the repository of wished-upon pennies left for good luck prior to taking final exams. In Sul Ross at Texas A&M, John A. Adams Jr., chronicler of Texas A&M University history, presents an in-depth examination of Ross’s life as a college president. Adams shows how by the late 1880s, the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas was on the brink of collapse. Student discontent, administrative mismanagement, and faculty factionalism threatened the continued existence of the fledgling school. The college’s board of directors were desperate and offered the presidency to Ross. Adams details the steps Ross took to bring order out of chaos, expanding and modernizing the college and leading the school’s finances out of the red. Many Aggie traditions first took shape during Ross’s tenure: the class ring, the band, and even the school’s first intercollegiate football game against the University of Texas. Ross’s years at the helm were transformative. Fans of A&M and Texas history will be enthralled by this captivating account of Sul Ross’s time as president of A&M.

The Book of Aggie Lists brings together in one volume a vast amount of information that will be welcomed by current and former students of Texas A&M University. Focusing on the military heritage of the university--and especially the Corps of Cadets--this reference work is an invaluable resource for researchers and curious readers alike. Former Commandant of Cadets James R. Woodall and eleven other contributors have painstakingly gathered and organized the names, class years, and ranks of various individuals who served in wars, were decorated, or died in the line of duty, to name just a few of the informative categories presented here. This book represents a way to remember all who served both Texas A&M University and the United States and will aid readers for decades to come. It focuses on and goes beyond the military history of the university to encompass many other fascinating lists, including Hollywood movies with a connection to the university and time-honored Aggie traditions. The Book of Aggie Lists is a never-before-seen wealth of knowledge and will be a frequently accessed book on shelves across campus and throughout the larger Aggie network. Woodall also invites readers to contribute to a larger, ongoing project to compile additional information and Aggie lists to serve the future generations of Texas A&M University.