1.2 Acknowledgement

This course was taught for many years by Dr. Judah Ari-Gur, Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Western Michigan University. Much of the current course content was inspired by his interpretation of the material. The author is grateful for the permission he granted to include some of those materials in this course pack. Further, sincere thanks are expressed to Dr. Ari-Gur for the gracious and generous support he extended during the early years of my own teaching of this material.

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