"A pedagogical gem…. Professor Readey replaces ‘black-box’ explanations with detailed, insightful derivations. A wealth of practical application examples and exercise problems complement the exhaustive coverage of kinetics for all material classes." –Prof. Rainer Hebert, University of Connecticut"Prof. Readey gives a grand tour of the kinetics of materials suitable for experimentalists and modellers…. In an easy-to-read and entertaining style, this book leads the reader to fundamental, model-based understanding of kinetic processes critical to development, fabrication and application of commercially-important soft (polymers, biomaterials), hard (ceramics, metals) and composite materials. It is a must-have for anyone who really wants to understand how to make materials and how they will behave in service." --Prof. Bill Lee, Imperial College London, Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering"A much needed text filing the gap between an introductory course in materials science and advanced materials-specific kinetics courses. Ideal for the undergraduate interested in an in-depth study of kinetics in materials." –Prof. Mark E. Eberhart, Colorado School of MinesThis book provides an in-depth introduction to the most important kinetic concepts in materials science, engineering, and processing. All types of materials are addressed, including metals, ceramics, polymers, electronic materials, biomaterials, and composites. The expert author with decades of teaching and practical experience gives a lively and accessible overview, explaining the principles that determine how long it takes to change material properties and make new and better materials. The chapters cover a broad range of topics extending from the heat treatment of steels, the processing of silicon integrated microchips, and the production of cement, to the movement of drugs through the human body. The author explicitly avoids "black box" equations, provid