Gautam Sen

A history of aerodynamic thinking in automotive design from the end of World War I to the brink of World War II. Following World War I, car design in many European automobile companies underwent significant changes as they gained increased exposure to aviation expertise. Engineers and manufacturers, whose skills had been sharpened by wartime demands, began applying their knowledge to car design. In doing so, they redefined notions of shape and form, aiming to create vehicles that could slice through the air more efficiently. However, while many designs appeared aerodynamic, they often fell short in performance, while some of the most aerodynamically advanced vehicles featured unconventional or visually challenging aesthetics. Aeroesthetics: The Art of Streamlining explores the science of aerodynamics in depth and examines its influence on vehicle design up to the outbreak of World War II.

Engineered Polyvinyl Pyrrolidone Products by Microwave Techniques: Processing, Characterization, and Applications is an indispensable guide to customizing polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) properties through derivatization using microwave techniques. The book showcases the benefits of microwave radiation in polymerization, providing consistency and reproducibility without altering the polymer structure. It covers the successful modifications achieved and underscores the unique advantages of these techniques. The book delves into diverse applications of these specialized plastics in agriculture, medicine, and consumer products. It also discusses scaling up synthesis processes for commercial production, making it a valuable reference for understanding the potential of engineered polymeric materials.

The definitive history of the most extraordinary concept car ever with personal quotes and experiences from the designer himself, including the role of the Lancia Strato's Zero in Michael Jackson's Moonwalker film project. Some have dubbed it the "most extraordinary concept car ever." The Lancia Strato's HF Zero remains one of the greatest concept cars, with design ramifications that are so vast that it deserves a book for itself. Not only did it influence almost every Lamborghini since the Countach LP500 and give birth indirectly to the greatest rally weapon, the similarly named Lancia Stratos HF Rally, but its impact was far and wide at every level of design, automotive or otherwise. The use of LEDs, sequential indicators, and flat digital screens--all commonplace today--was first suggested in this time machine. Even more astounding was the fact that the Stratos Zero was a drivable device unlike many other flights of fancy from then (or, for that matter, today). No doubt the Strato's HF Zero is as impractical and, in many ways, as meaningless as most automotive concepts, but at the same time: how many concept cars are there that look even more sensational today than they did half a century ago? Yes, a few may be named, but did they work? What lovechild, what bloodline did they leave behind? What ideas did they suggest that we could see today in everyday cars? Which other concept starred both in cinemas and art museums?

This book celebrates the striking wedge cars that first appeared at the 1968 Paris Motor Show. A surreal wedge-shaped sculpture of steel, glass, and layers of scaly metal astounded show-goers with its daring shape and extraordinary form. The Alfa Romeo Carabo was an exercise in lateral thinking at just about every level. With headlamps covered by retractable slats and, for the first time, doors that opened with scissor action, the Carabo rewrote the rules of automobile design, kick-starting an avalanche of wedge forms — a trend that remained in vogue for the best part of the next two decades. A bold departure from traditional automotive design, captivating the imagination and emphasizing sharp lines, low profiles and angular contours, the wedge shape, characterized by a sharply tapered front end that widens towards the rear, was not merely a stylistic choice, but a reflection of advances in aerodynamics and engineering. By minimizing drag and improving stability at high speeds, these cars demonstrated a commitment to performance and efficiency. How the motorcar designers gradually moved towards the wedge shape is described in this book which culminates in a celebration of the many variations that can be seen today.

This book comprises the journey of the Indian nation state and its tryst with destiny, where successive political leaderships, while governing India, contributed to a better understanding of the idea of India, its political and strategic culture, and the role that its military has had to play to develop that culture. Hence, the journey has been from the backwaters of ‘defensive defence’ to create a credible deterrence capacity as well as a doctrine to implement the same through political will and enter the domain of global involvement in the strategic, non-strategic as well as non-traditional areas of security. Thus, the title of the book The Purpose of India’s Security Strategy: Defence, Deterrence and Global Involvement. It is hoped that this book will serve as a referral document to understand the polemics of the development of a strategic culture in India for an era which will be dominated by the information age and artificial intelligence, without forgetting that the Indian political leadership has come of age to understand the role of the military in the process of nation building.

Details how a rare and influential car was miraculously discovered and recovered. Alfa Romeo SVZ Coda Tronca presents an unforgettable story of an abandoned yet influential vehicle's rediscovery and restoration. Hidden away in a barn for the better part of five decades, a single Alfa Romeo SVZ Coda Tronca--a rare and highly significant car in the company's design development--was found in a nearly perfect state of preservation. Drawing on art and archaeological techniques and taking painstaking care to save as much as possible of the original body, prominent Italian collector Corrado Lopresto decided to clean only half the car, leaving the other half frozen in time. In the uncleaned half, Lopresto preserved everything (including the dust) under a thin layer of transparent lacquer. The cleaned part has not been fully restored either but has been saved by retouching in such a way that the original aspects are not affected. This book captures the rediscovery of this historic vehicle and the way it has been preserved--a fascinating tale of art meeting automobile.

In the late 1980s, the storied Italian automaker Bugatti positioned itself for a massive relaunch, defying widespread concerns and pinning its hopes on the innovative EB110 sports car. The EB110, which was eventually unveiled in 1991, was the fastest street-legal car of its time and was greeted with acclaim from industry insiders and trade journalists alike. Yet, soon thereafter, things started unraveling: faster cars came onto the market, sales collapsed, and eight years after its relaunch, Bugatti was bankrupt. This book details the car maker's unexpected revival, from the meteoric rise of the EB110 to its dramatic fall, as well as the tales of intrigue and shenanigans from the many prominent automotive personalities who worked behind the scenes. Though the Bugatti name lives on, still signaling the pinnacle in luxury sports car performance, this compelling and confounding automotive fiasco remains an unforgettable chapter in its one-hundred-plus years of existence.

Since the unveiling of the Lamborghini Miura – the world’s first V12-powered mid-engine road car – at the 1966 Geneva Motor Show, this marque from Sant’Agata Bolognese with the raging bull emblem has been one of the most famous and desirable purveyors of the supercar. Valentino Balboni, legendary former Lamborghini test driver, has been famously quoted as saying “Lamborghini is a carmaker that makes engines, the job of the designers was to design the engine cover.” Yet, in its almost six decades long history, the supercar maker has constructed just four different engines: the extraordinary Giotto Bizzarrini-designed V12 that powered Lamborghini’s flagships for the best part of five decades, a promising V8 that almost brought the company to its knees, a V10 that uses many Audi components and has been the mainstay of the marque in the last two decades, and lastly another newer V12, powering the Aventador. However, what has really distinguished Lamborghini, has been a series of models with remarkable, groundbreaking shapes, each one a veritable design revolution. Cars like the Miura, the Espada, the Urraco, the Countach and the Diablo astounded and startled automotive fans just as much by their daring shape, form and aesthetic purity, as by their second-to-none engineering and trendsetting packaging. This book celebrates the design history of Lamborghini through numerous period reports and previously unpublished images, delving into the extraordinary shapes and the intrepid personalities who made Lamborghini what it is today. .

The present enquiry is an Indo-centric approach to study the extension of Copenhagen School related to Securitisation of the Cyber domain and Cyber Security in the prevailing International Relations Theory affecting the systemic behaviour of nation-states as Cyber Space will make traditional international borders redundant. One deliberation exercise has stated that "Cyber security has long transcended the discipline of information technology - expanding to law, international relations and the social sciences. The work being a policy-relevant documents will also hopefully serve as a basic text for students and researchers at even postgraduate levels to bridge the gap between the realm of ideas and the domain of public policymaking in the area of Cyber Studies.

The present enquiry is an Indo-centric approach to study the extension of Copenhagen School related to Securitisation of the Cyber domain and Cyber Security in the prevailing International Relations Theory affecting the systemic behaviour of nation-states as Cyber Space will make traditional international borders redundant. One deliberation exercise has stated that "Cyber security has long transcended the discipline of information technology - expanding to law, international relations and the social sciences. The work being a policy-relevant documents will also hopefully serve as a basic text for students and researchers at even postgraduate levels to bridge the gap between the realm of ideas and the domain of public policymaking in the area of Cyber Studies.

A design hero for all generations of automotive enthusiasts, American legend Tom Tjaarda was a designer whose name and fame is synonymous with marques such as De Tomaso, Ferrari, Fiat, Ford, Innocenti and Lancia, which include models such as Pantera , Deauville, Longchamp, 124 Spider, 365 California and the Fiesta. Brought up in America when the American Dream was beating out its rock ‘n’ roll rhythm, Tom Tjaarda came to live and work in Europe while the cultural revolution was in full swing. He ha d the privilege of a ringside seat during the most exciting times, finding himself at the heart of the most intense of automotive styling activities in the Mecca of vehicle design, Turin. Even though Tom Tjaarda may not have designed as many cars as other prolific designers, the American’s influence and importance in the history of automotive design, specifically in the second half of the 20th century, is almost unbeaten. Tjaarda, with his charming, accessible personality and good humor, remains one of the most popular design legends of all times. Tom Tjaarda: Master of Proportions is a comprehensive look at the life and times of a design giant, and features all his automotive, as well as his non - automotive, designs.

This book comprises the journey of the Indian nation state and its tryst with destiny, where successive political leaderships, while governing India, contributed to a better understanding of the idea of India, its political and strategic culture, and the role that its military has had to play to develop that culture. Hence, the journey has been from the backwaters of ‘defensive defence’ to create a credible deterrence capacity as well as a doctrine to implement the same through political will and enter the domain of global involvement in the strategic, non-strategic as well as non-traditional areas of security. Thus, the title of the book The Purpose of India’s Security Strategy: Defence, Deterrence and Global Involvement. It is hoped that this book will serve as a referral document to understand the polemics of the development of a strategic culture in India for an era which will be dominated by the information age and artificial intelligence, without forgetting that the Indian political leadership has come of age to understand the role of the military in the process of nation building.

Many of the iconic vehicles of the second half of the 20th century, from simple but beautiful Fiats, Citroëns and BMWs to astounding Alfa Romeos, Lancias, Maseratis and Lamborghinis, rolled out of the coachbuilding facilities of Carrozzeria Bertone and the design studios of Stile Bertone. A succession of cutting-edge concept machines during the 1960s and the 1970s further cemented the belief that Bertone was not only the most audacious, but also arguably the most progressive and innovative of all the Italian design studios After the studio closed, several of the important concept cars, as well as the emblematic production models were either retained or later collected by the coachbuilder in a private museum housed at the Stile Bertone near Turin, and this book describes these extraordinary cars. In over 350 pages and using innovative photography, the work of 9 Design Directors and 63 of their cars is described. The book is written by well-known automotive journalist, Gautam Sen, and former Design Director of the Collection, Michael Robinson, in both English and Italian. Many of the cars have been freshly photographed specially for the publication

This undergraduate textbook on the key subject of geology closely follows the core curriculum adopted by most universities throughout the world and is a must for every geology student. It covers all aspects of petrology, including not only the principles of petrology but also applications to the origin, composition, and field relationships of rocks. Although petrology is commonly taught in the junior year, this book is a useful resource for graduate students as well.

This undergraduate textbook on the key subject of geology closely follows the core curriculum adopted by most universities throughout the world and is a must for every geology student. It covers all aspects of petrology, including not only the principles of petrology but also applications to the origin, composition, and field relationships of rocks. Although petrology is commonly taught in the junior year, this book is a useful resource for graduate students as well.

Ideally suited to upper-undergraduate and graduate students, Analyzing the Global Political Economy critically assesses the convergence between IPE, comparative political economy, and economics. Andrew Walter and Gautam Sen show that a careful engagement with economics is essential for understanding both contemporary IPE and for analyzing the global political economy. The authors also argue that the deployment of more advanced economic theories should not detract from the continuing importance for IPE of key concepts from political science and international relations. IPE students with little or no background in economics will therefore find this book useful, and economics students interested in political economy will be alerted to the comparative strengths of political science and other social science disciplines. * A concise look at the foundations of analysis in the political economy of global trade, money, finance, and investment * Suitable for upper-undergraduate and graduate students with some or no economic background * Techniques and findings from a range of academic disciplines, including international relations, political science, economics, sociology, and history * Further reading and useful weblinks including a range of relevant data sources, listed in each chapter

New Enlarged Edition Swami Vivekananda is regarded as the patriot saint of modern India and an inspirer of her dormant national consciousness. His inspiring personality was well known both in India and the West. This spiritual leader of India leapt into fame at the Parliament of Religions held in Chicago, at which he represented Hinduism. His vast knowledge of Eastern and Western culture as well as his deep spiritual insight, brilliant conversation, broad human sympathy, and colourful personality evoked popular interest in Hindu philosophy. He introduced the philosophy of vedanta to the west and preached the ideal of a strength-giving and man-making religion. Service to man as the visible manifestation of the Godhead was the special form of worship he advocated. In this volume Gautam Sen pieces together the representative portions of the Swami's philosophy along with a running commentary of his own.