John D. Cressler has released the second edition of his textbook, Silicon Earth: Introduction to Microelectronics and Nanotechnology, published by CRC Press. Cressler is the Schlumberger Chair in Electronics at the Georgia Tech School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Each fall, Cressler teaches CoE 3002, Introduction to the Microelectronics and Nanotechnology Revolution, a popular course with no prerequisites and which is open to all Tech students. CoE 3002 serves the Technology and Management Program within the Scheller College of Business, as well as the Georgia Tech Honors Program. He wrote a book for that course, Silicon Earth, which is very non-conventional in both substance and narrative style and is intended for general audiences. 

Silicon Earth: Introduction to Microelectronics and Nanotechnology, Second Edition introduces readers with little or no technical background to the marvels of microelectronics and nanotechnology, using straightforward language, an intuitive approach, minimal math, and a lot of pictures. The general scientific and engineering underpinnings of microelectronics and nanotechnology are described, as well as how this new technological revolution is transforming a broad array of interdisciplinary fields, and civilization as a whole.

Special “widget deconstruction” chapters address the inner workings of ubiquitous micro/nano-enabled pieces of technology, such as smartphones, flash drives, and digital cameras. Completely updated and upgraded to full color, the Second Edition:

• includes new material on the design of electronic systems, the future of electronics, and the societal impact of micro/nanotechnology


• provides new widget deconstructions of cutting-edge tech gadgets like the GPS-enabled smartwatch


• adds end-of-chapter study questions and hundreds of new color photos



Silicon Earth: Introduction to Microelectronics and Nanotechnology, Second Edition is a pick-up-and-read-cover-to-cover book for those curious about the micro/nanoworld, as well as a classroom-tested, student-and-professor-approved text ideal for an undergraduate-level university course. Lecture slides, homework examples, a deconstruction project, and discussion threads are available via an author-maintained website.



To learn more, the Table of Contents and more details can be found at: http://johndcressler.com/non-fiction/silicon-earth-2nd-edition/.