Bookshelf

University of Maryland faculty and staff showcase their expertise as authors of the following books, all published in the second half of 2024:

“Data Virtualization in the Cloud Era”
Daniel Abadi, Professor of Computer Science, and Andrew Mott
O'Reilly Media
Data virtualization provides a single point of access for data analysts and scientists to process and/or query data wherever it may be, even in separate systems. This dream has existed for decades, but only recent advances in cloud technology, data lakes, networking hardware, and machine learning have transformed the dream into reality. The book discusses how modern data virtualization systems are built, and the fundamental advances in technology that are enabling their recent success and proliferation.

“Mesoscopic Thermodynamics for Scientists and Engineers”
Mikhail A. Anisimov, Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and Thomas J. Longo, Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Institute for Physical Science and Technology
Wiley
This textbook presents a unified conceptual approach to the core principles of equilibrium and nonequilibrium thermodynamics, required for understanding and utilizing mesoscopic phenomena in a wide range of new and emerging technologies.

“The Anger Rule: Racial Inequality and Constraints on Black Politicians”
Antoine J. Banks, Professor and Chair, Department of Government and Politics, and Ismail K. White
Cambridge University Press
The book argues that Black politicians are uniquely penalized for expressing anger and examines how this constraint helps sustain racial hierarchy and limits Black politicians from mobilizing their political base.

“Social Entrepreneurship for Development: A Business Model”
Meg Brindle, Senior Lecturer of Public Policy
Routledge
Brindle in this second edition offers a six-step model for empowering producers in developing countries to leverage intellectual property, branding and supply chain control for global market success, with a focus on Africa and least developed countries. Featuring chapters on funding and environmental, social and government goals, as well as practical tools and case studies, it bridges social entrepreneurship and international development to inspire smarter business practices.

“A Road to the Joy of Learning: A Practical Guide for a Successful College Career & Beyond”
Kyu Yong Choi, Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Independently Published
Yong bases this message to college students on what he’s seen, felt, and experienced over 40 years of teaching and research. It aims to help young college students understand their professors, discover the wisdom and joy of learning, and guide them on how to enrich their college years as they prepare for a future full of dreams and endless challenges.

“Geopolitics, Trade Blocs, and the Fragmentation of World Commerce”
Uri Dadush, Research Professor of Public Policy
Lexington Books
Dadush explores the erosion of global trade rules driven by social divisions and geopolitical rivalries, and examines the resulting economic fragmentation and heightened tensions, offering insights on how to manage this uncertainty effectively.

“The Marvelous Illusion: Morton Feldman’s The Viola in My Life I-IV”
Thomas DeLio, Professor of Music Theory and Composition
Oxford University Press
“The Marvelous Illusion” is a detailed study of four of American composer Morton Feldman’s most important works. Through detailed examination of pitch, interval, tone, color, register, duration and articulation, DeLio explores how Feldman’s work vivifies our experience of sound as it is in the process of being transformed into music.

“Gekker on Caruso” and “Trumpet Talk”
Chris Gekker, Distinguished University Professor of Trumpet
qPress and Transition Publications
The first of Gekker’s books in 2024 provides an in-depth account of how American jazz trumpeter Laurie Frink approached the teachings of Carmine Caruso, and how to turn his exercises into a two-month routine for trumpet players. The second features a collection of exercises and 29 essays and articles. He also includes an extension to his book “Focal Point Exercises” and a new collection of long sets.

“Seneca’s Affective Cosmos: Subjectivity, Feeling, and Knowledge in the Natural Questions and Beyond”
Chiara Graf, Assistant Professor of Classics
Oxford University Press
Graf’s book applies modern affect theory to the ancient works of Seneca the Younger to show the didactic and therapeutic potential of even extreme emotion in his works. The book shows Seneca’s willingness to embrace extreme affect across a range of scientific, philosophical and literary texts, such as “Natural Questions,” the “Epistles” and “Trojan Women.”

“The Other Big Bang: The Story of Sex and Its Human Legacy”
Eric Haag, Professor of Biology
Columbia University Press
An evolutionary and developmental biologist, Haag explores the 2-billion-year history of sex, from the first organisms on Earth to contemporary humans. He argues that the evolutionary history of human sexuality helps us better understand contemporary society.

“Phthalates: The Toxic Side Dish”
Dylan A. Hazelwood, Assistant Director, Center for Engineering Concepts Development; Michael G. Pecht, Distinguished University Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director, Center for Advanced Lifecycle Engineering; Sami Ainane, Senior Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering; and Katheryn G.S. Wang
Center for Engineering Concepts
UMD engineers explore the manufacturing use of phthalates, odorless and colorless chemicals that lurk in countless everyday products—from plastics to personal care items and even pharmaceuticals—where they pose a significant risk to our health.

“Staging Deaf and Hearing Theatre Productions: A Practical Guide”
Andy Head and Jill Bradbury, Director of the School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies
Palgrave Macmillan
As Deaf theater artists move increasingly into the foreground, the co-authors argue, it’s time for the hearing theater world to learn how to undertake productions that successfully bridge the deaf and hearing worlds.

“Power Beaming: History, Theory, And Practice”
Paul Jaffe, Lecturer, Department of Aerospace Engineering
World Scientific
By establishing a common nomenclature and conceptual approach to the analysis and assessment of power beaming systems, this unique reference text provides a true status of advancements in the field and lays the groundwork for fruitful future research and applications. This book is part of a series honoring late UMD Professor Avram Bar-Cohen, a pioneer in thermal packaging and emerging technologies.

“On Being a Mentor: A Guide for Higher Education Faculty (3rd ed.)”
W. Brad Johnson and Kimberly A. Griffin, Dean of the College of Education
Routledge
This new edition of the classic book is the definitive guide to the art and science of engaging students and faculty in effective mentoring relationships in all academic disciplines. Infused with an equity-minded approach, it’s rooted in the latest research and offers concrete mentoring strategies and best practices.

“Earth System Modeling, Data Assimilation and Predictability”
Eugenia Kalnay, Distinguished University Professor of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences and at the Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center; Safa Mote, Visiting Assistant Professor of Computational Mathematics; and Cheng Da, Postdoctoral Associate at ESSIC and the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science.
Cambridge University Press
This textbook provides a broad introduction to applications across the Earth systems and coupled Earth–human systems, with an expanded range of topics covering the latest developments of variational, ensemble and hybrid data assimilation methods.

“The Right to Suburbia: Combating Gentrification on the Urban Edge”
Willow S. Lung-Amam, Associate Professor of Urban Studies and Planning
University of California Press
“The Right to Suburbia” tells the story of activists, community groups and political leaders' efforts to fight for communities' right to stay put and benefit from new neighborhood investments in three Maryland suburbs. The book reveals the far-reaching impacts of state-led redevelopment, demonstrating how patterns of unequal, racialized development and displacement are being produced and reproduced in these areas.

“Theory of Macroeconomic Hysteresis”
Isaak D. Mayergoyz, Distinguished University Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Can E. Korman '85, M.S. '87, Ph.D '90
World Scientific
The textbook focuses on the mathematical theory of macroeconomic hysteresis, the theory of aggregation of sunk cost microeconomic hysteresis.

“Out of Place: Coming of Age in Cold War West Germany”
Mary E. McKnight, Preschool Teacher at the Center for Young Children
Simon & Schuster
An Army brat grapples with the torment exacted by her older sister, the high moral expectations of her military father, and societal pressure to conform to traditional gender roles during the rise of the feminist movement.

“Limbo”
Will Pittman, Senior Lecturer of English (book is published with a pseudonym)
New Academia Publishing
Part two of a trilogy called “The Profane Comedy,” this book imagines President Abraham Lincoln meeting a fictitious writer in order to show him the purpose of life, the meaning of American history, the construction of identity and the necessity of love.

“Ideas: A Secret Weapon for Business: Think and Collaborate Like a Designer”
Andrew Pressman, Adjunct Professor of Architecture
Routledge
Creative ideas are necessary for solving challenging problems, innovating and reconciling dilemmas, Pressman argues. His book sets forth what every executive should know about contributing to collaborative environments, thinking like a designer and leading teams.

“Heavyweight: Black Boxers and the Fight for Representation”
Jordana Moore Saggese, Professor of American Art and Director of the David C. Driskell Center
Duke University Press
Saggese examines artistic depictions of Black boxers from the 19th through 21st centuries, revealing how their renderings reflected and reinforced stereotypes about Black men’s physicality, celebrity, power and place in the United States.

“Black Knights: Arabic Epic and the Making of Medieval Race”
Rachel Schine, Assistant Professor of Arabic
University of Chicago Press
Schine reveals how the Arabic-speaking world developed a different form of racial knowledge than their European neighbors during the Middle Ages. She analyzes and discusses the meanings of race and racialized blackness in popular Islamic epic stories and how it became central to ideas about a global, ethnically inclusive Muslim world.

“Asymptomatic: The Silent Spread of COVID-19 and the Future of Pandemics”
Joshua S. Weitz, Professor and Clark Leadership Chair in Data Analytics
Johns Hopkins University Press
Through a careful analysis of local outbreaks, accessible descriptions of virus dynamics, and the use of predictive models to guide response efforts, Asymptomatic provides readers a unique look into the secret ingredient that allowed COVID-19 to spread across borders and the high-impact interventions needed to fight it and future pandemics.

“Cognitive Aging and the Federal Circuit Courts: How Senescence Influences the Law and Judges”
Patrick Wohlfarth, Professor of Government and Politics; Ryan C. Black and Ryan J. Owens
Oxford University Press
Wohlfarth and his coauthors reveal that as federal circuit court judges age, they require more time to craft their opinions; they rely more on cognitive shortcuts; their opinions become less complex; they increasingly rely on others to help them write opinions; and their legal influence on panels wanes just as their susceptibility to persuasion increases.

Bookshelf is a twice-a-year compilation that highlights new books written by UMD faculty members or staff members. Send your information to Lauren Brown at lbrown12@umd.edu.