Page 3 - Electrical Engineering Dictionary

Preface

One can only appreciate the magnitude of effort required to develop a dictionary by
actually experiencing it. Although I had written nine other books, I certainly did not
know what I was getting into when in January of 1996 I agreed to serve as Editor-in-
Chief for this project. Now, after 2 1/2 years I understand.
Unlike other books that I have written, creating this dictionary was more a test
of will and stamina and an exercise in project management than mere writing. And
although I have managed organizations of up to 80 academics, nothing is more like
“herding cats” than motivating an international collection of almost 200 distinguished
engineers, scientists, and educators scattered around the globe almost entirely via
email. Yet, I think there is no other way to undertake a project like this. I still marvel
at how Noah Webster must have managed to construct his English Dictionary without
the benefits of modern communication.
But this project, as much as it is a monument to individual will, is really the
collaborative work of many brilliant and dedicated men and women. This is their
dictionary and your dictionary.

Phillip A. Laplante, PE, Ph.D.
Editor-in-Chief

President
Pennsylvania Institute of Technology
Media, Pennsylvania

© 2000 CRC Press LLC