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x Modern Robotics

used instruments and experiments to develop and test ideas about
how objects in the universe behaved. A succession of revolutions
followed, often introduced by individual geniuses: Isaac Newton
(1643–1727) in mechanics and mathematics, Charles Darwin
(1809–1882) in biological evolution, Albert Einstein (1879–1955)
in relativity and quantum physics, James Watson (1928– ) and
Francis Crick (1916–2004) in modern genetics. Today’s emerg-
ing fields of science and technology, such as genetic engineering,
nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence, have their own inspir-
ing leaders.
The fact that particular names such as Newton, Darwin, and
Einstein can be so easily associated with these revolutions suggests
the importance of the individual in modern science and technology.
Each book in this set thus focuses on the lives and achievements of
eight to 10 individuals who together have revolutionized an aspect
of science or technology. Each book presents a different field:
marine science, genetics, astronomy and space science, forensic sci-
ence, communications technology, robotics, artificial intelligence,
and mathematical simulation. Although early pioneers are included
where appropriate, the emphasis is generally on researchers who
worked in the 20th century or are still working today.
The biographies in each volume are placed in an order that reflects
the flow of the individuals’ major achievements, but these life sto-
ries are often intertwined. The achievements of particular men and
women cannot be understood without some knowledge of the times
they lived in, the people they worked with, and developments that
preceded their research. Newton famously remarked, “If I have seen
further [than others], it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”
Each scientist or inventor builds upon—or wrestles with—the work
that has come before. Individual scientists and inventors also inter-
act with others in their own laboratories and elsewhere, sometimes
even partaking in vast collective efforts, such as the government and
private projects that raced at the end of the 20th century to com-
plete the description of the human genome. Scientists and inventors
affect, and are affected by, economic, political, and social forces
as well. The relationship between scientific and technical creativity
and developments in social institutions is another important facet
of this series.