The fourth edition of Principles and Applications of Electrical Engineering provides comprehensive coverage of the principles of electrical, electronic, and electromechanical engineering to non-electrical engineering majors. Building on the success of previous editions, this text focuses on relevant and practical applications that will appeal to all engineering students.
Giorgio Rizzoni, the Ford Motor Company Chair in ElectroMechanical Systems, is a Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and of Electrical and Computer Engineering at The Ohio State University (OSU). He received his B.S. (ECE) in 1980, his M.S. (ECE) in 1982, his Ph.D. (ECE) in 1986, all from the University of Michigan. Since 1999 he has been the director of the Ohio State University Center for Automotive Research (CAR), an interdisciplinary university research center in the OSU College of Engineering. His research activities are related to modeling, control and diagnosis of advanced propulsion systems, vehicle fault diagnosis and prognosis, electrified powertrains and energy storage systems, vehicle safety and intelligence, and sustainable mobility. He has contributed to the development of graduate curricula in these areas, and has served as the director of three U.S. Department of Energy Graduate Automotive Technology Education Centers of Excellence: Hybrid Drivetrains and Control Systems (1998-2004), Advanced Propulsion Systems (2005-2011), and Energy Efficient Vehicles for Sustainable Mobility (2011-2016). Between 2011 and 2016 he served as the OSU Site Director for the U.S. Department of Energy China-USA Clean Energy Research Center - Clean Vehicles. He is currently leading an ARPA-E project in the NEXTCAR program. During his career at Ohio State, Prof. Rizzoni has directed externally sponsored research projects funded by major government agencies and by the automotive industry in approximately equal proportion. Prof. Rizzoni is a Fellow of SAE (2005), a Fellow of IEEE (2004), a recipient of the 1991 National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award, a Fellow of ASME (2022) and of many other technical and teaching awards.
Principles and Applications of Electrical Engineering is a textbook published in 1996. I have the second edition. Giorgio Rizzoni's intent was a book that plugged in the basics of electronics and electrical devices, and I would say he did an outstanding job.
Rizzoni covers the basics and goes on to the more advanced subjects with ease. He eventually gets into differential equations and calculus, so be prepared for that. In that sense, I would say that the book is not meant for the layperson, but I don't know how advanced something has to be before it isn't accessible to a wide audience.
Thanks for reading my review, and see you next time.