Series Editor(s): Krishna B. Misra

Scope: A true performance of a product, or system or service must be judged over the entire life cycle activities connected with design, manufacture, use and disposal in relation to economics of maximization of dependability and minimizing its impact on environment. The concept of performability allows us to take holistic assessment of performance and provides an aggregate attribute that reflects an entire engineering effort of a product, system or service designer in achieving dependability and sustainability. Performance should not just be indicative of achieving quality, reliability, maintainability and safety for a product, system or service but achieving sustainability as well. The conventional perspective of dependability ignores the environmental impact considerations that accompany the development of products, systems and services. However, any industrial activity in creating a product, system or service is always associated with certain environmental impacts that follow at each phase of development. These considerations have become all the more necessary in 21st Century as the world resources continue to become scarce with time and the cost of materials and energy keep rising. It is not difficult to visualize that by employing the strategy of dematerialization, minimum energy and minimum waste while maximizing the yield and developing economically viable and safe processes (clean production and clean technologies), we will create minimal adverse effect on the environment during production and disposal at the end of the life. This is basically the goal of performability engineering.

It may be observed that the above mentioned performance attributes are interrelated and should not be considered in isolation for optimization of performance. Each book in the series should endeavor to include most, if not all, attributes of this web of interrelationship and have the objective to help create optimal and sustainable products, systems, and services. 

About the Series Editor(s):
Krishna B. Misra, PhD (Reliability Engineering, 1970) is the founder Editor-in-Chief of International Journal ofPerformability Engineering (http://www.ijpe-online.com) started in 2005 and published by RAMS Consultants (www.ramsconsultants.org) also established by him in 2005 at Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. He advanced the concept of performability based on dependability and sustainability which provides a holistic attribute of performance as will be envisaged in 21st Century when the products and systems should not only be dependable but also sustainable. Earlier, he made efforts to popularize reliability and safety concepts in India - both in the industries and in the technical institutions. In 1976, Prof. Misra was invited by the Department of Science & Technology, New Delhi to serve as the convener of the NCST working group on Reliability Engineering in India set up by the Government of India. This group submitted two reports (Part I & Part II) in 1978 on the Reliability Implementation Program in India.

Professor Misra has published more than 250 technical papers in international peer-reviewed journals. Besides being an Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Reliability, he has served as reviewer to the publication for more than four decades since 1969.  He has also served as Regional Editor of Microelectronics & Reliability published by Elsevier) for more than 25 years.

Professor Misra devised the first ever Masters degree programme on reliability engineering in India in any of the IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology). He also set up the first dedicated Indian centre of training and research in reliability engineering at IIT Kharagpur in 1983. This centre has gone on to produce hundreds of postgraduates and Ph.Ds in the area of reliability engineering. As a result of this work, Professor Misra is a recipient of the first Lal C. Verman Award in 1983 by the Institution of Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering for “his pioneering research work in Reliability Engineering in the country”. In 1995, in recognition of his “meritorious and outstanding contributions to reliability research and education in India”, he was awarded a plaque by IEEE Reliability Engineering Society, U.S.A.

Professor Misra has authored or edited several seminal books including a 900-page state-of-art book on Reliability Analysis and Prediction: A Methodology Oriented Treatment, published by Elsevier Science Publishers in 1992; a715-page edited volume on New Trends in System Reliability Evaluation, which was also published by Elsevier Science Publishers in 1993; an 833-page edited volume on  Clean Production: Environmental and Economic Perspectives published by Springer Verlag in 1995; authored  Principles of Reliability Engineering mainly for practicing engineers.  His latest edited volume is Handbook of Performability Engineering, a 1316-page (76 chapters with 100 acclaimed contributors from all over the world) and published by Springer in 2008. It is a landmark contribution which has set a new trend in the design of systems and services in 21st Century.

Professor Misra has been the Chairman of Indian Bureau of Standards Committee LTDC 3 on Reliability of Electrical & Electronic components and Equipment. For several years, he served as a member of Environmental Appraisal Committee (for nuclear power plants in India), Ministry of Environment & Forests, Govt. of India, New Delhi.

Submission to the series:
The Series is open to Handbooks, authored books, edited volumes, textbooks, as well as the occasional single chapter.

Send your proposal or enquiry to:

Professor Krishna B. Misra
RAMS Consultants
71, Vrindaban Vihar
Jaipur-302019
Rajasthan
India
E-Mail:kbmisra@gmail.com

Published and Forthcoming Titles