With its origins in the theories of continuous distributions of
dislocations and ofmetalplasticity,
inhomogeneitytheoryisarichandvibrant?eldofresearch. The recognition of
the important role played by con?gurational or material forces in
phenomena such as growth and remodelling is perhaps its greatest
present-day impetus. While some excellent comprehensive works approa-
ing the subject from di?erent angles have been published, the objective
of this monograph is to present a point of view that emphasizes the
di?erenti- geometric aspects of inhomogeneity theory. In so doing, we
follow the general lines of thought that we have propounded in many
publications and presen- tions over the last two decades. Although based
on these sources, this book is a stand-alone entity and contains some
new results and perspectives. At the same time, it does not intend to
present either a historical account of the - velopment of the subject or
a comprehensive picture of the various schools of thought that can be
encountered by perusing scholarly journals and attending specialized
symposia. The book is divided into three parts, the ?rst of which is
entirely devoted to the formulation of the theory in the absence of
evolution. In other words, time is conspicuously absent from Part I. It
opens with the geometric ch- acterization of material inhomogeneity
within the context of simple bodies in Chapter 1, followed by extensions
to second-grade and Cosserat media in Chapters 2 and 3.