Mechanical engineering, an engineering discipline borne of the needs of
the industrial revolution, is once again asked to do its substantial
share in the call for industrial renewal. The general call is urgent as
we face profound issues of productivity and competitiveness that require
engineering solutions, among others. The Mechanical Engineering Series
features graduate texts and research monographs intended to address the
need for information in con- temporary areas of mechanical engineering.
The series is conceived as a comprehensive one that covers a broad range
of concentrations important to mechanical engineering graduate education
and research. We are fortunate to have a distinguished roster of
consulting editors on the advisory board, each an expert in one of the
areas of concen- tration. The names of the consulting editors are listed
on the next page of this volume. The areas of concentration are: applied
mechanics; bio- mechanics; computational mechanics; dynamic systems and
control; energetics; mechanics of materials; processing; thermal
science; and tribology. Professor Marshek, the consulting editor for
dynamic systems and control, and I are pleased to present the second
edition of Vibration of Discrete and Continuous Systems by Professor
Shabana. We note that this is the second of two volumes. The first deals
with the theory of vibration.