kiwibird press

The ’Guru’ is in real-life Dr. Rick Tavares. Although he looks nothing like the guru professor who will guide you through this book, Dr. Tavares’ role is to animate this enthusiastic scientist character on your exploration through the universe. Dr. Tavares has a Bachelor of Science degree in aerospace engineering, Master of Science degrees in mechanical engineering and structural engineering, and a Doctorate in civil engineering. As an engineer and a scientific consultant, he has made it his business to solve the world’s problems using applied physics, and has taught numerous engineering courses at the university level. All of this knowledge has been imparted to our cartoon professor friend, so you are in good hands with the Guru. In researching the Guru’s Guide to the Universe, Dr. Tavares combed through dozens of physics, mechanics, optics, thermodynamics, fluid and solid mechanics, astrodynamics, and college level mathematics books in his personal library, searching for the unifying theme that holds these seemingly diverse topics together. The result is The Guru’s Guide to the Universe, a summary and introduction of the notable aspects of modern physics gleaned from his more than 20 years of work in the field.