All living things contain carbon in some form, as it is the primary component of macromolecules including proteins, lipids, nucleic acids (RNA and DNA), and carbohydrates. As a matter of fact, it is the backbone of all organic (chemistry) compounds forming different kinds of bonds. Carbon: The Black, the Gray and the Transparent is not a complete scientific history of the material, but a book that describes key discoveries about this old faithful element while encouraging broader perspectives and approaches to its research due to its vast applications. All allotropes of carbon are described in this book, along with their properties, uses, and methods of procurement or manufacturing. Black carbon is represented by coal, gray carbon is represented by graphite, and transparent carbon is represented by diamond.
About the Author: Dr. Tapan Gupta has a Ph. D degree and a M.S degree in solid state physics, with four years undergraduate physics (Hons), mathematics, chemistry, and biology. His postdoctoral training was on polymers chemistry and its applications in CD technology and related devices, such as integrated circuits. He was with the Research and Development department of the Zenith Radio Corp. in Chicago, IL and did research on integrated circuits and related materials (photoresists and metal silicon alloys). His academic qualifications, together with his experience, enable him to teach courses on VLSI and thick thin film hybrid circuits to graduate students at Tufts University, Medford, MA as an Analog Devices Career Development Professor. He has also worked as a consultant at the SIPEX Corporation, where he developed an alloy of silicon and chromium called Sichrome that is currently being used in MOSFET technology.
Recently, Dr. Gupta has been engaged in research within the field of nuclear medicine, funded by the NIH, DOD, NSF, and NIST. He has 79 peer reviewed publications in J. Appl. Phys, Phys. Rev., IEEE Trans on Nuclr. Sci, IEEE Trans. On Comp. Hybrids, and Manuf. Technol., J. Mater. Sci., and Euro. J. Poly. Sci. He has 22 years of teaching and research experience at various universities and industries.
