Open-Source Lab

Dr. Joshua M. Pearce received his Ph.D. in Materials Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University. He then developed the first Sustainability program in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education as an assistant professor of Physics at Clarion University of Pennsylvania and helped develop the Applied Sustainability graduate engineering program while at Queen's University, Canada. He currently is an Associate Professor cross-appointed in the Department of Materials Science & Engineering and in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at the Michigan Technological University where he runs the Open Sustainability Technology Research Group. His research concentrates on the use of open source appropriate technology to find collaborative solutions to problems in sustainability and poverty reduction. His research spans areas of electronic device physics and materials engineering of solar photovoltaic cells, and RepRap 3-D printing, but also includes applied sustainability and energy policy. He has published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles and is the author of the Open-Source Lab:How to Build Your Own Hardware and Reduce Research Costs.

Open-Source Lab: How to Build Your Own Hardware and Reduce Scientific Research Costs details the development of the free and open-source hardware revolution. The combination of open-source 3D printing and microcontrollers running on free software enables scientists, engineers, and lab personnel in every discipline to develop powerful research tools at unprecedented low costs. After reading Open-Source Lab, you will be able to:

• Lower equipment costs by making your own hardware
• Build open-source hardware for scientific research
• Actively participate in a community in which scientific results are more easily replicated and cited

Preface1. Introduction to Open-Source Hardware for Science2. The Benefits of Sharing - Nice Guys and Girls Do Finish First3. Open Licensing - Advanced Sharing4. Open-Source Microcontrollers for Science: How to Use, Design Automated Equipment with, and Troubleshoot5. RepRap for Science: How to Use, Design, and Troubleshoot the Self-Replicating 3-D Printer6. Digital Designs and Scientific Hardware 6.1 OpenSCAD, RepRap, and Arduino Microcontrollers 6.2 Physics: Open-Source Optics 6.3 Engineering: Open-Source Laser Welder, Radiation Detection, and Oscilloscopes 6.4 Environmental Science: Open-Source Colorimeter and pH Meter 6.5 Biology: OpenPCR, Open-Source Centrifuges and More 6.6 Chemistry: Open-Source Spectrometers and Other Chemical Research Tools7. The Future of Open-Source Hardware and Science