Dr. Joshua M. Pearce is an Associate Professor cross-appointed in the Department of Materials Science & Engineering and the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at the Michigan Technological University, where he runs the Open Sustainability Technology Research Group.

Dr. Pearce's research group has become well-known for cutting the costs of scientific research by designing open-source hardware using 3D printers and micro-controllers. He writes about this in his new book, Open-Source Lab: How to Build Your Own Hardware and Reduce Research Costs, which was just published by Elsevier.

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

Numerous examples of technologies and the open-source user and developer communities that support them

Instructions on how to take advantage of digital design sharing

Explanations of Arduinos and RepRaps for scientific use

A detailed guide to open-source hardware licenses and basic principles of intellectual property