John Bird, BSc (Hons), CEng, CMath, CSci, FIMA, FIET, FCollT, is the former Head of Applied Electronics in the Faculty of Technology at Highbury College, Portsmouth, UK. More recently, he has combined freelance lecturing at the University of Portsmouth, with Examiner responsibilities for Advanced Mathematics with City and Guilds and examining for the International Baccalaureate Organisation. He has over 45 years' experience of successfully teaching, lecturing, instructing, training, educating and planning of trainee engineers study programmes. He is the author of 146 textbooks on engineering, science and mathematical subjects, with worldwide sales of over one million copies. He is a chartered engineer, a chartered mathematician, a chartered scientist and a Fellow of three professional institutions. He has recently retired from lecturing at the Defence College of Marine Engineering in the Defence College of Technical Training at H.M.S. Sultan, Gosport, Hampshire, UK, one of the largest engineering training establishments in Europe.