Review by Booklist Review
From the Scientists in the Field series, this informative book introduces several engineers who are working to turn the force of ocean waves into electric power. The most engaging sections follow the Mikes, two childhood friends who rode bikes and built forts together. In high school, they helped start a science club, and, as seniors at Oregon State, they teamed up to invent a wave device. More than a decade later, they returned to that idea, won grants, and built an energy apparatus that sits on the ocean floor. In another long-term project begun at the university, an engineering professor and her students invented a floating wave-energy device. Both projects and others profiled are ongoing. Throughout the book, color photos show the teams' work in various stages. Sidebars introduce topics such as the practical applications of wave-energy production and the possible effects of wave-energy devices on marine animals. The author of The Mighty Mars Rovers (2012) and Eruption! (2013), Rusch once again looks at the convergence of science and technology. Writing clearly about the engineers' trial-and-error methods, she conveys the importance of testing, the necessity of funding, and the satisfaction of working toward a worthwhile goal. A fine choice for young people intrigued by engineering and oceanography.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Starred Review. Gr 5-8-Rainforests and savannahs, coral reefs and tundra-readers are most likely familiar with these fields in which scientists work. But this time, it is the energy of the physical movement of the global ocean that is the field, and here in this world of watery physics, a series of imaginative, innovative engineers have been designing, building, and experimenting to successfully harness this inexorable surge of energy. Rusch's readable text follows three very varied groups of visionary engineers on this quest: Mike Morrow and Mike Delos-Reyes (who are working on a device that will allow people to sit upon the ocean floor), Annette von Jouanne and her team (working on a floating design), and the cofounders of Ocean Power Technologies, the first to win a permit to generate "ocean electricity" to be marketed to homes and businesses on the Oregon coast. Included are sidebars on a rich variety of topics such as "Working with Watts" and a global inventory of "Wild Wave Inventions of the World." Colorful diagrams and a plethora of photos provide visual stimulation as well. This pellucid look into a promising field of alternative energy (so needed in a warming world) and into the scientists devoting their lives to bring concept into reality is informative, intriguing, and inspiring.-Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
This entry in the excellent Scientists in the Field series describes a critical engineering challenge: the efficient capture of the energy produced by ocean waves and its conversion to electricity. Figuring out how to transfer wave action into energy without either losing collection equipment to storms and weathering or harming marine life is a significant problem. It's a problem with a potentially big financial payoff, however, which is why the majority of projects featured in this book are in the commercial arena: the highlighted researchers include the founders of a start-up venture and an academic engineer who works in collaboration with energy companies. Rusch fully explores the engineering process, capturing the determined, entrepreneurial spirit of the profiled engineers as well as the need for creative problem-solving and ingenuity, a test-and-retest mentality, a high tolerance for failure, and perseverance through the quest for research funding. Color photographs and illustrations feature many different cutting-edge prototypes in both small-scale laboratory and full-ocean tests. Underlying physics and earth-science principles are explained in text boxes interspersed throughout the book. A glossary, notes, sources, recommended reading, and an index are appended. danielle j. ford (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Scientists and engineers from around the world work to harness the power of ocean waves, testing their ideas in an Oregon research lab and the stormy seas off the Oregon coast. Here's another well-written science title from an author whose previous contributions to the Scientists in the Field series introduced researchers studying volcanic eruptions on Earth and exploring Mars. After explaining the world's need for renewable energy sources and the force of ocean power, Rusch focuses on three different approaches to harnessing this power that were underway at the time of her writing. She draws in young readers by introducing two engineers as young tinkerers, following their work through college to the development of a company testing an energy-capture device that sits on the ocean floor. An Oregon State University faculty member has equipped a testing ground offshore to monitor different approaches; some of her students are now building a device that uses the up-and-down motion of the waves. A third company has created working wave-powered buoys using a different design. A center spread describes other approaches from around the world. Lively design, clear explanations, text boxes, photographs and diagrams all contribute to an informative look at how people are working right now to find ways to use a previously inaccessible energy source. Timely, important, appropriately focused and interesting. (extensive chapter notes, sources, suggestions, index) (Nonfiction. 10-15) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
