Biographical note

Werner Schiehlen is Professor Emeritus of Mechanics and Past Head of the Institute of Engineering and Computational Mechanics of the University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany. He has published widely on topics such as multibody system dynamics, nonlinear dynamics, random vibrations, optimization, contact problems, biomechanics, mechatronics, robotics, and vehicle dynamics. He has won many awards and honours and served his field in many capacities in Germany and in the rest of the world. He is one of the Editors in Chief of the Springer journal Multibody System Dynamics.

Peter Eberhard is also a Professor at the Institute of Engineering and Computational Mechanics of the University of Stuttgart, originally studying under Professor Schiehlen. Professor Eberhard also has (co-)authored many works, has international experience, and serves as board member for acclaimed journals.

Together they developed the course material presented here, continually improving and adapting it to new insights and current requirements, first in German, now published in English for a global readership.