Dr. Lester Lipsky, professor emeritus of Computer Science & Engineering, has completed the second edition of his book, Queueing Theory: A Linear Algebraic Approach. Published by Springer, the nearly 600-page textbook is aimed at two audiences: third and fourth year undergraduates and graduate students, and practitioners. According to one source, the text offers insights for those who are familiar with queueing theory but would like to know more of the linear algebraic approach; and as first-course for students who lack a strong background in probability and feel more comfortable with algebraic arguments.

This second edition has been updated throughout and now includes a chapter on semi-Markov processes, along with new material on matrix representations of distributions and power-tailed distributions and their effects on queues. Included are examples of current applications (e.g. telecommunications systems) along with numerous examples and exercises.

Dr. Lipsky said he anticipates that practitioners will be the core audience for the text. While he intends to use the book in the spring ’09 term for a graduate course, he commented that the text will be useful as a reference book in queueing theory courses that are relying chiefly on other texts.