Some Engineering Mathematics


C. Pozrikidis

Chester & Bennington

450 pages including covers

Download the first version (forthcoming) % tun_26.01.pdf

Please forgive typographical, conceptual, and other errors. The book should still be readable, mostly accurate, and should fulfil its intended role. Further revisions will correct these errors.

Why now?

I am in poor health and uncertain as to when I will kick the bucket. Remember: It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of fight in the dog.

What is this?

A good way of learning, teaching, and refamiliarizing oneself with methods of applied mathematics and scientific computing is to study a selected set of topics related to applied science and engineering that are a blend of the old, the new, and the emerging.

This book discusses a pertinent collection of such carefully selected topics, problems, algorithms, and complete computer codes, including mainstream and original material. The discussion of the individual topics and accompanying mathematical and computational analysis provide opportunities for recalling, clarifying, and learning methods and developing skills.

One main goal of this book is to provide insights into a fair question often asked: What are the applications of a particular method or topic in applied science and engineering? This book helps answer this question by providing motivation and by making cases by example. Regarded in hindsight, the discussion illustrates the usefulness of applied mathematics, scientific computing, and computer coding to problems encountered in a broad range of applications. A junior or even lower level background on linear algebra and calculus, and elementary familiarity with computer programming are assumed for most of the topics covered.

This book is suitable as a text for instruction in a mainstream, special topics, or special projects advanced undergraduate course or introductory graduate course in applied mathematics, engineering mathematics, computer programming, and scientific computing in the applied sciences and engineering.

More broadly, the book offers a point of departure for exploring mathematical and computational concepts and ideas, performing online research from different points of view, and pursuing individual study. The intended audience includes students, course instructors, researchers, and anyone interested in science, technology, and mathematics.

Elementary and advanced \emph{Matlab/Octave} computer codes performing miscellaneous computations, simulations, and graphics visualizations are listed and discussed in the text. The codes illustrate explicitly how mathematical equations translate into computer code instructions. The computer programs are arranged in a software library named SEMLIB.

This book complements mainstream textbooks, online resources, and lecture notes on applied mathematics in a way that circumvents the need for referencing background material and invoking the work of others. Consistent with this goal, references and citations are not provided with an understanding that, if needed, they can be obtained readily by searching the Internet.

Random acts of kindness

If you enjoyed reading this book, please consider performing a random act of kindness, saying a prayer for the author, saying another prayer for the pretender, or donating what you can afford to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Please be kind to one another, you never know what kind of trauma lies behind the smile. Fly high in Heaven Robin and Chester.