Course Description:
The aim of this course is to teach you how to solve partial differential equations and interpret the resulting solutions. More emphasis will be placed on solution techniques than on theorems and proofs, which is appropriate for a course in an engineering school. However, to avoid making the material seem like an array of cookbook recipes to be applied in particular situations, I will place the material within the wider scope of linear algebra whenever possible. This will help you appreciate that many techniques, such as the method of eigen function expansion or the Fourier integral transform, are best viewed within the general mathematical framework of vector spaces, and that solutions represented as an infinite series are analogous to expressions of vectors with respect to a particular basis.
The primary course textbook (Haberman) draws most of its examples from problems in classical physics (thermal diffusion, vibrating membranes, electromagnetism, and fluid flows, to name a few), so you would benefit from a background in basic physics, although this is NOT required. The material presented is applicable to any field of study that makes use of partial differential equations to model its phenomena, whether that field is physics, finance, biosciences, electrical engineering, or anything else.
Faculty/Manager:
Alex Casti
Contact Information:
Alex Casti
email: clash_on_broadway@yahoo.comCredits for Course: 3 Viewing Schedule: 1 lecture per week Prerequisites: Many of the techniques used to solve partial differential equations involve reductions to systems of ordinary differential equations, so an introductory course in ordinary differential equations is required. Also required is an introductory course in Linear Algebra (APMA E3101). Required Text(s):
Notes: Syllabus
* The information contained in this syllabus is subject to change at any time.