Introduction to Applied Mathematics [Hardcover]

Gilbert Strang (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0961408804 | ISBN-13: 978-0961408800 | Publication Date: January 1, 1986 | Edition: First Edition, Later Impression

Introduction to Applied Math offers a comprehensive introductory treatment of the subject. The author’s explanations of Applied Mathematics are clearly stated and easy to understand. The reference includes a wide range of timely topics from symmetric linear systems to optimization as well as illuminating hands-on examples.

Chapter 1: Symmetric Linear Systems; Chapter 2: Equilibrium Equations; Chapter 3: Equilibrium in the Continuous Case; Chapter 4: Analytical Methods; Chapter 5: Numerical Methods; Chapter 6: Initial-Value Problems; Chapter 7: Network Flows and Combinatorics; Chapter 8: Optimization; Software for Scientific Computing.

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

Renowned applied mathematician Gilbert Strang explains the theory and applications of applied mathematics with the clear style, examples and insights of an experienced teacher. This is an ideal book for students studying a first course on applied mathematics or as a reference for more advanced applied mathematicians.

About the Author

Gilbert Strang is a Professor of Mathematics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an Honorary Fellow of Balliol College, of the University of Oxford, UK. His current research interests include linear algebra, wavelets and filter banks, applied mathematics, and engineering mathematics. He is the author or co-author of six textbooks and has published a monograph with George Fix titled “An Analysis of the Finite Element Method.” Professor Strang served as SIAM’s president from 1999-2000, chaired the US National Committee on Mathematics from 2003–2004, and won the Neumann Medal of the US Association of Computational Mechanics in 2005. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 758 pages
• Publisher: Wellesley-Cambridge Press; First Edition, Later Impression edition (January 1, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0961408804
• ISBN-13: 978-0961408800
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #407,476 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Gilbert Strang is Professor of Mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an Honorary Fellow of Balliol College. He was an undergraduate at MIT and a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford. His doctorate was from UCLA and since then he has taught at MIT. He has been a Sloan Fellow and a Fairchild Scholar and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Professor Strang has published a monograph with George Fix, "An Analysis of the Finite Element Method", and has authored six widely used textbooks. He served as President of SIAM during 1999 and 2000 and he is Chair of the U.S. National Committee on Mathematics for 2003-2004.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

79 of 81 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best general "applied math" book in existence, February 28, 1999

By 

Jay Ponder ([e-mail]) (St. Louis, Missouri) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Introduction to Applied Mathematics (Hardcover)

I've never written a review before, and probably never will again. But I had to do something to help publicize this fantastic book. I would give it 6 stars if I could....

In short, Strang's book is an elegant masterpiece. As a former college math major and current University science professor who uses computation daily in research, this is the best general "applied math" book I've ever seen. I highly recommend it to every graduate student and postdoc who passes through my lab. It is not a textbook in the usual sense, and is thus very different from Strang's much more widely known linear algebra texts. The level of the book is very mixed; parts are very elementary, and other sections really require advanced graduate background to fully comprehend. The book is "modern" in every sense, full of opinions and marvelous insights, and even very witty in places. As one example, the book completely skips the series solutions to the diffusion equation (about which most "applied math" books drone on for far too many pages) and cuts right to the Gaussian kernel solution. The discussion of Fourier analysis is fresh and excellent. The grouping of many ideas under the umbrella of "approach to equilibrium" and "minimum principles" is a superior organization. There are many other modernisms like these.... too many to count. Just from reading the preface, you can tell that this book was a labor of love for Strang, and it needs to be taken as such. Do not buy this book to cram for an exam -- buy it, and refer back to it often, to really learn modern applied math.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If all math texts were this good, I'd have a PhD by now!, August 5, 2002

By 

Martin Gomez (Fairfax, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Introduction to Applied Mathematics (Hardcover)

I am very impressed with how useful this book is. It is written mostly in words, not in equations. Most math texts appear to be written so as to show how smart the writer is...making the reader smarter appears to be secondary. This one assumes you know very little, and teaches you a piece at a time, skipping no steps. The examples are very illuminating.

An excellent math methods book for engineers and physicists.

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars putting it all together, November 11, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Introduction to Applied Mathematics (Hardcover)

This book links all the engineering formulas and methods you may have seen in basic mechanical or electrical engineering via a simple four node diagram pictured on the cover. It shows that common threads that all continuous and discrete problems share and how they translate into each other. It clearly demonstrates the power of matrix algebra in engineering problem solving.(a point not emphasized enough in linear algebra texts)

chapters 1. symmetric linear systems 2. equilibrium equations 3. equilibrium in the continuous case 4. analytical methods 5. numerical methods 6. initial-value problems 7. network flows and combinatorics 8. optimization