Numerical Methods For Engineers

It has been over twenty years since we published the first edition of this book. Over thee re riod, our original contention that numerical methods and computers would figure as prominently in the engincering curriculum- particularly in the early parts has becaes matically borne out. Many universities now offer freshman, sophomore, and junior cos in both introductory computing and numerical methods. In addition, many of our co leagues are integrating computer-oriented problems into other courses at all levels of curriculum. Thus, this new edition is still founded on the basic premise that student en neers should be provided with a strong and early introduction to numerical methods. Co sequently, although we have expanded our coverage in the new edition, we have tried maintain many of the features that made the first edition accessible to both lower- and upper-level undergraduates. These include:. Problem Orientation. Engineering students learn best when they are motivated by problems. This is particularly true for mathematics and computing. Consequently, we have approached numerical methods from a problem-solving perspective.. Student-Oriented Pedagogy. We have developed a number of features to make this book as student-friendly as possible. These include the overall organization, the use of introductions and epilogues to consolidate major topics and the extensive use of worked examples and case studies from all areas of engineering. We have also endeavored to keep our explanations straightforward and oriented practically.• Computational Tools. We empower our students by helping them utilize the standard"point-and-shoot" numerical problem-solving capabilities of packages like ExcelMATLAB, and Mathead software. However, students are also shown how to develop simple, well-structured programs to extend the base capabilities of those environments This knowledge carries over to standard programming languages such as Visual Basic.Fortran 90 and C/C++. We believe that the current flight from computer programming represents something of a "dumbing down" of the engineering curriculum. The bottom line is that as long as engineers are not content to be tool limited, they will have to write code. Only now they may be called "macros" or "M-files." This book is designed to empower them to do that.Beyond these five original principles, the sixth edition has a number of new features:•New and Expanded Problem Sets. Most of the problems have been modified so that they yield different numerical solutions from previous editions. In addition, a variety of new problems have been included.• New Material. New sections have been added. These include Brent's methods for both root location and optimization, and adaptive quadrature.• New Case Studies: Several interesting new ease studies have been developed.