Numerical Analysis Historical Developments In The 20th Century

Numerical analysis has witnessed many significant developments in the 20th century. This book brings together 16 papers dealing with historical developments, survey papers and papers on recent trends in selected areas of numerical analysis, such as: approximation and interpolation, solution of linear systems and eigenvalue problems, iterative methods, quadrature rules, solution of ordinary-, partial- and integral equations. The papers are reprinted from the 7-volume project of the Journal of Computational and Applied Mathematics on '/homepage/sac/cam/na2000/index.htmlNumerical Analysis 2000'. An introductory survey paper deals with the history of the first courses on numerical analysis in several countries and with the landmarks in the development of important algorithms and concepts in the field.

In this book I have attempted to trace the development of numerical analysis during the period in which the foundations of the modern theory were being laid. To do this I have had to exercise a certain amount of selectivity in choosing and in rejecting both authors and papers. I have rather arbitrarily chosen, in the main, the most famous mathematicians of the period in question and have concentrated on their major works in numerical analysis at the expense, perhaps, of other lesser known but capable analysts. This selectivity results from the need to choose from a large body of literature, and from my feeling that almost by definition the great masters of mathematics were the ones responsible for the most significant accomplishments. In any event I must accept full responsibility for the choices. I would particularly like to acknowledge my thanks to Professor Otto Neugebauer for his help and inspiration in the preparation of this book. This consisted of many friendly discussions that I will always value. I should also like to express my deep appreciation to the International Business Machines Corporation of which I have the honor of being a Fellow and in particular to Dr. Ralph E. Gomory, its Vice-President for Research, for permitting me to undertake the writing of this book and for helping make it possible by his continuing encouragement and support.

The 1947 paper by John von Neumann and Herman Goldstine, OC Numerical Inverting of Matrices of High OrderOCO ( Bulletin of the AMS, Nov. 1947), is considered as the birth certificate of numerical analysis. Since its publication, the evolution of this domain has been enormous. This book is a unique collection of contributions by researchers who have lived through this evolution, testifying about their personal experiences and sketching the evolution of their respective subdomains since the early years. Sample Chapter(s). Chapter 1: Some pioneers of extrapolation methods (323 KB). Contents: Some Pioneers of Extrapolation Methods (C Brezinski); Very Basic Multidimensional Extrapolation Quadrature (J N Lyness); Numerical Methods for Ordinary Differential Equations: Early Days (J C Butcher); Interview with Herbert Bishop Keller (H M Osinga); A Personal Perspective on the History of the Numerical Analysis of Fredholm Integral Equations of the Second Kind (K Atkinson); Memoires on Building on General Purpose Numerical Algorithms Library (B Ford); Recent Trends in High Performance Computing (J J Dongarra et al.); Nonnegativity Constraints in Numerical Analysis (D-H Chen & R J Plemmons); On Nonlinear Optimization Since 1959 (M J D Powell); The History and Development of Numerical Analysis in Scotland: A Personal Perspective (G Alistair Watson); Remembering Philip Rabinowitz (P J Davis & A S Fraenkel); My Early Experiences with Scientific Computation (P J Davis); Applications of Chebyshev Polynomials: From Theoretical Kinematics to Practical Computations (R Piessens). Readership: Mathematicians in numerical analysis and mathematicians who are interested in the history of mathematics.

Microhistory is a technique that has been used effectively by writers of both fiction and nonfiction. It enables the author to cut through the complexities of large swaths of history by focusing on a particular time and place. Microhistories are particularly useful in historical study when a subfield has recently arisen and there are not yet enough monographic studies from which to draw general patterns. This microhistory focuses on a single year (1920) across the United States, with the goal of understanding the various roles of information in this society. It gives greater emphasis to the informational aspects of traditional historical topics such as farming, government bureaucracy, the Spanish flu pandemic, and Prohibition; and it gives greater attention to information-rich topics such as libraries and museums, schools and colleges, the financial services and office machinery industries, scientific research institutions, and management consultancies.

A rigorous and comprehensive introduction to numerical analysis Numerical Methods provides a clear and concise exploration of standard numerical analysis topics, as well as nontraditional ones, including mathematical modeling, Monte Carlo methods, Markov chains, and fractals. Filled with appealing examples that will motivate students, the textbook considers modern application areas, such as information retrieval and animation, and classical topics from physics and engineering. Exercises use MATLAB and promote understanding of computational results. The book gives instructors the flexibility to emphasize different aspects—design, analysis, or computer implementation—of numerical algorithms, depending on the background and interests of students. Designed for upper-division undergraduates in mathematics or computer science classes, the textbook assumes that students have prior knowledge of linear algebra and calculus, although these topics are reviewed in the text. Short discussions of the history of numerical methods are interspersed throughout the chapters. The book also includes polynomial interpolation at Chebyshev points, use of the MATLAB package Chebfun, and a section on the fast Fourier transform. Supplementary materials are available online. Clear and concise exposition of standard numerical analysis topics Explores nontraditional topics, such as mathematical modeling and Monte Carlo methods Covers modern applications, including information retrieval and animation, and classical applications from physics and engineering Promotes understanding of computational results through MATLAB exercises Provides flexibility so instructors can emphasize mathematical or applied/computational aspects of numerical methods or a combination Includes recent results on polynomial interpolation at Chebyshev points and use of the MATLAB package Chebfun Short discussions of the history of numerical methods interspersed throughout Supplementary materials available online

This new book from the authors of the classic book Numerical methods addresses the increasingly important role of numerical methods in science and engineering. More cohesive and comprehensive than any other modern textbook in the field, it combines traditional and well-developed topics with other material that is rarely found in numerical analysis texts, such as interval arithmetic, elementary functions, operator series, convergence acceleration, and continued fractions. Although this volume is self-contained, more comprehensive treatments of matrix computations will be given in a forthcoming volume. A supplementary Website contains three appendices: an introduction to matrix computations; a description of Mulprec, a MATLAB multiple precision package; and a guide to literature, algorithms, and software in numerical analysis. Review questions, problems, and computer exercises are also included. For use in an introductory graduate course in numerical analysis and for researchers who use numerical methods in science and engineering.

This expansive volume describes the history of numerical methods proposed for solving linear algebra problems, from antiquity to the present day. The authors focus on methods for linear systems of equations and eigenvalue problems and describe the interplay between numerical methods and the computing tools available at the time. The second part of the book consists of 78 biographies of important contributors to the field. A Journey through the History of Numerical Linear Algebra will be of special interest to applied mathematicians, especially researchers in numerical linear algebra, people involved in scientific computing, and historians of mathematics.