(rollo)Principles of mathematical modelling.pdf

Acknowledgments
This book is the second edition of a text originally published in 1980 and
written by me and Elizabeth S. Ivey; Betty was then both a professor of
physics at Smith College and an adjunct professor of mechanical engineer-
ing at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. When approached in
the summer of 2000 by Academic Press to do a second edition, Betty and
I decided that I would do the second edition alone, but I cannot view the
second edition plete without acknowledging the wonderful nature of
our original collaboration and the long-standing friendship that resulted.
Many people deserve much credit for the good in this new version,
although the responsibility for the bad (and the ugly) is entirely mine.
Professors Robert L. Borrelli (Harvey Mudd College), Edward A. Connors
(University of Massachusetts at Amherst), Ricardo Diaz (University of
North Colorado), Michael Kirby (Colorado State University), Mark S.
Korlie (Montclair State University), Thomas Seidman (University of
Maryland Baltimore County), Caroline Smith (James Madison Univer-
sity), and William H. Wood (University of Maryland Baltimore County)
were kind enough to provide pre-publication reviews of this second edition
that were very helpful and supportive.
Professor Ewart Carson (University of London) provided a solid and
helpful review of the first edition that prompted several changes in the
second.
The artist Miriam Dym once again agreed to design the cover for one of
her father’s books, for which I am very grateful.
Drs. Ashkay Gupta and Ali Reza (Exponent FAA) provided a thought-
ful review of the discussion of the vibration of a tall, slender building
(Section ).
xvii
xviii Acknowledgments
Several Harvey Mudd colleagues provided ments on vari-
ous sections: Patrick Little (Engineering) of Chapter 9 on optimization;
R. Erik Spjut (Engineering) of Section on nucleation; Lisa M. Sullivan
(Humanities and Social Sciences) of Section o