Differential Equations and Their Applications : An Introduction to Applied Mathematics

For the past several years the Division of Applied Mathematics at Brown University has been teaching an extremely popular sophomore level differential equations course. The immense success of this course is due primarily to two fac- tors. First, and foremost, the material is presented in a manner which is rigorous enough for our mathematics and ap- plied mathematics majors, but yet intuitive and practical enough for our engineering, biology, economics, physics and geology majors. Secondly, numerous case histories are given of how researchers have used differential equations to solve real life problems. This book is the outgrowth of this course. It is a rigorous treatment of differential equations and their appli- cations, and can be understood by anyone who has had a two semester course in Calculus. It contains all the material usually covered in a one or two semester course in differen- tial equations. In addition, it possesses the following unique features which distinguish it from other textbooks on differential equations.