Mathematical Modeling

The new edition of Mathematical Modeling, the survey text of choice for mathematical modeling courses, adds ample instructor support and online delivery for solutions manuals and software ancillaries.

From genetic engineering to hurricane prediction, mathematical models guide much of the decision making in our society. If the assumptions and methods underlying the modeling are flawed, the outcome can be disastrously poor. With mathematical modeling growing rapidly in so many scientific and technical disciplines, Mathematical Modeling, Fourth Edition provides a rigorous treatment of the subject. The book explores a range of approaches including optimization models, dynamic models and probability models.

• Offers increased support for instructors, including MATLAB material as well as other on-line resources
• Features new sections on time series analysis and diffusion models
• Provides additional problems with international focus such as whale and dolphin populations, plus updated optimization problems

Mark M. Meerschaert is Chairperson of the Department of Statistics and Probability at Michigan State University and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Nevada. Professor Meerschaert has professional experience in the areas of probability, statistics, statistical physics, mathematical modeling, operations research, partial differential equations, ground water and surface water hydrology. He started his professional career in 1979 as a systems analyst at Vector Research, Inc. of Ann Arbor and Washington D.C., where he worked on a wide variety of modeling projects for government and industry. Meerschaert earned his doctorate in Mathematics from the University of Michigan in 1984. He has taught at the University of Michigan, Albion College, Michigan State University, the University of Nevada in Reno, and the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. His current research interests include limit theorems and parameter estimation for infinite variance probability models, heavy tail models in finance, modeling river flows with heavy tails and periodic covariance structure, anomalous diffusion, continuous time random walks, fractional derivatives and fractional partial differential equations, and ground water flow and transport. For more details, see his personal web page http://www.stt.msu.edu/-mcubed

The new edition of Mathematical Modeling, the survey text of choice for mathematical modeling courses, adds ample instructor support and online delivery for solutions manuals and software ancillaries.

From genetic engineering to hurricane prediction, mathematical models guide much of the decision making in our society. If the assumptions and methods underlying the modeling are flawed, the outcome can be disastrously poor. With mathematical modeling growing rapidly in so many scientific and technical disciplines, Mathematical Modeling, Fourth Edition provides a rigorous treatment of the subject. The book explores a range of approaches including optimization models, dynamic models and probability models.

• Offers increased support for instructors, including MATLAB material as well as other on-line resources
• Features new sections on time series analysis and diffusion models
• Provides additional problems with international focus such as whale and dolphin populations, plus updated optimization problems

Auteur

Mark M. Meerschaert is Chairperson of the Department of Statistics and Probability at Michigan State University and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Nevada, having previously worked in government and industry roles on a wide variety of modeling projects. Holding a doctorate in Mathematics from the University of Michigan, Professor Meerschaert's expertise spans the areas of probability, statistics, statistical physics, mathematical modeling, operations research, partial differential equations, and hydrology. In addition to his current appointments, he has taught at the University of Michigan, Albion College, and the University of Otago, New Zealand. His current research interests include limit theorems and parameter estimation for infinite variance probability models, heavy tail models in finance, modeling river flows with heavy tails and periodic covariance structure, anomalous diffusion, continuous time random walks, fractional derivatives and fractional partial differential equations, and ground water flow and transport. For more, see http://www.stt.msu.edu/~mcubed

Échantillon de lecture
Preface

Mark M. Meerschaert, Department of Statistics and Probability, Michigan State University, C430 Wells Hall, East Lansing, MI 48824-1027 USA, Phone: (517) 353-8881, Fax: (517) 432-1405, mcubed@stt.msu.edu http://www.stt.msu.edu/users/mcubed

Mathematical modeling is the link between mathematics and the rest of the world. You ask a question. You think a bit, and then you refine the question, phrasing it in precise mathematical terms. Once the question becomes a mathematics question, you use mathematics to find an answer. Then finally (and this is the part that too many people forget), you have to reverse the process, translating the mathematical solution back into a comprehensible, no-nonsense answer to the original question. Some people are fluent in English, and some people are fluent in calculus. We have plenty of each. We need more people who are fluent in both languages and are willing and able to translate. These are the people who will be influential in solving the problems of the future.

This text, which is intended to serve as a general introduction to the area of mathematical modeling, is aimed at advanced undergraduate or beginning graduate students in mathematics and closely related fields. Formal prerequisites consist of the usual freshman-sophomore sequence in mathematics, including one-variable calculus, multivariable calculus, linear algebra, and differential equations. Prior exposure to computing and probability and statistics is useful, but is not required.

Unlike some textbooks that focus on one kind of mathematical model, this book covers the broad spectrum of modeling problems, from optimization to dynamical systems to stochastic processes. Unlike some other textbooks that assume knowledge of only a semester of calculus, this book challenges students to use all of the mathematics they know (because that is what it takes to solve real problems).

The overwhelming majority of mathematical models fall into one of three categories: optimization models; dynamic models; and probability models. The type of model used in a real application might be dictated by the problem at hand, but more often, it is a matter of choice. In many instances, more than one type of model will be used. For example, a large Monte Carlo simulation model may be used in conjunction with a smaller, more tractable deterministic dynamic model based on expected values.

This book is organized into three parts, corresponding to the three main categories of mathematical models. We begin with optimization models. A five-step method for mathematical modeling is introduced in Section 1 of Chapter 1, in the context of one-variable optimization problems. The remainder of the first chapter is an introduction to sensitivity analysis and robustness. These fundamentals of mathematical modeling are used in a consistent way throughout the rest of the book. Exercises at the end of each chapter require students to master them as well. Chapter 2, on multivariable optimization, introduces decision variables, feasible and optimal solutions, and constraints. A review of the method of Lagrange multipliers is provided for the benefit of those students who were not exposed to this important technique in multivariable calculus. In the section on sensitivity analysis for problems with constraints, we learn that Lagrange multipliers represent shad…