Elementary Differential Equations and Boundary Value Problems

Elementary Differential Equations and Boundary Value Problems, 12th Edition is written from the viewpoint of the applied mathematician, whose interest in differential equations may sometimes be quite theoretical, sometimes intensely practical, and often somewhere in between. In this revision, new author Douglas Meade focuses on developing students conceptual understanding with new concept questions and worksheets for each chapter. Meade builds upon Boyce and DiPrima’s work to combine a sound and accurate (but not abstract) exposition of the elementary theory of differential equations with considerable material on methods of solution, analysis, and approximation that have proved useful in a wide variety of applications. The main prerequisite for engaging with the program is a working knowledge of calculus, gained from a normal two or three semester course sequence or its equivalent. Some familiarity with matrices will also be helpful in the chapters on systems of differential equations.

WILLIAM E. BOYCE (deceased) received his B.A. degree in Mathematics from Rhodes College and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Mathematics from Carnegie Mellon University. He was a member of the American Mathematical Society, the Mathematical Association of America, and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. He was also the Edward P. Hamilton Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Science Education (Department of Mathematical Sciences) at Rensselaer. He authored numerous technical papers in boundary value problems and random differential equations and their applications, as well as several textbooks including two differential equations texts, and was the coauthor (with M.H. Holmes, J.G. Ecker, and W.L. Siegmann) of a text on using Maple to explore Calculus. He was also coauthor (with R.L. Borrelli and C.S. Coleman) of Differential Equations Laboratory Workbook (Wiley 1992), which received the EDUCOM Best Mathematics Curricular Innovation Award in 1993.

RICHARD C. DIPRIMA (deceased) received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Mathematics from Carnegie Mellon University. He joined the faculty of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute after holding research positions at MIT, Harvard, and Hughes Aircraft. He held the Eliza Ricketts Foundation Professorship of Mathematics at Rensselaer, was a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Academy of Mechanics, and the American Physical Society. He was also a member of the American Mathematical Society, the Mathematical Association of America, and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. He served as the Chairman of the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Rensselaer, as President of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, and as Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Applied Mechanics Division of ASME. In 1980, he was the recipient of the William H. Wiley Distinguished Faculty Award given by Rensselaer.

DOUGLAS B. MEADE received B.S. degrees in Mathematics and Computer Science from Bowling Green State University, an M.S. in Applied Mathematics from Carnegie Mellon University, and a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Carnegie Mellon University. After a two-year stint at Purdue University, he joined the mathematics faculty at the University of South Carolina, where he is currently an Associate Professor of Mathematics. He is a member of the American Mathematical Society, Mathematics Association of America, and Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics; in 2016 he was named an ICTCM Fellow at the International Conference on Technology in Collegiate Mathematics (ICTCM). Prof. Meade currently serves on the AMSASA-MAA-SIAM Data Committee and on the MAA Committee on Articulation and Placement.