Partial Differential Equations in Advanced Undergraduate Physics

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For several years, many of the intermediate courses for undergraduate physics majors at Lawrence University have included components that nurture skills to use sophisticated computational resources creatively and independently. In this project we are take thing the next natural step by adding computational components to two advanced courses (Mathematical Methods of Physics and Advanced Electromagnetic Theory), thereby broadening the spectrum of feasible senior-level independent studies and introducing tools that become daily more crucial to the practicing scientist and engineer. Specifically, we are incorporating numerical treatment of 2D and 3D problems in wave propagation, fluid dynamics, elasticity, quantum mechanics, and electromagnetic theory. To support this curricular development, we have added two 3D graphics workstations and a color printer to our existing local area network. This hardware allows fast, thorough, graphical examination of large data files resulting from numerical simulations carried out locally or, more often, remotely via network access to one of the national supercomputer centers.