This book represents the reprinting of the third edition of Applied Mathematics for Engineers and Physicists, originally published in 1970 as part of the International Series in Pure and Applied Mathematics. The first edition was published in 1946 and the second in 1958, both by the primary author, Louis A. Pipes. It is one of three major texts for engineers and physicists with the other two being Advanced Engineering Mathematics by Erwin Kreyszig and Mathematics of Physics and Modern Engineering by Ivar Stephen Sokolnikoff and Raymond M. Redheffer.
Louis or “Louie” as he was called by his friends and colleagues was a quintessential professor and avid student of the applications of mathematics to a wide variety of problems. In addition to his scholarly research he was a consultant for the Aerospace Corporation in Redondo Beach, CA and the Naval Weapons Center in Ridgecrest, CA.
In the classroom Louie was an amazingly effective teacher with an exceptional memory of all the primary literature in the area he was presenting. Hardly a lecture would go by without a reference to a story about a humorous event or a quote by the author whom he was presenting. His lectures were so clear and logical, that it was easy to be lulled into a false sense of security, feeling that one fully understood the subject. After class, one quickly realized that taking good notes was the only way to avoid extra hours struggling to work out the homework. Louie also had a great sense of humor. Sometimes during a lecture when a student asked a question that was slightly off, Louie would stare at the student and his face would assume a questioning scowl; he would then reach into his coat pocket and pull out a cap pistol and fire at the stunned student. The scowl would dissolve into a smile and after the gales of laughter subsided; he would go about a careful explanation of the point the student had missed.
After completing my PhD under Louie’s guidance I accepted a faculty position in engineering at the University of Redlands in 1964. Shortly thereafter Louie asked me to coauthor this third edition, which initiated a long period of close collaboration and enjoyable tennis matches until the work was published in 1970. It was later translated into a four volume Japanese edition. Throughout my 34-year career of teaching at the University of Redlands I always tried to model my teaching after Louie’s exceptional style and obvious great enthusiasm for the subject at hand.
L. HARVILL, PHD, PE
Redlands, CA, 2014