Introductory Mathematics for Engineering Applications

Rattan's Introductory Mathematics for Engineering Applications is designed is to improve student retention, motivation and success through application-driven, just-in-time engineering math instruction. It is intended to be taught by engineering faculty, not math faculty, so the emphasis is on using math to solve engineering problems, not on derivations and theory.

The book is a product of four NSF grants to develop and disseminate a new approach to engineering mathematics education. The authors have developed a course that does just this, and have recruited faculty at more than two dozen institutions to pilot aspects of this course in their own curricula. This approach covers only the salient math topics actually used in core engineering courses, including physics, statics, dynamics, electric circuits and computer programming. More importantly, the course replaces traditional math prerequisites for the above core courses, so that students can advance in the engineering curriculum without first completing the required calculus sequence. The result has shifted the traditional emphasis on math prerequisite requirements to an emphasis on engineering motivation for math, and has had an overwhelming impact on engineering student retention.