Mathematics in engineering and science

Abstract

Mathematics is an important aspect of natural science and engineering and many new mathematical concepts and theories have come about when researchers have been formulating and solving scientific or engineering problems. This interaction between mathematics and science/engineering took a new form towards the end of twentieth century in connection with the introduction of digital computers. In fact, some scientists believe that a new form of doing science has appeared: computational science. Norman J. Zabusky, e.g., argues that we are in the midst of a computational revolution that will change science and society as dramatically as the agricultural and industrial revolutions did (Zabusky, Phys Today 40(10), 1987). We shall discuss in what sense it is reasonable to talk about a new style of scientific reasoning and what this will mean for mathematical practice.