German-American mathematician, founder of what is now the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University. His research covered real analysis, mathematical physics, the calculus of variations and partial differential equations. His name is attached to the finite element method through his 1943 paper on the numerical treatment of the plane torsion problem for multiply-connected domains. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
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Associated With
Developed the variational mathematics underlying the finite element method used in structural engineering.
In Field
A mathematician by training, not a civil engineer; associated here through his 1943 numerical-methods paper, the mathematical root of the Finite Element Method used throughout structural and civil engineering.
Source Richard Courant (Wikipedia)
Invented
His 1943 paper on the plane torsion problem is the earliest work generally credited toward the finite element method, alongside Hrennikoff's independent lattice-analogy approach; the term "finite element" itself was coined later by Ray W. Clough (1960).
Source Richard Courant (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Richard Courant (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundationlead section
Richard Courant (January 8, 1888 - January 27, 1972) was a German-American mathematician. He is best known by the general public for the book What is Mathematics?, co-written with Herbert Robbins.
Finite element method paragraph
Courant's name is also attached to the finite element method, with his numerical treatment of the plain torsion problem for multiply-connected domains, published in 1943. This method is now one of the standard ways to solve partial differential equations numerically.
View the Source Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Richard Courant's name attached to the finite element method?
His 1943 paper on plane torsion in multiply-connected domains is tied to the method.
Courant, a German-American mathematician, is linked to the finite element method through his 1943 paper on the numerical treatment of the plane torsion problem for multiply-connected domains. He also founded what is now the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University, and his research covered real analysis, mathematical physics, the calculus of variations and partial differential equations.
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