Lars B. Wahlbin

Professor of Mathematics and Director of Undergraduate Studies

Web Site N/A Contact Information Office:  573 Malott Hall Phone:  (607) 255-2397 Fax:  (607) 255-7149 Email:  wahlbin@math.cornell.edu Courses & Office Hours

Education

Ph.D. (1971) University of Göteborg (Sweden)

Research Area: Numerical solutions of partial differential equations

At present one can compute "solutions" to very tough nonlinear, singular problems on, say, a supercomputer. Most often, numerical analysis does not furnish theorems that cover a practical situation, but it provides insight into the behavior of the relevant numerical method on carefully chosen model problems with, at best, some of the most pertinent difficulties of the real problem present.

My work in numerical analysis is aimed at gaining a fundamental understanding of numerical methods. Such insight is also necessary for constructing better algorithms. My particular interest is in methods for partial differential equations, and lately I have been studying the precise and detailed behavior of the finite-element methods in a variety of problems; the most interesting ones contain singularities of various degrees of nastiness.

Selected Publications

Local behavior in finite element methods; in Handbook of Numerical Analysis (P. G. Ciarlet and J. L. Lions, eds.), vol. II (part 1), North Holland, 1991, pp. 353–522.

Superconvergence in Galerkin Finite Element Methods, Springer Lecture Notes in Mathematics 1605, Springer-Verlag New York, 1995.

Last modified: October 31, 2006