The reader is expected to have prior knowledge in engineering mathematics, in particular real analysis and linear algebra. The elements of algebra and analysis requiredin the main part of the book are presented in corresponding sections of the appendix. Students should already have an education in strength of materials or another engineering field, such as heat or mass transport, which discusses boundary value problems for simple geometries and boundary conditions.
Uwe Mühlich is an Associate Professor at Universidad Austral del Chile. His primary field of research is materials modelling in the context of continuum mechanics. As a university lecturer, he teaches since almost 20 years continuously introductory courses on finite elements to undergraduate students of civil engineering and mechanical engineering as well as advanced courses on FEM to master students and PhD students.