This text is geared toward assisting engineering and physical science students in cultivating comprehensive skills in linear static and dynamic finite element methodology. Based on courses taught at Stanford University and the California Institute of Technology, it ranges from fundamental concepts to practical computer implementations. Additional sections touch upon the frontiers of research, making the book of potential interest to more experienced analysts and researchers working in the finite element field.

In addition to its examination of numerous standard aspects of the finite element method, the volume includes many unique components, including a comprehensive presentation and analysis of algorithms of time-dependent phenomena, plus beam, plate, and shell theories derived directly from three-dimensional elasticity theory. It also contains a systematic treatment of "weak," or variational, formulations for diverse classes of initial/boundary-value problems.

Directed toward students without in-depth mathematical training, the text incorporates introductory material on the mathematical theory of finite elements and many important mathematical results, making it an ideal primer for more advanced works on this subject.