Speaker:Michael Nielan, Pittsburgh
Title: Finite element methods for elliptic problems in non--divergence form

Abstract: The finite element method is a powerful and ubiquitous tool in numerical analysis and scientific computing to compute approximate solutions to partial differential equations (PDEs). A contributing factor of the method's success is that it naturally fits into the functional analysis framework of variational models. In this talk I will discuss finite element methods for PDEs problems that do not conform to the usual variational framework, namely, elliptic PDEs in non--divergence form. I will first present the derivation of the scheme and give a brief outline of the convergence analysis. Finally, I will present several challenging numerical examples showing the robustness of the method as well as verifying the theoretical results.

Time: Friday, September 5, 2014, 1:30-2:30 p.m.

Place: Exploratory Hall (formerly S & T II), Room 4106

Department of Mathematical Sciences
George Mason University
4400 University Drive, MS 3F2
Fairfax, VA 22030-4444
http://math.gmu.edu/
Tel. 703-993-1460, Fax. 703-993-1491