The IAP at 50. Reflections from Emeritus Professor Peter Smith FIAP, University of Sunderland.

In 1978, I embarked upon a PhD in mathematics. My project was to develop a mathematical model of the human body in order to predict the heat flow within and from a human being. This involved using something called the finite element method which basically modelled the human body as a series of blocks using equations and mathematical methods to solve these equations.

The standard textbook for the finite element method was by the very eminent Professor Zienkiewicz, who was the expert on the subject.

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