At the end of this course, the student will:

• acquire a solid foundation in the calculus of variations and weighted residual methods as a basis for finite element analysis

• understand the theory, construction, and implementation of interpolation (shape) functions, including higher-order elements

• develop finite element formulations for linear and nonlinear ordinary differential equations, with applications to continuum mechanics

• formulate and solve time-dependent problems using finite element techniques

• perform error estimation, convergence analysis, and numerical implementation of the finite element method in steady and transient problems