ABSTRACT

The pioneers in the development of the finite element method include Courant [1943], Prager and Synge [1947], Schoenberg [1948], Polya and Szego [1951], Hersch [1955], and Weinberger [1965]. Courant’s work on the torsion problem is regarded as a classic; it defined piecewise linear polynomials over a triangulated region. Prager and Synge found approximate solutions for plane elasticity problems based on the concept of function space. Schoenberg developed the theory of splines, and used piecewise polynomials (interpolation functions) for approximation.