OXFORD, Miss. – A University of Mississippi civil engineer
is featured in the March edition of a prestigious online
site that tracks trends and performance in basic research.
Alexander H.D. Cheng, chair and professor of civil
engineering, appears in the Fast Moving Fronts section of
ScienceWatch.com by Thomson Scientific. Thomson Scientific
is the company that owns the Science Citation Index and the
Web of Science online citation database.
The interview focuses on the growing popularity of Cheng’s
article: “Exponential convergence and H-c multiquadric
collocation method for partial differential equations.”
Since its publication in 2003, the paper has been highly
cited by other researchers in the mathematics field. A
follow-up paper, “Error estimate, optimal shape factor, and
high precision computation of multiquadric collocation
method,” was published in 2007.
Cheng said engineering and science problems are often
expressed in the form of mathematical equations known as
partial differential equations. While the goal is to solve
these equations accurately and efficiently, the full
realization of such accuracy was blocked by the computer’s
inability to carry enough digits in the computation.
“Our work overcame this issue and we have discovered one of
the most accurate numerical methods,” Cheng said. “There is
still a long way to go to make it as competitive and
popular as the finite element method, but I believe that it
will one day become an important branch of numerical
methodology, one which offers scientific and engineering
solutions which contribute to the long-term sustainability
of humanity.”
Application of the multiquadric collocation method in
solving many engineering problems is needed and software
development will be the key factor leading to widespread
industrial use, Cheng said.
Cheng was presented the 2007 Outstanding Engineering
Faculty Member Award for his excellence in classroom
teaching, scholarly research and professional service. His
2005 article, “Heritage and early history of the boundary
element method,” was the most downloaded paper for two
quarters in 2005 in the Computational Engineering category,
according to Elsevier’s ScienceDirect.
“Citation by peers is an important measure of the impact of
one’s research,” said Kai-Fong Lee, engineering dean. “The
School of Engineering is proud that one of Dr. Cheng’s
research papers has made an important contribution in the
numerical solution of partial differential equations, upon
which many practical engineering problems are formulated.”
To view Cheng’s interview in ScienceWatch.com, visit
http://sciencewatch.com/dr/fmf/2008/08marfmf/08marfmfHCheng
For more information about civil engineering at the
University of Mississippi, visit
http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/civil?engineering or call
662-915-7191.