MATH7202 (Partial Differential Equations 1) course reviews and ratings at Northeastern (NEU). Compare professors with RateMyProfessor reviews.
Introduces partial differential equations, their theoretical foundations, and their applications, which include optics, propagation of waves (light, sound, and water), electric field theory, and diffusion. Topics include first-order equations by the method of characteristics; linear, quasilinear, and nonlinear equations; applications to traffic flow and geometrical optics; principles for higher-order equations; power series and Cauchy-Kowalevski theorem; classification of second-order equations; linear equations and generalized solutions; wave equations in various space dimensions; domain of dependence and range of influence; Huygens’ principle; conservation of energy, dispersion, and dissipation; Laplace’s equation; mean values and the maximum principle; the fundamental solution, Green’s functions, and Poisson kernels; applications to physics; properties of harmonic functions; the heat equation; eigenfunction expansions; the maximum principle; Fourier transform and the Gaussian kernel; regularity of solutions; scale invariance and the similarity method; Sobolev spaces; and elliptic regularity.
Data updated October 2026.