John Dold is a professor of applied mathematics, having trained in physics, mathematics and (briefly) history. Apart from some purely experimental studies, particularly of fire behaviour, his research primarily makes use of partial differential equations to model practical problems, including water waves and combustion phenomena. He founded the journal Combustion Theory and Modelling and he has organised or helped to organise major conferences on combustion research. In his teaching of mathematical methods and their application to various physical phenomena he has written a number of coursework texts. One of these has been expanded and improved to create the current volume.
