Harvard AM205 video 4.1 - Introduction to nonlinear equations and optimization

Harvard Applied Math 205 is a graduate-level course on scientific computing and numerical methods. This video introduces Unit 4 of the course, on nonlinear equations and optimization. A number of motivating examples are discussed, and some basic definitions and concepts are presented. The bisection method—a simple scalar root-finding approach—is demonstrated.

The video discusses the following journal article on the use of optimization in the biological sciences: