Exploring Monte Carlo Methods is a basic text that describes the numerical methods that have come to be known as "Monte Carlo." The book treats the subject generically through the first eight chapters and, thus, should be of use to anyone who wants to learn to use Monte Carlo. The next two chapters focus on applications in nuclear engineering, which are illustrative of uses in other fields. Five appendices are included, which provide useful information on probability distributions, general-purpose Monte Carlo codes for radiation transport, and other matters. The famous "Buffon’s needle problem" provides a unifying theme as it is repeatedly used to illustrate many features of Monte Carlo methods.
This book provides the basic detail necessary to learn how to apply Monte Carlo methods and thus should be useful as a text book for undergraduate or graduate courses in numerical methods. It is written so that interested readers with only an understanding of calculus and differential equations can learn Monte Carlo on their own. Coverage of topics such as variance reduction, pseudo-random number generation, Markov chain Monte Carlo, inverse Monte Carlo, and linear operator equations will make the book useful even to experienced Monte Carlo practitioners.
Dr. Bill Dunn graduated with a BS degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame and MS and PhD degrees in Nuclear Engineering from North Carolina State University (NCSU). He was employed by Carolina Power & Light Company for four years and then served on the faculty and staff of the Nuclear Engineering Department at NCSU for two years. From 1979 until 2002, Dr. Dunn was involved in contract research. From 1988 until 2002, he was President of Quantum Research Services. He is now Professor and former Department Head of the Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering Department at Kansas State University. He is an editor of the journal Radiation Physics and Chemistry and Treasurer of the International Radiation Physics Society. In 2015, Dr. Dunn was recognized with the Radiation Science and Technology Award by the American Nuclear Society.
J. Kenneth Shultis, born in Toronto, Canada, graduated from the University of Toronto with a BASc degree in Engineering Physics (1964). He gained his MS (1965) and PhD (1968) degrees in Nuclear Science and Engineering from the University of Michigan. After a postdoctoral year at the Mathematics Institute of the University of Groningen, the Netherlands, he joined the Nuclear Engineering faculty at Kansas State University in 1969. He teaches and conducts research in radiation transport, radiation shielding, Monte Carlo methods, reactor physics, optimization of new type of radiation detectors, numerical analysis, particle combustion, remote sensing, and utility energy and economic analyses. He is a Fellow of the American Nuclear Society, and has received many awards for his teaching and research. Dr. Shultis is the author or co-author of 6 text books on radiation shielding, radiological assessment, nuclear science and technology, and Monte Carlo methods. He has written over 200 research papers and reports, and served as a consultant to many private and governmental organizations.
