| Electrical engineers made important contributions to the field of conformal mapping, but most engineering students are not exposed to their work in this area of mathematics. There is no single source available that catalogs the mathematical progress made by electrical engineers, and the history of their discoveries is slowly being lost. Most modern textbook authors neglect to mention their achievements, thus they remain inaccessible for modern engineering students.; This study contains the history of the mathematical development of conformal mapping, beginning with applications in ancient Greece to cartography, and continues by presenting the work of Cauchy and Riemann in the 19th century. The research culminates with the exposition of developments made by a group of electrical engineers during the early portion of the 20 th century. The work on conformal mapping done by Carter, Page, Coe, Taylor, and Cockcroft is presented in a way that makes these forgotten works accessible to modern undergraduate students. The derivation of Carter's coefficients is included. The electrical engineering applications that motivated their work included electrical machine design and high voltage power transmission.; The history of electrical engineering education is given in Chapter 4 and the author discusses the reasons why conformal mapping was not integrated into the curriculum until the 1960's. Modern and historical texts are reviewed in Chapter 5 and the author concludes that most modern texts in complex variables lack historical sources and references. The historical texts contain plentiful references to original works but these materials are in poor condition. Recommendations are given in Chapter 6 for how to supplement modern material with historical sources.; The author urges the study of historical material because of its value to modern electrical engineering students in advancing the profession. Historical research gives students a sense of their past and suggests future research topics. Immediate conservation of original sources is recommended. The author suggests additional research projects in complex variables and electrical engineering. Other historical studies are indicated and possible directions for future research are given. This study is a reference for anyone wanting more information about electrical engineering history, the history of mathematics or conformal mapping. |
