The Division had its origin in the program of Advanced Instruction and Research in Mechanics, established in 1941 on the recommendation of a committee of the National Research Council. This early program focused on solid and fluid mechanics, electromagnetic theory, mathematical methods in applied physics, numerical analysis and probability theory—the principal interests of the faculty for many years.  Since then the interests of the faculty have expanded and diversified, as the Division has maintained a leading role in the development of applied mathematics both in the United States and throughout the world. In 1964, for example, the Center for Dynamical Systems was established to coordinate the research of a large group of people working in ordinary and partial differential equations and their applications. More recently, programs at the forefront of research in scientific computing and in applied probability and statistics have been established.

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