Unity and Diversity in Computational Electromagnetics – A Retrospective: Special Session “Towards a Unified View of Computational Electromagnetics”

This paper summarizes the evolution of numerical methods in electromagnetics from a group of seemingly unrelated algorithms to a unified methodology for solving Maxwell's equations. The unified approach is based on a projective approximation of the solution in function space, employing the Method of Weighted Residuals known from the Method of Moments. It clarifies the relationship between various methods and elucidates what they have in common and what distinguishes them from each other, providing deeper insights and heralding new developments in computational electromagnetics.