This undergraduate textbook introduces students of science and §engineering to the fascinating field of optimization. It is a unique §book that brings together the subfields of mathematical programming, §variational calculus, and optimal control, thus giving students an §overall view of all aspects of optimization in a single reference. As §a primer on optimization, its main goal is to provide a succinct and §accessible introduction to linear programming, nonlinear programming, §numerical optimization algorithms, variational problems, dynamic §programming, and optimal control. Prerequisites have been kept to a §minimum, although a basic knowledge of calculus, linear algebra, and §differential equations is assumed. §There are numerous examples, illustrations, and exercises throughout §the text, making it an ideal book for self-study. Applied §mathematicians, physicists, engineers, and scientists will all find §this introduction to optimization extremely useful.