Great advances in understanding of the planet Earth and in computational tools permitting accurate numerical modelling are transforming the geosciences in general and geodynamics particularly. Research on dynamical processes in the Earth and planets relies increasingly on sophisticated quantitative models. Improved understanding of fundamental physical processes such as mantle convection, lithospheric deformation, and core dynamos in the Earth and terrestrial planets depends heavily on better numerical modelling. Characteristic of this new intellectual landscape is the need for strong interaction across traditional disciplinary boundaries: Earth sciences, applied mathematics, and computer science.

Solid Earth scientists, with few exceptions, rarely achieve mathematical competence beyond elementary calculus and a few statistical formulae. Meanwhile, in some sense it has become a fashion nowadays, when scientists dealing with geodynamics make numerical modelling as their primary research tool.