David E. Joyce | |
---|---|
Alma mater | University of Pennsylvania |
Known for | Introducing quandles in knot theory Online edition of Euclid's Elements |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Topology |
Institutions | Clark University |
Doctoral advisor | Peter J. Freyd |
David Edward Joyce is an American mathematician known for introducing quandles in knot theory, [1] and for his online interactive edition of Euclid's Elements. [2] [3] He is a professor emeritus of mathematics at Clark University. [4]
Joyce completed his Ph.D. in 1979 at the University of Pennsylvania, with the dissertation An Algebraic Approach to Symmetry with Applications to Knot Theory supervised by Peter J. Freyd. [5] His doctoral dissertation introduced quandles, and his work in this area was published in 1982, the same year as the independent publication of these structures under another name by Sergei Matveev . [1]
He created his online edition of Euclid's Elements in 1996, using Java applets to create interactive diagrams, with the dual purpose of creating more interest in Euclid's work and of showing off the capabilities of the Java programming language for mathematical illustration. [6]
Euclid was an ancient Greek mathematician active as a geometer and logician. Considered the "father of geometry", he is chiefly known for the Elements treatise, which established the foundations of geometry that largely dominated the field until the early 19th century. His system, now referred to as Euclidean geometry, involved innovations in combination with a synthesis of theories from earlier Greek mathematicians, including Eudoxus of Cnidus, Hippocrates of Chios, Thales and Theaetetus. With Archimedes and Apollonius of Perga, Euclid is generally considered among the greatest mathematicians of antiquity, and one of the most influential in the history of mathematics.
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