James Raymond Munkres (born ) is a Professor Emeritus of

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

at MIT and the author of several texts in the area of

topology Topology (from the Greek language, Greek words , and ) is the branch of mathematics concerned with the properties of a Mathematical object, geometric object that are preserved under Continuous function, continuous Deformation theory, deformat ...

, including ''Topology'' (an undergraduate-level text), ''Analysis on Manifolds'', ''Elements of Algebraic Topology'', and ''Elementary Differential Topology''. He is also the author of ''Elementary Linear Algebra''. Munkres completed his undergraduate education at Nebraska Wesleyan UniversityMathematics
, '' The Tech'', Volume 119, Issue 33, August 27, 1999 and received his Ph.D. from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

in 1956; his advisor was Edwin E. Moise. Earlier in his career he taught at the

and at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

. Among Munkres' contributions to mathematics is the development of what is sometimes called the Munkres assignment algorithm. A significant contribution in topology is his obstruction theory for the smoothing of homeomorphisms.Obstructions to the smoothing of piecewise-differentiable homeomorphisms
Ann. of Math., vol. 72 (1960)F. Wesley Wilson Jr.
Pasting diffeomorphisms of Rⁿ
Illinois J. Math., 16, 222-233 (1972) These developments establish a connection between the John Milnor groups of differentiable structures on spheres and the smoothing methods of classical analysis. He was elected to the 2018 class of

fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

s of the

American Mathematical Society The American Mathematical Society (AMS) is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, and serves the national and international community through its publications, meetings, ...

Textbooks

References

External links

* 20th-century American mathematicians 21st-century American mathematicians American textbook writers American male non-fiction writers American topologists Nebraska Wesleyan University alumni University of Michigan alumni University of Michigan faculty Princeton University faculty Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science faculty Living people 1930 births Fellows of the American Mathematical Society {{US-mathematician-stub