David Edward Joyce is an American mathematician known for introducing
quandle
In mathematics, racks and quandles are sets with binary operations satisfying axioms analogous to the Reidemeister moves used to manipulate knot diagrams.
While mainly used to obtain invariants of knots, they can be viewed as algebraic construct ...
s in
knot theory
In topology, knot theory is the study of knot (mathematics), mathematical knots. While inspired by knots which appear in daily life, such as those in shoelaces and rope, a mathematical knot differs in that the ends are joined so it cannot be und ...
, and for his online interactive edition of
Euclid's ''Elements''. He is a
professor emeritus
''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus".
...
of mathematics at
Clark University
Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research uni ...
.
Joyce completed his Ph.D. in 1979 at the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
, with the dissertation ''An Algebraic Approach to Symmetry with Applications to Knot Theory'' supervised by
Peter J. Freyd. His doctoral dissertation introduced
quandle
In mathematics, racks and quandles are sets with binary operations satisfying axioms analogous to the Reidemeister moves used to manipulate knot diagrams.
While mainly used to obtain invariants of knots, they can be viewed as algebraic construct ...
s, and his work in this area was published in 1982, the same year as the independent publication of these structures under another name by .
He created his online edition of Euclid's ''Elements'' in 1996, using
Java applet
Java applets were applet, small applications written in the Java (programming language), Java programming language, or another programming language that Compiled language, compiles to Java bytecode, and delivered to users in the form of Ja ...
s 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.
References
External links
Home page
(interactive only if Java is enabled)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Joyce, David E.
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
20th-century American mathematicians
21st-century American mathematicians
American topologists
University of Pennsylvania alumni
Clark University faculty