James Raymond Munkres (born August 18, 1930) is a Professor Emeritus of

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the mo ...

James Munkres, MIT Mathematics, mit.edu
/ref> and the author of several texts in the area of

topology In mathematics, topology (from the Greek language, Greek words , and ) is concerned with the properties of a mathematical object, geometric object that are preserved under Continuous function, continuous Deformation theory, deformations, such ...

, 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 University Nebraska Wesleyan University (NWU) is a private Methodist-affiliated university in Lincoln, Nebraska. It was founded in 1887 by Nebraska Methodists. As of 2017, it has approximately 2,100 students including 1,500 full-time students and 300 ...

Mathematics
'' The Tech'', Volume 119, Issue 33, August 27, 1999 and received his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1956; his advisor was

Edwin E. Moise Edwin Evariste Moise (; December 22, 1918 – December 18, 1998) was an American mathematician and mathematics education reformer. After his retirement from mathematics he became a literary critic of 19th-century English poetry and had severa ...

. Earlier in his career he taught at the

and at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

. 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 John Willard Milnor (born February 20, 1931) is an American mathematician known for his work in differential topology, algebraic K-theory and low-dimensional holomorphic dynamical systems. Milnor is a distinguished professor at Stony Brook Uni ...

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 concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

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 Topologists Nebraska Wesleyan University alumni Princeton University faculty Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science faculty University of Michigan alumni Living people 1930 births Fellows of the American Mathematical Society {{US-mathematician-stub