WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., March 21, 2008 -- "Introduction to Topology," co-authored by mathematics professor Colin Adams, was recently released by Pearson Prentice Hall.
"Introduction to Topology" is geared toward students with a minimal background in formal mathematics. It is designed to serve as a textbook for a one- or two-semester introduction to topology at the undergraduate level, or at an introductory graduate level.
Topology is the study of properties of spatial objects that are preserved under deformation. It is often said that a topologist cannot tell a coffee cup from a doughnut. Topology is generally considered one of the three linchpins of modern abstract mathematics (along with analysis and algebra).
Adams is the Thomas T. Read Professor of Mathematics at Williams College.
Always described as innovative, demanding, and a very popular teacher, he has played a crucial role in the doubling of the enrollments in Williams math classes and the tripling of the number of majors.
He is particularly interested in the mathematical theory of knots, their applications and their connections with hyperbolic geometry and has written numerous research articles on knot theory and hyperbolic 3-manifolds. His research is supported by the National Science Foundation.
Author of "The Knot Book," an elementary introduction to the mathematical theory of knots, Adams and co-authors Joel Hass and Abigail Thompson wrote "How to Ace Calculus: the Streetwise Guide" and "How to Ace the Rest of Calculus: the Streetwise Guide," humorous supplements to calculus.
He also writes a mathematical humor column called "Mathematically Bent" which appears in the Mathematical Intelligencer.
He received the Robert Foster Cherry Great Teacher Award from Baylor University in 2003. The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) awarded him its Deborah and Franklin Tepper
Haimo Distinguished Teaching Award in 1998. His honors include, among others, being named the Polya Lecturer for the MAA from 1998 to 2000 and a Sigma Xi Distinguished Lecturer from 2000 to 2002.
Adams received his B.S. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1978 and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1983.
Founded in 1793, Williams College is the second oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts. The college's 2,000 students are taught by a faculty noted for the quality of their teaching and research, and the achievement of academic goals includes active participation of students with faculty in their research. Students' educational experience is enriched by the residential campus environment in Williamstown, Mass., which provides a host of opportunities for interaction with one another and with faculty beyond the classroom. Admission decisions are made regardless of a student's financial ability, and the college provides grants and other assistance to meet the demonstrated needs of all who are admitted.
To visit the college on the Internet: www.williams.edu