Laura Taalman Associate Professor Department of Mathematics Roop Hall, Roop 123 MSC 1911 James Madison University Harrisonburg, Virginia 22807 Voice: (540) 568-3355 Fax: (540) 568-6857 E-Mail: taal@math.jmu.edu

If I were a Springer-Verlag Graduate Text in Mathematics, I would be Saunders Mac Lane's Categories for the Working Mathematician. I provide an array of general ideas useful in a wide variety of fields. Starting from foundations, I illuminate the concepts of category, functor, natural transformation, and duality. I then turn to adjoint functors, which provide a description of universal constructions, an analysis of the representation of functors by sets of morphisms, and a means of manipulating direct and inverse limits. Which Springer GTM would you be? The Springer GTM Test

Check out this semester's Puzzle of the Week (Japanese Pencil Puzzles Semester)

Interested in the Integrated Calculus book? (Or its Errata List?)

Information for advisors/students considering Math 231 or Math 232

Current Courses (Fall 2007)

Math 467: Advanced Linear Algebra

Previous Courses

The Nature of Mathematics (103): Fall 2006 (SET/PenpaMIX), Spring 2007 (Origami)

Integrated Calculus I (231): Fall 2001, Fall 2002, Spring 2003, Fall 2003, Fall 2004, Fall 2005

Integrated Calculus II (232): Spring 2002, Fall 2002, Spring 2003, Spring 2004

Calculus I (235): Fall 2000

Calculus II (236): Spring 2001, Summer 2002

Discrete Mathematics and Introdution to Proof (245): Fall 2005, Spring 2006

Abstract Algebra I (430): Spring 2004, Fall 2004, Spring 2005

Topology (435): Fall 2006

Knot Theory (REU): Summer 2003, Summer 2004

Professional

Publications and Vita (last updated 2/20/07)

Latest Research Paper: "An exact sequence of weighted Nash complexes"
(submitted to Illinois Journal of Mathematics)
Preprint in .pdf format

Latest Fun Math Article: "Tesselations and Modular Architecture: Simplicity is Not Simple"
(Math Horizons cover article, written with Eugenie Hunsicker)
Article in .pdf format Cover photo

Recent Knot Theory Paper: "p-Coloring classes of torus knots"
(submitted to the Missouri Journal of Mathematical Sciences; written with Anna-Lisa Breiland and Layla Oesper)
Article in .pdf format

Seeking submissions for:
The Online Journal of Undergraduate Papers in Knot Theory

Other Stuff

About Laura

The Filora site (Click on "Calvin Web" to see Calvin's picture page!)

Picture-of-the-Week for Calvin

Things it would be better for you not to think about:
Line up those logos, people
Dell putting keyloggers into laptops by request of Homeland Security? (unverified report)
Secret Code in Color Printers Lets Government Track You (bonus: includes a simple example of error-checking codes)
This is how small RFID tags can be. Do you think you could find one if it was hidden in something you owned??
How many insect parts, rodent hairs, and mold spores are allowed in various pre-packaged foods?

Corporate disobedience
(Update: One of the ideas from this site was recently used in the book Life's Little Annoyances.)