Study Guide for Linear Algebra and Its Applications

An integral part of this text, the Study Guide incorporates detailed solutions to every third odd-numbered exercise, as well as solutions to every odd-numbered writing exercise for which the main text only provides a hint.

David C. Lay earned a B.A. from Aurora University (Illinois), and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of California at Los Angeles.  David Lay was an educator and research mathematician for more than 40 years, mostly at the University of Maryland, College Park.  He also served as a visiting professor at the University of Amsterdam, the Free University in Amsterdam, and the University of Kaiserslautern, Germany.  He published more than 30 research articles on functional analysis and linear algebra. 

As a founding member of the NSF-sponsored Linear Algebra Curriculum Study Group, David Lay was a leader in the current movement to modernize the linear algebra curriculum.  Lay was also a coauthor of several mathematics texts, including Introduction to Functional Analysis with Angus E. Taylor, Calculus and Its Applications, with L. J. Goldstein and D. I. Schneider, and Linear Algebra Gems–Assets for Undergraduate Mathematics, with D. Carlson, C. R. Johnson, and A. D. Porter. 

David Lay received four university awards for teaching excellence, including, in 1996, the title of Distinguished Scholar–Teacher of the University of Maryland.  In 1994, he was given one of the Mathematical Association of America’s Awards for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics.  He was elected by the university students to membership in Alpha Lambda Delta National Scholastic Honor Society and Golden Key National Honor Society.  In 1989, Aurora University conferred on him the Outstanding Alumnus award.  David Lay was a member of the American Mathematical Society, the Canadian Mathematical Society, the International Linear Algebra Society, the Mathematical Association of America, Sigma Xi, and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.  He also served several terms on the national board of the Association of Christians in the Mathematical Sciences. 

In October of 2018, David Lay passed away, but his legacy continues to benefit students of linear algebra as they study the subject in this widely acclaimed text.

Steven R. Lay began his teaching career at Aurora University (Illinois) in 1971, after earning an M.A. and a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of California at Los Angeles. His career in mathematics was interrupted for eight years while serving as a missionary in Japan. Upon his return to the States in 1998, he joined the mathematics faculty at Lee University (Tennessee) and has been there ever since. Since then he has supported his brother David in refining and expanding the scope of this popular linear algebra text, including writing most of Chapters 8 and 9. Steven is also the author of three college-level mathematics texts: Convex Sets and Their Applications, Analysis with an Introduction to Proof, and Principles of Algebra.

In 1985, Steven received the Excellence in Teaching Award at Aurora University. He and David, and their father, Dr. L. Clark Lay, are all distinguished mathematicians,  and in 1989 they jointly received the Outstanding Alumnus award from their alma mater, Aurora University. In 2006, Steven was honored to receive the Excellence in Scholarship Award at Lee University. He is a member of the American Mathematical Society, the Mathematics Association of America, and the Association of Christians in the Mathematical Sciences.

Judi J. McDonald became a co-author on this text’s 5th Edition, having worked closely with David on the 4th Edition. She holds a B.Sc. in Mathematics from the University of Alberta, and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin. As a professor of mathematics, she has more than 40 publications in linear algebra research journals and more than 20 students have completed graduate degrees in linear algebra under her supervision. She is an associate dean of the Graduate School at Washington State University and a former chair of the Faculty Senate. She has worked with the mathematics outreach project Math Central at http://mathcentral.uregina.ca/ and is a member of the Linear Algebra Curriculum Study Group.

Judi has received three teaching awards: two Inspiring Teaching awards at the University of Regina, and the Thomas Lutz College of Arts and Sciences Teaching Award at Washington State University. She also received the College of Arts and Sciences Institutional Service Award at Washington State University. Throughout her career, she has been an active member of the International Linear Algebra Society and the Association for Women in Mathematics, and has also been a member of the Canadian Mathematical Society, the American Mathematical Society, the Mathematical Association of America, and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.