Comaximal Ideal Graphs of Commutative Rings

Acknowledgments I would like to begin by thanking my advisor, Professor Alexander Diesl, for his encouragement and excitement for my research. He has always remained supportive and interested in my work, and his many questions have kept me motivated and excited about my project. I would like to thank him as well for being understanding about my silly questions, helping me piece apart my convoluted arguments, and being forgiving of my persistent and curious typos. Without him, this research would not have been nearly as much fun. I have to thank Professors Andrew Schultz, Megan Kerr, and Emily Buchholtz for being willing to read through my thesis and serve as my thesis committee. I appreciate the time you will spread processing my results and asking me questions at my defense. I would like to thank the honors support group, especially Professor Schultz and Melinda Lanius, for sharing my excitement about my project and math in general. Thank you for making sure that the meetings were always fun, and encouraging any number of digressions. I also would like to thank members Alex Gendreau and Liz Ferme for being encouraging and putting up with all of the thesis talk. I am sure you will both do wonderfully on the honors exam. In fact, I would really like to thank the entire math department, including my professors, Melanie Chamberlain, and all of my study buddies who have helped me survive my time at Wellesley. Lastly, I need to thank my friends and family who have made my last year at Wellesley so wonderful. Thank you to my mother and father for believing in me and pushing me to do my best. Thanks to my sister Iulia for late night distractions when I really needed a break. Thanks to the other seniors with theses for worrying with me and getting excited with me about all of the projects being completed. And thanks to all of the other friends who have always been happy to share a smile and be frivolous.