Mass Action Reaction Networks and The Deficiency Zero Theorem

Acknowledgments First and foremost, I would like to thank my advisors, Steve Altschuler and Lani Wu. In addition to suggesting to me a rich and interesting thesis topic, and advising me as I wrote about it, Steve and Lani have deeply informed my view of what it is to be a mathematician and a scientist. My work with them, both during the summer and on this thesis, has influenced my academic and professional life more than anyone else, and I can only hope that I am fortunate enough to collaborate with them again in the future. I also owe thanks to the other members of the Altschuler-Wu group at the Mike Slack – for listening to and commenting on several presentations and drafts. To Mike I owe particular thanks for clarifying a point in the proof of Lemma 5.3. Thanks also to Prof. Cliff Taubes, Kathy Paur, and Fiery Cushman for their comments on drafts, and to all my family and friends for their support while writing this thesis.