SN Typing for the SDSS SN Survey

In the fall of 2004 the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) 2.5m telescope scanned the southern equatorial stripe for approximately 20 nights over the space of two months. Light curves for over four dozen supernovae (SNe) were collected over time using five colored filters ugriz that together had a range of approximately 3000{angstrom} to 10500{angstrom}. 22 SNe were spectroscopically confirmed with follow-up observation. Using the data obtained in the Fall 2004 campaign, preparations are now being made for the Supernova Survey of the SDSS II, a three-year extension of the original project. One main goal of the Supernova Survey will be to identify and study type Ia SNe of up to redshift {approx}0.4, the intermediate ''redshift desert'', as well as enabling further study of other types of SNe including type 1b/c and peculiar SNe. Most of the SNe found will not have spectra taken, due to time and cost constraints. Thus it would be advantageous to be able to robustly type SNe solely from the light curves obtained by the SDSS telescope prior to, or even without ever obtaining a spectrum. Using light curves of well-observed SNe templates were constructed for comparison with unknown SNe in order to photometrically type them