Henry Cohn

Henry Cohn
Name	Henry Cohn
Birth date	1973
Birth place	United States
Nationality	American
Fields	Mathematics
Workplaces	Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Alma mater	Harvard University, Princeton University
Doctoral advisor	Noam Elkies

Henry Cohn is an American mathematician known for contributions to discrete geometry, coding theory, and sphere packing. He is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has collaborated with researchers across institutions such as Harvard University, Princeton University, and Microsoft Research. Cohn's work connects classical problems in number theory, combinatorics, and optimization with modern computational methods and theoretical computer science.

Early life and education

Cohn earned his undergraduate degree at Harvard University and completed his Ph.D. at Princeton University under the supervision of Noam Elkies. During his graduate training he engaged with researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Institute for Advanced Study, and participated in programs at Clay Mathematics Institute and Mathematical Sciences Research Institute. He benefited from interactions with mathematicians from institutions including Stanford University, University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, and California Institute of Technology.

Academic career

Cohn joined the faculty of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and held visiting positions at places such as Microsoft Research, Institute for Advanced Study, and University of California, Berkeley. He has taught courses that relate to topics studied at Princeton University, Harvard University, Yale University, and Columbia University. His students and collaborators have included researchers affiliated with New York University, University of Chicago, ETH Zurich, and University of Toronto. Cohn has participated in conferences organized by American Mathematical Society, Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, International Congress of Mathematicians, and European Mathematical Society.

Research and contributions

Cohn's research spans sphere packing, energy minimization, error-correcting codes, and representation theory. He is known for work on the sphere packing problem in dimensions related to the E8 lattice and the Leech lattice, collaborating with scholars linked to Maryna Viazovska, A. M. Odlyzko, and others at institutions such as Imperial College London and Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques. His papers connect to classical results by John Leech, Harold Davenport, and modern advances by researchers at Google Research and Bell Labs. Cohn has employed techniques related to modular forms studied at Institute Henri Poincaré, connections with the theta function literature from University of Göttingen, and optimization frameworks used at IBM Research.

His collaborations have extended to work on linear programming bounds influenced by Delsarte, associations with Erdős-style extremal combinatorics from Rutgers University, and interactions with algebraic number theory communities at Princeton University. Cohn's research also touches coding theory topics connected to Goppa codes, Reed–Solomon codes, and links to computational aspects pursued at Courant Institute and Max Planck Institute for Mathematics. He has contributed to bridging gaps between analytic number theory as developed by Atle Selberg, lattice theory from Conway and Sloane traditions, and algorithmic complexity themes associated with Richard Karp and Leslie Valiant.

Awards and honors

Cohn has received recognition from mathematical societies and institutions including fellowships and prizes analogous to those awarded by National Science Foundation, Clay Mathematics Institute, and the American Mathematical Society. He has been invited to speak at gatherings such as the International Congress of Mathematicians and symposia held by European Mathematical Society. His work has been cited in contexts linked to honors given at Harvard University, Princeton University, and research awards associated with Microsoft Research and Simons Foundation.

Selected publications

- Cohn, H.; with collaborators on sphere packing and energy minimization, appearing in journals associated with Annals of Mathematics, Journal of the American Mathematical Society, Inventiones Mathematicae, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and Communications in Mathematical Physics. - Papers addressing coding theory and linear programming bounds published alongside work from scholars at Bell Labs, IBM Research, and AT&T Labs. - Collaborative articles connecting modular form techniques and lattice constructions with coauthors from ETH Zurich, Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques, and Imperial College London.

Personal life and outreach

Cohn has engaged in outreach through lectures and seminars at institutions such as MIT, Harvard University, Princeton University, Courant Institute, New York University, and public events organized by the American Mathematical Society and Mathematical Association of America. He has contributed to mathematical exposition in venues related to Quanta Magazine, academic blogs associated with Institute for Advanced Study, and collaborative workshops supported by the Simons Foundation and National Science Foundation.

Category:American mathematicians Category:Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty