June Huh

June Huh
Name	June Huh
Birth date	1983
Birth place	Sancheong County, South Gyeongsang, South Korea
Nationality	South Korean
Fields	Mathematics, Combinatorics, Geometry
Institutions	Stanford University, Princeton University, Institute for Advanced Study, Courant Institute
Alma mater	Seoul National University, University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign
Known for	Proofs connecting combinatorics, algebraic geometry, and Hodge theory

June Huh is a South Korean mathematician noted for groundbreaking work connecting combinatorics, algebraic geometry, and Hodge theory. He achieved rapid recognition for resolving long-standing conjectures in matroid theory and combinatorial geometry, earning numerous international awards and appointments at leading institutions. His research has bridged communities including combinatorics, algebraic geometry, topology, and theoretical computer science.

Early life and education

Huh was born in Sancheong County, South Gyeongsang, South Korea. He attended Sungkyunkwan University level schools and studied physics before switching directions, later enrolling at Seoul National University and subsequently pursuing graduate studies at the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign. During formative years he interacted with scholars from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Yonsei University, Korea University, Pohang University of Science and Technology, and other East Asian institutions. Influences included exposure to work by Paul Erdős, Richard Stanley, Béla Bollobás, Imre Bárány, and interactions with researchers at Microsoft Research and Simons Foundation supported programs.

Mathematical career

Huh held postdoctoral positions and faculty appointments at leading centers, including the Institute for Advanced Study, the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Princeton University, and Stanford University. He collaborated with mathematicians from Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California, Berkeley, California Institute of Technology, Columbia University, University of Chicago, ETH Zurich, Université Paris-Saclay, École Normale Supérieure, Max Planck Institute for Mathematics, and Imperial College London. His network extends to combinatorialists at Rutgers University, University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, University of Toronto, McGill University, and researchers associated with the American Mathematical Society and the European Mathematical Society.

Major contributions and research

Huh produced landmark results on the unimodality and log-concavity of sequence invariants arising in matroid theory, resolving conjectures that had roots in the work of Rota and Herbert Wilf. He established deep links between combinatorial invariants and algebraic notions from Hodge theory and intersection theory, employing techniques influenced by Poincaré duality, the theory of Lefschetz theorems, and methods from tropical geometry. His proofs connected the characteristic polynomial of a matroid to geometric objects analogous to those studied by Alexander Grothendieck, Jean-Pierre Serre, and Pierre Deligne. Collaborations and extensions involved researchers such as Eric Katz, Matt Baker, Bernd Sturmfels, Fedor Petrov, Kiumars Kaveh, and Mircea Mustaţă. Huh’s work impacted problems studied in graph theory context by László Lovász, Noga Alon, and Fan Chung and intersected with enumerative combinatorics traditions of Richard Stanley, George Andrews, and Doron Zeilberger. Applications and conceptual frameworks drew attention from specialists in algebraic topology at Princeton University and Stanford University as well as from scholars at the Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing and the Institute for Advanced Study.

Awards and honors

Huh’s achievements have been recognized by awards including the Fields Medal, the New Horizons in Mathematics Prize, the Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics, and prizes from national academies. He has been elected to academies such as the National Academy of Sciences and received fellowships from organizations including the Clay Mathematics Institute, the Simons Foundation, and the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies. Additional honors include prizes named after mathematicians and institutions such as the Oswald Veblen Prize, the Clay Research Award, and awards bestowed by the American Mathematical Society, the European Mathematical Society, and regional scientific bodies in South Korea.

Teaching and service

Huh has taught graduate and undergraduate courses at Stanford University and Princeton University, supervised doctoral students at institutions including the Courant Institute, and given lectures at conferences organized by the American Mathematical Society, the European Mathematical Society, the International Congress of Mathematicians, and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. He has served on editorial boards for journals linked to the American Mathematical Society, Annals of Mathematics, Inventiones Mathematicae, and specialized journals in combinatorics and algebraic geometry. Huh participated in program committees at venues hosted by the Institute for Advanced Study, the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute, Banff International Research Station, and summer schools at ETH Zurich and École Polytechnique.

Personal life and public outreach

Huh engages in outreach through public lectures at venues like Seoul National University, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Yonsei University, and international colloquia at Harvard University, MIT, and Princeton University. He has been featured in media produced by outlets connected to Nature, Science, The New York Times, The Guardian, and scholarly profiles supported by the Simons Foundation. Huh maintains ties with mathematical communities in South Korea and collaborates with researchers across North America, Europe, and East Asia, contributing to workshops sponsored by the Korean Mathematical Society and international programs at the MSRI and the Institute for Advanced Study.

Category:South Korean mathematicians Category:Combinatorialists Category:1983 births Category:Living people