Hokuto Konno

Hokuto Konno is an Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Mathematical Sciences, University of Tokyo, specializing in Gauge Theory and 4-Manifold Topology. His research develops family gauge theory—applying gauge-theoretical techniques to families of 3- and 4-dimensional manifolds—to study diffeomorphism groups and their distinctions from homeomorphism groups in dimension four.

• PhD (2019) at University of Tokyo under Mikio Furuta
• Postdoc at RIKEN iTHEMS (2019-2020)
• Faculty member at University of Tokyo since 2020
• Long-term visits to MIT (2022-2024) and SLMath (2024-2025)

Konno's work includes constructing characteristic classes for 4-manifold bundles, proving infiniteness of mapping class groups in dimension four, and developing cohomological invariants through family Seiberg-Witten theory. His research bridges geometric analysis with algebraic topology, focusing on exotic smooth structures and moduli spaces of 4-manifolds.

Scientific awards include the Geometry Prize (2024) and Spring Prize (2025) from the Mathematical Society of Japan. He holds major grants like JSPS KAKENHI 25K00908 (2025-2030) and JSPS Overseas Research Fellowships (2022-2024). Konno actively organizes seminars at MIT, SLMath, and University of Tokyo, and has delivered lecture series at ICTP, Kyushu University, and Osaka Women's University.