Jean-Francois Lafont

Jean-François Lafont is a Professor in the Department of Mathematics at The Ohio State University. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan (2002), with postdoctoral research at SUNY Binghamton and OSU. His research focuses on the interplay between topology, differential geometry, geometric group theory, and K-theory, particularly in non-positively curved spaces. He has been recognized with the Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship (2008–2012) and named a 2024 Fellow of the American Mathematical Society.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Mathematics, University of Michigan (2002)

Research Interests:

• Geometry and topology of manifolds
• Geometric group theory
• Non-positively curved spaces
• K-theory and algebraic invariants

Selected Awards and Grants:

• Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship (2008–2012)
• NSF Grants: DMS-0606002 (2006–2009), DMS-2109683 (2021–2024), DMS-2407438 (2024–2027)

Advising:

• Former PhD Students: Raeyong Kim (2012), Kyle Joecken (2013), Kun Wang (2014), Shi Wang (2016), etc.
• Current Students: Hyeran Cho, Matthew Kortje, Pranali Sohini
• Postdoctoral Advising: Barry Minemyer, Rachel Skipper, Annette Karrer, etc.

Editorial Roles:

• London Mathematical Society Student Texts
• Expositiones Mathematicae (Associate Editor)
• Guest Editor for Pure Appl. Math. Q., Geometry & Topology Proceedings

Upcoming Events:

• Speaking at the IMPA conference on hyperbolic manifolds (Jan 2025)
• Hosting the OSU conference on polyhedral complexes (May 2025)