A Math Genius Blooms Late and Conquers His Field

On a warm morning in early spring, June Huh walked across the campus of Princeton University. His destination was McDonnell Hall, where he was scheduled to teach, and he wasn't quite sure how to get there. Huh is a member of the rarefied Institute for Advanced Study, which lies adjacent to Princeton's campus. As a member of IAS, Huh has no obligation to teach, but he'd volunteered to give an advanced undergraduate math course on a topic called commutative algebra. When I asked him why, he replied, "When you teach, you do something useful. When you do research, most days you don't." Original story reprinted with permission from Quanta Magazine, an editorially independent publication of the Simons Foundation whose mission is to enhance public understanding of science by covering research developments and trends in mathematics and the physical and life sciences. We arrived at Huh's classroom a few minutes before class was scheduled to begin. Inside, nine students sat in loose rows. One slept with his head down on the table.