A Proof of the Thom-Pontryagin Theorem

November 2022, MIT Kan Seminar

A 50-minute talk given for the MIT Kan seminar in Fall 2022. I gave a proof of the Thom-Pontryagin theorem, which states that as graded rings, the cobordism ring with a given universal tangential structure is isomorphic to the stable homotopy groups of the corresponding Thom spectrum. I focused first on the case of framed cobordism giving rise to the stable homotopy groups of spheres, and then explained how to generalise.