At an autograph session, Venkatesh meets fans.

Neither a Hollywood star nor a best-selling author, Akshay Venkatesh is proof that mathematicians can also be successful. A Fields Medal winner at the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM 2018), the Indian met fans at an autograph session this Monday (6), at Pavilion 2 of Riocentro, in Rio de Janeiro.

“Many people want to talk to me. It’s not something we (mathematicians) are used to,” he said, surprised.

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Indian congressman Manish Kumar was the first to arrive at the autograph session, an hour before the scheduled time. “I’m going to get his autograph, frame it, and put it in my office. I want to show it to my students. He’s a source of inspiration for all of us,” Kumar praised.

Children and teachers from local schools who had registered for the public lecture by Cédric Villani, the French mathematician and 2010 Fields Medalist, took the opportunity to take photos and get Venkatesh's autograph.

“It was really cool to be able to meet a Fields Medalist. I want to be a math teacher, so it was a very exciting experience,” celebrated Maria Júlia Duarte, a 2nd-year student at Colégio Pedro II, Humaitá campus.