11/12/2017

CAPES Thesis Award celebrates the work of a doctoral student from IMPA.

The Capes Thesis Award 2017 ceremony took place last Thursday (7) in Brasília (DF), which had, among the 48 winners, Felipe Ferreira Gonçalves, master and doctor from IMPA. Gonçalves was awarded in the Mathematics/Probability and Statistics category with the thesis “Extremal Problems, Reconstruction Formulas and Approximations of Gaussian Kernels” , supervised by researcher Emanuel Carneiro.

Assistant professor at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, Gonçalves was unable to attend the event. He was represented by his sister, Fernanda Gonçalves. “I was very happy with the award and very honored to represent IMPA,” said the mathematician, who also won the Gutierrez Prize this year with his thesis.

In a message sent to the other winners, Gonçalves praises the achievement amidst the uncertain landscape for research in Brazil.

"Who would have imagined, upon entering university, that one day they would be among the best researchers in the country, being awarded by the federal government for their excellence in research? Who can predict this, given the many uncertainties our nation faces? I can, we can, we must! Because, to be here among us, it is necessary to believe, it is necessary to foresee the future, even if only in fantasy," wrote the mathematician, for whom, "in our circumstances," the researcher "must believe that the solution to their problem will be found, that it is within their reach, that they can, that they must, that they will succeed!"

"Thank you Capes! My friends, be happy. We are the cream of the crop of scientific research in the country!", the message concluded.

In addition to the recognition, Gonçalves also received a postdoctoral fellowship from CAPES and is expected to return to IMPA in the first semester of next year to develop a new project.

Emanuel Carneiro, who attended the awards ceremony representing IMPA, enthusiastically commented on his former student's achievement.

"I am very happy with the recognition of our work with the CAPES Thesis Award. It is a great honor, and a huge responsibility, to be here in Brasília and represent the mathematical community in our country. It was months, years, of hard work, sometimes with a non-trivial risk associated, but which, in the end, was successfully completed, exceeding our expectations. My role as advisor was substantially simplified by having such a talented student as Felipe, who, throughout the IMPA doctoral program, had an excellent performance, culminating in the wonderful thesis that is now being awarded. It is a source of pride to see that our country can indeed train scientists with this profile from start to finish – scientists we export today, but who may return one day," said Carneiro.

The IMPA researcher hopes that Felipe Gonçalves will serve as a role model and inspire other young mathematicians to forge their own paths. "May they find pleasure in this task, and may it lead them to have science in their hearts."