22/09/2020

Carolina Araujo wins the Ramanujan Prize 2020

Brazilian mathematicians have another reason to celebrate. IMPA researcher Carolina Araujo is the first Brazilian and second woman to win the Ramanujan Prize , awarded to mathematicians from developing countries by the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), the International Mathematical Union (IMU), and the Department of Science and Technology of the Government of India. Carolina was recognized for her research in algebraic geometry and, more specifically, for the applications she presented in birational geometry and the theory of extreme rays. The prize is named after the Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887-1920), portrayed in the film "The Man Who Knew Infinity" (2016) .

“It is a great honor to receive the Ramanujan Prize. I am very happy with the recognition of my work as a scientist in its entirety – both for my mathematical research and for my commitment to the scientific community and society,” celebrates the researcher.

Awarded US$15,000 for the distinction, Carolina, who is vice-president of the Committee for Women in Mathematics of the International Mathematical Union (IMU), was also recognized for her active participation in gender issues in the field.

“Mathematics is a passion of mine. Working towards a diverse and inclusive science is, for me, an ethical and social imperative. I dedicate a large part of my time and energy to these areas, body and soul. It is a tremendous incentive to have this work recognized,” says Carolina, who coordinated the Brazilian Meeting of Women Mathematicians, held in 2019 at IMPA .

The selection committee consisted of Alicia Dickenstein (University of Buenos Aires), Lothar Goettsche (ICTP), Kapil Hari Paranjape (Indian Institute of Science Education and Research – Mohali), Philibert Nang (École Normale Supérieure de Libreville, Gabon), and Van Vu (Yale University).

Marcelo Viana, director-general of IMPA, recalls that it was a golden week for the institute's female researchers. "Carolina is an excellent researcher who practices elegant and difficult mathematics with great success. The Ramanujan Prize is well-deserved recognition of her talent. And for us at IMPA, it is an even greater source of pride because it follows the Latin American Mathematical Union Prize, won a few days ago by our colleague Luna Lomonaco . This clearly demonstrates the excellence of IMPA's 'female contingent'."

Created in 2005, the Ramanujan Prize is awarded annually to researchers from developing countries under the age of 45 who have conducted outstanding work in any area of mathematics. The Director-General of IMPA, Marcelo Viana, and researchers Enrique Pujals (IMPA), Fernando Codá (IMPA), and Eduardo Teixeira (Federal University of Ceará) were the other Brazilians to win the prize . The only woman to have received the distinction until then was the Indian scientist Sujatha Ramdorai, in 2006.