10/06/2022

Étienne Ghys talks about science communication.

Étienne Ghys

Since its founding, IMPA has had a long history of cooperation with international researchers. One of the most emblematic cases is the work developed with the French mathematician Étienne Ghys, an honorary researcher at the institute. He is known worldwide not only for his contribution to mathematical research, but also for his work in science communication, recognized by the Clay Institute's Mathematical Knowledge Dissemination Award.

As part of the celebrations for IMPA's 70th anniversary, the director-general, Marcelo Viana, interviewed the mathematician to discuss his career and his connection with the institute. Étienne's relationship with IMPA began in 1978, when he first came to Brazil through a scientific cooperation agreement, an alternative to military service in France. Over these more than 40 years, the mathematician has returned to the country several times to carry out projects and participate in congresses and scientific outreach events.

In the conversation, he spoke about the importance of dialogue about mathematics. “One of the difficulties in mathematics is that it has grown so much in the last 50 years, and the result is that one mathematician doesn't understand the work of another. So we have to have dialogues among mathematicians, among other scientists, and finally, dialogues with everyone, with children, with citizens. It's necessary to reflect on how to dialogue with well-defined audiences and how to adapt what you want to say to them,” said Ghys.

The researcher is the research director at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); perpetual secretary of the Académie des Sciences in France; was a speaker at the International Congress of Mathematicians in 1990, 2006 and 2014; and was the first recipient of the Clay Institute's Mathematical Knowledge Dissemination Award in the United States.

The full interview is available on IMPA's YouTube channel .