22/12/2022

IMPA celebrated its 70th anniversary with tributes, remembrances, and events.

On October 15, 2022, IMPA turned 70 years old, but the celebrations for the date began at the start of the year with activities to recall the history and pay tribute to the scientific body and staff of the institution. To mark the septuagenary anniversary, IMPA carried out a series of commemorative actions in different formats — reports, videos, live streams, events, posts, quizzes, and polls.

During the launch of the commemorative series, IMPA's Director-General, Marcelo Viana, spoke about the importance of celebrating history while also looking to the future. "The celebration is focused much more on the future than on the past. We want to use this moment to reflect on the institute's direction and our projects for the future," he commented.

To kick off the celebrations, the live event “IMPA 70 years: past, present and future” took place in January, featuring Viana, Claudio Landim, deputy director of IMPA, and institute researchers Artur Avila and Carolina Araujo. Then, in April, the live event “IMPA 70 years: get to know our postgraduate program” was held , with the participation of institute students and researcher Henrique Bursztyn, manager of Education.

Each month had a main theme, defined based on the institution's milestones. The program recalled important points, such as the institute's founding , internationalization , the winning of the Fields Medal , the Mathematics Biennium , andBrazil's promotion to Group 5 of the International Mathematical Union (IMU).

The activities developed by the institute's laboratories , as well as its training and research programs, were also highlighted, as was the importance of OBMEP in discovering new talents. Furthermore, the institute's upcoming initiatives were discussed, such as thePi Center (Center for Projects and Innovation) , created to expand partnerships with the productive sector, the new campus , and the expansion of OBMEP .

All of this is immortalized in the IMPA administration corridor, which took on a different color during the week of its 70th anniversary celebrations. Now, those walking towards the director's office can see the timeline that shows key milestones.

Linha do tempo do IMPA mostra marcos da história do instituto

Special interviews with Lindolpho Carvalho Dias , former director of IMPA, and with Étienne Ghys , honorary researcher at IMPA and perpetual secretary of the Académie des Sciences in France, were also part of the program. The conversations, led by Marcelo Viana, recalled stories from the institute and important milestones for Brazilian mathematics.

The festivities culminated in the IMPA 70th Anniversary Conference , held between October 17 and 21, 2022, which brought together renowned researchers from around the world. Among them were three winners of the Fields Medal , the highest honor in mathematics.

Conferência IMPA 70 anos teve grandes nomes da matemática como palestrantes

And it's impossible to talk about the institute's success without acknowledging the work of those who keep the campus fully operational. To honor the staff, the "IMPA Stories" series showcased the journeys of nine employees through video testimonials.

The celebration of the 70th anniversary was highlighted by major media outlets, such as TV Globo , the newspaper O Globo , which dedicated a cover story to the institute, TV Brasil , Agência Brasil , among others.

O medalhista Fields Artur Avila, pesquisador do IMPA, participou da Conferência IMPA 70 anos