02/07/2020

IMPA celebrates Science and Researcher Day with a webinar.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the value of science and placed researchers, previously accustomed to discretion, at the center of public debate. But beyond remedying crises, science is fundamental to the development of the world. In commemoration of National Science and Scientific Researcher Day, July 8, IMPA is promoting the webinar “Science and Mathematics: from crisis to development” , on Wednesday (8), at 11 am, on the institute's YouTube channel .

The meeting will include the participation of IMPA's deputy director, Claudio Landim, Marcia Barbosa, a researcher at the Physics Institute of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), and Claudia Sagastizábal, a researcher at the Institute of Mathematics, Statistics and Scientific Computing (IMECC) at Unicamp. Journalist Marcelo Soares, director of Lagom Data , will moderate the discussion.

A member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (ABC), Landim will discuss the work and routine of a researcher and the role of science as a driver of global development. The mathematician also coordinates theScience & Mathematics Blog in the newspaper O Globo . This space brings together articles on scientific dissemination, reviews of advances in the exact and human sciences, and analyses of public policies. The Blog is open to contributions from researchers across the country.

"Industrial mathematics for good" is the theme of Claudia's presentation, in which she will explore how mathematical models can serve the common good. The researcher from IMECC-Unicamp is currently working, in collaboration with other universities, on the project "Lives saved in Brazil by social isolation," which estimates the lives saved by social isolation in Brazil during the Covid-19 pandemic. The goal is to identify trends in the evolution of the virus's propagation rate after the start of social distancing protocols that were implemented from March onwards in various cities across the country.

Marcia Barbosa presents the ABC's "Science Generates Development" Project . Created in 2017, the initiative encompasses the creation and dissemination of dynamic and informative videos that show, through real-world examples, how science can be translated into tangible economic and social benefits for a country. The UFRGS researcher will also discuss the need for "regular and uninterrupted funding" for science, addressing the current situation of the National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development (FNDCT). In 2020, Marcia was chosen by UN Women as one of the seven scientists who shaped the world .

The webinar “Science and Mathematics: from crisis to development” is open to the public, who can participate by sending questions and comments via the YouTube chat.