09/12/2020

In a conference, Carolina Araujo celebrates the Ramanujan Prize 2020.

IMPA researcher Carolina Araujo participated this Wednesday (9) in the online award ceremony for the 2020 Ramanujan Prize . The mathematician, who was the first Brazilian and second woman to win the prize , thanked the support of her family, colleagues and national science investment programs in Brazil. “Unlike Ramanujan, I was not self-taught. I benefited for a long time from national science investment programs, especially from CNPq, Capes and Faperj. My initiation into research grants brought me to science, and I cannot emphasize enough the importance of these programs for continued science.”

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, the Ramanujan Prize is named after the leading Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887–1920), portrayed in the film "The Man Who Knew Infinity" (2016) .

“A young genius from Tamil Nadu, from an independent India, who was so easily forgotten by the world. But wait, humanity would not forget Ramanujan, the man who understood zero and infinity. I am happy that his memory is alive, and that today the world is not forgetting the great mathematicians, but is honoring them. Congratulations, Ms. Araujo,” commented the Indian ambassador to UNESCO.

The president of the IMU, Carlos Kenig, highlighted Carolina's role in discussions on gender and inclusion in the mathematical community. “Carolina is recognized for the key role she plays in promoting women in mathematics worldwide. I am very proud to say that she is the vice-president of the IMU Committee for Women in Mathematics. Carolina was also the main organizer of the World Meeting for Women in Mathematics in Rio de Janeiro in 2018. Her tireless work in reducing the gender gap in mathematics globally is extremely appreciated by all of us.”

“I am very happy that my efforts to promote women in mathematics have been recognized. This award is a great incentive and reinforces that the fight for diversity and inclusion in science is the right thing to do,” added the researcher.

Carolina also presented the lecture “Algebraic Varieties with Positive Tangent Bundles”. 2018 Fields Medal winner Caucher Birkar (University of Cambridge) presented the colloquium “Algebraic geometry and beyond”.

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.

Watch the ceremony in its entirety: