20/07/2020

Jamerson Douglas Bezerra defends thesis on fractals.

In the final stretch towards completing his doctorate at IMPA, mathematics consumes many hours of Jamerson Douglas Bezerra's day. Even so, he assures that it is "much more than a job", something essential to his life. The doctoral student bids farewell to the institute this Monday (20), at 1 pm, with the defense, via videoconference, of the thesis "Randomness in hyperbolic dynamics" , supervised by the general director of IMPA, Marcelo Viana, and co-supervised by Carlos Gustavo Moreira, also a researcher at the institute. There will be a broadcast on IMPA's YouTube channel.

In his research, the Alagoas native studies dynamically defined fractals, formed by a rule that evolves over time. To explain what a fractal is—a complex geometric structure with properties that repeat themselves at any scale—Jamerson uses the example of a snowflake. "When we enlarge a snowflake, it's possible to identify smaller snowflakes similar to the original one."

The son of market vendors, the young man from Alagoas learned from his parents about the value of a good education. “They always believed that the only way to have better opportunities in life is through education. That's why they always strived to give me a decent education,” he says. Perhaps that's why the boy alternated between carefree childhood games and dreams of becoming an inventor or scientist, “professions where I could create.”

His interaction with his mathematics teacher, Abelardo, at the SESI Alagoas school where he studied, who encouraged "healthy competition" among students, fueled his desire to improve his studies. "I ended up studying more, and more advanced topics, with the goal of standing out among my classmates," he recalls. Official mathematics olympiads, however, were off his radar. "In my social circle, nobody mentioned that there were national mathematics olympiads that we could participate in. Today this information is widely disseminated, but it wasn't like that where I lived."

Seeking training that would lead to employment opportunities, such as becoming a teacher in the state education system, he chose to pursue a degree in mathematics at the Federal University of Alagoas. Conversations with classmates who had already visited IMPA changed his course. "They started showing me how vast the world of mathematics is," says Jamerson, who transferred to the bachelor's program with the goal of focusing on pure mathematics. After hearing so much about the institute, the Alagoas native first visited IMPA in 2013 to participate in the 29th Brazilian Mathematics Colloquium. Soon after, he would pursue his master's degree at the institution.

“I completed this entire training process over the last ten years: undergraduate, master's, and doctoral degrees. I made many friends that I will cherish for life, people who are very important to me,” reflects the doctoral candidate, who married a former classmate. “In personal terms, it was incredible.” He also doesn't dismiss the academic gains from the endeavor. “I was encouraged to explore diverse arguments, ideas, and areas within mathematics. And that's the part of mathematics that motivates me the most. IMPA was the right place for that.”

Finishing his thesis during the Covid-19 quarantine had its benefits, the mathematician points out. “A substantial part of my work was done during the pandemic. I was able to concentrate more and focus on finishing my doctorate.” On the other hand, discussing complex topics in brief video conference meetings was a challenge, he notes. In this sense, the support of his advisor was fundamental. “Professor Marcelo has a clear vision of complex concepts, and I believe this experience was very important in the development of my research.”

Jamerson also has nothing but praise for his co-advisor, Carlos Gustavo Moreira, known as Gugu. “He’s a phenomenal mathematician, as well as being the top scorer in IMPA’s football history. I had the pleasure of participating in many of his goals on the field, and I’m happy that he’s participating in one of mine in mathematics,” he comments.

Rehearsing his steps for the future, Jamerson plans to do a post-doctorate, deepening his experience with scientific research. In the long term, his idea is to further strengthen his ties with the discipline. "I intend to take a competitive exam and establish myself at some university."