João Pedro Ramos selected for Serrapilheira Institute call for proposals

IMPA researcher João Pedro Gonçalves Ramos was selected in the Serrapilheira Institute’s 9th call for proposals to support science. The mathematician is the eighth IMPA researcher to be awarded by the program since its first edition. The call will allocate between R$380,000 and R$450,000 for each scientist to develop projects over five years in the areas of natural sciences, mathematics and computer science.

Ramos will investigate a fundamental question in wave theory: what is the minimum amount of information needed to completely reconstruct the evolution of a wave over time. The research seeks to advance the mathematical understanding of phenomena that appear in various contexts, from the propagation of sound and light to the behavior of fluids.

“I was extremely happy to receive this funding, it will help me a lot in my research, and now with more and more students, with a group that is expanding, I anticipate that these funds will be very important not only for my research, but also for that of my students. Part of this money is already earmarked for my students to expand their studies abroad, to organize conferences at IMPA, the idea is to invest collectively,” he said.

According to Ramos, the project aims to understand how to reconstruct the evolution of waves from a few observations. Although the concept can be illustrated by sea waves, the research has much broader applications, covering areas such as quantum mechanics, electromagnetism and engineering. The aim is to develop robust mathematical methods capable of describing the behavior of these phenomena from limited information, with the potential to impact different fields of applied and theoretical mathematics.

The 9th public call for science support is aimed at early-career scientists with permanent ties to research institutions. According to Serrapilheira, the projects chosen stand out for their innovative nature and their potential to open up new frontiers of knowledge.

In addition to the ten selected in the call for support for science, another four researchers were selected in the 4th call for support for black and indigenous post-docs in ecology, carried out in partnership with the Bahia State Research Support Foundation (Fapesb).

“The young scientists will receive flexible resources to meet the sometimes unpredictable needs of cutting-edge research, but Serrapilheira’s support goes beyond the transfer of resources. From now on, they will be part of a community that promotes a culture of appreciation for science that is done collaboratively, openly, with equity and diversity,” said Hugo Aguilaniu, Serrapilheira’s CEO.

In addition to the main funding, researchers will be able to access additional resources through the diversity bonus, aimed at training and including people from under-represented groups in their research teams.

Ramos’ selection expands IMPA’s presence among the research institutions covered by Serrapilheira. In previous editions of the call, the institute’s researchers Vinicius Ramos, Luna Lomonaco, Jethro Van Ekeren, Felipe Gonçalves, Olivier Martin, Marcelo Campos and Bruno Braga also received support to develop research projects.