29/09/2022

National Mathematics Festival opens its doors in Rio.

Foto: diretor-adjunto do IMPA, Claudio Landim, secretário de Educação do Rio, Antoine Lousao, subsecretária de Educação, Teresa Pontual, e diretor do IMPA, Marcelo Viana

IMPA's Director-General, Marcelo Viana, and the institution's Deputy Director, Claudio Landim, opened the second edition of the National Mathematics Festival on Thursday morning (29), at Marina da Glória, in Rio de Janeiro.

In welcoming the audience, Viana told the students from public and private schools in attendance: "The aim of the event is that, by the end of the festival, even more students will leave enjoying mathematics."

Landim, in turn, said that he became a mathematician "somewhat by chance." He stated that if the OBMEP (Brazilian Mathematical Olympiad for Public Schools), the Festival, and the textbooks produced by IMPA (Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics) had existed when he was a student, his decision to become a mathematician would have been even more convincing.

"You have opportunities today that didn't exist 20 years ago," he emphasized.

The Municipal Secretary of Education of Rio de Janeiro, Antoine Lousao, also participated in the opening ceremony. He emphasized to the students the importance of the partnership with IMPA in strengthening mathematics education.

Diretor-adjunto do IMPA, Claudio Landim

"This initiative demonstrates courage and generosity on the part of IMPA. Imagine the institute, with its immersive researchers, opening itself up to spread mathematics throughout society," said the secretary.

The National Mathematics Festival takes place from Thursday (29) to Saturday (1st), at Marina da Glória. The first day is for public and private schools that have registered for the event. On Friday and Saturday, the space will be open to the general public. Registration on the website.

Magic square

Throughout the day, various lectures, workshops, and activities will be held for the public. Researcher Claudio Landim welcomed the students to solve mathematical problems together in the event's main auditorium.

In the lecture "OBMEP, fun and useful mathematics", the deputy director of IMPA proposed mathematical problems to solve with the students, who helped to present solutions to the questions.

At 11:00 AM, it was Andres Navas' turn, from the University of Santiago de Chile (Usach), to teach "How to make a magic square of numbers with birth dates".

André Navas, pesquisador da Universidade do Chile

During the lecture, Navas took the opportunity to explain that there are records of magic squares from very ancient times – about 3,000 years ago – and showed photos of sculptures with the "object".