New SBM board of directors presented at the 34th CBM.

The new board of directors of the Brazilian Mathematical Society (SBM), elected for the 2023-2025 term, was presented this Wednesday (26) at the 3Wednesdays Brazilian Mathematics Colloquium (CBM). Jaqueline Godoy Mesquita, from the University of Brasília (UnB), assumes the presidency and Daniel Pellegrino, from the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB), the vice-presidency.

"I am not taking office simply as Jaqueline Godoy Mesquita, but I bring with me all the women and girls of this country who once thought about studying mathematics and who dream of reaching this point. I want to show all these women and girls that they too can reach this point, just like me," stated the new president.

Jaqueline, who held the vice-presidency in the previous administration, is the third woman to assume the presidency of the SBM. In her speech, she also highlighted that she will be the youngest president in the institution's history, at 37 years old, and the first from the North region. Born in Boa Vista (RR), Jaqueline holds a degree in mathematics from UnB and a master's and doctorate from USP. In 2019, she won the For Women in Science award in the Mathematics category, granted by L'Oreal-Unesco-ABC.

She will replace Paolo Piccione, from the University of São Paulo (USP), who has been leading the institution since 2017. Piccione gave a presentation on the achievements of his administration over the past two years and thanked the board and staff of the SBM.

As host of the event, IMPA's Director-General, Marcelo Viana, gave the opening speech and highlighted that the SBM ceremony is traditionally the high point of the Colloquium. Viana thanked Piccione for her dedication at the head of the SBM and congratulated the new president. "I know Jaqueline, her energy and ability to get things done. I wish her much success."

The president of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (ABC) and vice-president for Latin America and the Caribbean of TWAS (World Academy of Sciences), Helena Nader, was unable to attend the event, but sent a video message. "Having Jaqueline, a young woman, at the head of the Brazilian Mathematical Society gives us the guarantee of the continuity of the excellent work you have been doing and also points to the future. Investing in young leaders is key to achieving what the country needs: more investment in education and science."

Representing the Brazilian Society for the Advancement of Science (SBPC), Professor Emeritus Luiz Bevilacqua of UFRJ advocated for greater exchange between Brazilian universities. “Our visits have been more oriented towards foreign countries than towards our own universities. My suggestion is that the new SBM board further encourage the exchange of students and professors within the country.”

Honorary Associates and SBM Mathematics Awards and Elon Lages Lima

A particularly moving moment during the ceremony was the tribute to mathematicians João Lucas Marques Barbosa and Maria Eulália Vares with the granting of the title of honorary members of the SBM. "They are admirable people, and I have the privilege of being their friend," said Piccione during the presentation of the plaques.

Another highlight was the announcement of the winner of the 2023 SBM Mathematics Prize. Damião Araújo (UFPB) was awarded for his work "Infinity-Laplacian equations with singular absorptions". The distinction recognizes the best original research paper in the field, recently published by a young researcher residing in Brazil.

The ceremony also marked the awarding of the Elon Lages Lima Prize to the authors of the work "Combinatorics". Researchers Fábio Botler (UFRJ), Taísa Martins (UFF), and Guilherme Oliveira Mota (USP) received the prize. The book was also written by Robert Morris (IMPA), Walner Mendonça (PhD from IMPA), and Maurício Collares (TU Graz – Austria). Published in 2021 by IMPA's publishing house, the work was used in a course at the 3Tuesdays Brazilian Mathematics Colloquium.

Check out the new SBM board of directors:

President: Jaqueline Godoy Mesquita (UnB)

Vice-president: Daniel Pellegrino (UFPB)

Director: Maria Aparecida Soares Ruas (USP)

Director: Paolo Piccione (USP)

Director: Roberto Imbuzeiro (IMPA)

Director: Valéria Cavalcanti (UEM)

Board of Directors (4 positions):

Carlile Campos Lavor (UNICAMP)
Fernando Manfio (USP)
Gabriela del Valle Planas (UNICAMP)
Jorge Herbert Soares de Lira (UFC)

Fiscal Council (3 vacancies):

João Marcos Bezerra do Ó (UFPB)
João Xavier da Cruz Neto (UFPI)
Marcio Gomes Soares (UFMG)

Regional Secretariats (1 vacancy per region):

North Region: João Rodrigues dos Santos Júnior (UFPA)
Northeast Region: Damião J. Araújo (UFPB)
MG + CO Region: Aline Pinto (UNB)
RJ + ES Region: Juliana Fernandes da Silva Pimentel (UFRJ)
São Paulo Region: José Nazareno Vieira Gomes (UFSCar)
SU Region: Carmen Vieira Matias (UFSM)