27/08/2019

Novello uses virtual reality to view mathematical spaces.

Cecilia Manzoni

During his childhood in the quiet town of Tuneiras do Oeste (PR), mathematician Tiago Novello de Brito could not have imagined the heights he would reach in his professional life. In this municipality of 8,000 inhabitants in northwestern Paraná, few people had a higher education.

Even though the chances of attending university were remote under these circumstances, this became a dream that Novello pursued with determination. And the results are irrefutable. At 29, the mathematician is on track to complete his postdoctoral studies at IMPA.

Throughout high school, Novello divided his time between studying and working on the family farm. His parents, Clarinda Aparecida and José Carlos, relied on their children's help to care for the cattle. It was during this time that the mathematician realized he could pursue a different path.

“I had a math teacher who presented the material in a very engaging way. Noticing my progress in the subject, she talked to me about the option of going to college and guided me through the entrance exam process,” she said.

At the time, family friend Ederson Moreira, currently a professor at the Institute of Mathematical and Computer Sciences at the University of São Paulo (ICMC-USP), maintained frequent contact with the Brito family. His close relationship with a doctoral student also opened the young man's eyes. "Ederson became a great role model for me."

With great dedication, the young man was accepted into the undergraduate course in Mathematics at the State Faculty of Sciences and Letters of Campo Mourão (Fecilcam), 60km from his home. To cover the costs of housing and food, the then-student worked at the distribution center of an agricultural cooperative.

"It was difficult to balance. I worked an 8-hour shift during the day, and at night I went to college. Even so, I managed to graduate on time," the mathematician reported.

Novello arrived at USP in early 2012, when, after finishing his undergraduate degree, he accepted his friend Ederson's recommendation to participate in a summer course in Pure Mathematics. The classes not only provided him with academic knowledge but also brought him new friendships. At the end of the course, a group of colleagues from the Federal University of Alagoas recommended that he enroll in the institution's master's program.

Nearly 3,000 km from his hometown, Maceió (AL) welcomed him with open arms. It was the first time he had seen the sea, which would be a constant element in his life from then on. “It was a very impactful experience. I went from a rigid culture in the South to a more open and warm one in the Northeast. At no point did I feel alone.”

For the first time, Novello was able to disconnect from work to dedicate himself entirely to academic production. His immersion in mathematics allowed him to explore the field of computer graphics, of which he became a fan.

With his dissertation defended under the guidance of Professor Thales Vieira, the Paraná native traded the calm waters of the Maceió coast for the bustling beaches of Rio de Janeiro. The invitation came from Professor Thomas Lewiner. During his doctoral studies at PUC-Rio, which began in 2014, Novello started exploring the area of Computational Topology, and more precisely, Discrete Morse Theory. His thesis was defended under the guidance of João Paixão and Carlos Tomei.

Contact with Professor Bruno Benedetti from the University of Miami resulted in a sandwich doctorate experience, during which the student spent half a year at the American institution.

"It was sensational, the first time I left the country. Once again, I was faced with a culture that was completely new to me," he said.

At the invitation of IMPA researcher Luiz Velho, Novello has been part of the Visgraf team since February of this year, when he began his postdoctoral studies at the institute. He works on an immersive visualization project of non-Euclidean spaces using virtual reality. To date, the team has been able to visualize three-dimensional spaces modeled locally by three geometries: Euclidean, spherical, and hyperbolic.

“Being at IMPA is a dream. As soon as you walk through the gate here, you start breathing mathematics. It feels like ideas are in the air. During my master's degree, I had contact with several professors who had graduated from IMPA, but I was a student. When the chance to work here became real, there was no deciding. I just came,” he stated.

The plans for the future are long-term. At the end of his post-doctoral studies, the mathematician wishes to continue in academia, which he considers "an environment of curious people," to which he belongs. His dream is to be a professor and researcher in the field. "Mathematics fascinates me because it is a language with which we can abstract objects from the world. And, in the case of my research area, the reverse also happens. We use virtual reality to visualize relevant spaces in geometry and topology."