15/07/2019

Opening ceremony highlights partnership between Brazil and France

A historic partnership celebrated with a meeting of leading figures in Mathematics. The “1st Joint Meeting Brazil-France in Mathematics” began this Monday (15) and will run until Friday (19). At the opening ceremony, in the Ricardo Mañé auditorium, the general director of IMPA, Marcelo Viana, recalled the creation of the event and congratulated the organizers.

"Why organize an event five years in advance? So that the Scientific Committee would have time to do a fantastic job," Viana praised.

The idea of bringing together mathematicians from both countries, especially young researchers, to discuss cutting-edge topics in the field emerged in 2014 at the General Assembly of the International Mathematical Union (IMU), held in South Korea.

As members of the group of 11 most developed countries in mathematical research and long-standing partners in the field, Brazil and France have already collaborated extensively.

“Research in mathematics in both countries covers a wide range of areas. This can be seen in the diversity of topics covered in the special sessions and lectures,” highlighted Gerard Besson, from the Société Mathématique de France (SMF).

With over 200 presentations scheduled, the event addresses issues in the fields of algebra, geometry, combinatorics, dynamical systems, and others.

In addition to presenting figures from the event, Harold Rosenberg, head of the Scientific Committee and extraordinary researcher at IMPA, recalled the work of mathematicians Maurício Peixoto, Manfredo do Carmo, and Elon Lages Lima. "They were all very committed to contributing to mathematics education in Brazil," the researcher pointed out.

Paolo Piccione, president of the Brazilian Mathematical Society (SBM), also emphasized that as important as participating in mathematical discussions is taking the opportunity to learn about the culture of the participants. "It's an opportunity to exchange experiences and socialize," he said.

Claudio Landim, deputy director of IMPA, highlighted IMPA's role as a Unité Mixte Internationale (UMI), which allows mathematicians from the CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique), or any French university, to visit the institute for a year and collaborate with Brazilian colleagues, with all costs covered by the CNRS and its institutions.

“All Brazilian universities can host French researchers for a period of six months to a year. But this is an opportunity that has not been explored; it has only benefited IMPA,” Landim pointed out.

The opening panel also included representatives from the Consulate General of France in Rio de Janeiro, Philippe Michelon; the Brazilian Society of Applied and Computational Mathematics (SBMAC), Luiz Mariano Carvalho; and the Société de Mathématiques Appliquées et Industrielles (SBMAI), Nicholas Vauchelet.

Led by Maria José Pacifico (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro – UFRJ), the Local Organizing Committee is composed of Gabriel Calsamiglia (Federal Fluminense University – UFF); Lorenzo J. Díaz (Pontifical Catholic University – PUC-Rio); Ademir Pazoto (UFRJ); José Espinar and Suely Lima (IMPA).