17/05/2023

'Perseverance is fundamental in mathematics,' says Marcelo Viana.

In a journey through the development of mathematical thought from Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia to more modern advances, IMPA's Director-General, Marcelo Viana, spoke to more than 150 high school students about functions from the first to the fifth degree. The lecture “F (x) = 0” was presented this Wednesday (17), during the II Firjan SESI Mathematics Congress, at the Firjan unit in Tijuca.

On that occasion, the director-general encouraged young people interested in mathematics to explore the most challenging aspects of the discipline with dedication and "hard work".

“In both pure and applied research, solutions are not easy to find. Unlike in the classroom, where the teacher gives an exercise to return at the end, in research you have problems that require more time. We can spend days, weeks, months, or years struggling. In the end, after a while, an idea or a path begins to emerge. But perseverance is fundamental to not giving up on mathematics,” said Marcelo Viana.

Mathematical challenges are part of the daily routine for the young people present, who are students from SESI Rio de Janeiro, SESI Ceará, Colégio Pedro II, and Lycée Moliére schools. The group participates in the Math en Jens project , a partnership between the French association of the same name and Firjan, which promotes scientific initiation.

The program consists of challenging young participants with mathematical problems. In September 2022, seven researchers selected the questions that were worked on by the students. The solutions found are presented at the meeting, which runs until tomorrow (18). The groups are accompanied by a teacher from the school itself and guided by a mathematics researcher.

One of the participants is Kauã Conceição, 17, from Firjan SESI in Três Rios, who praised the participation of the director-general of IMPA in the congress. “I thought the lecture was incredible. I already knew IMPA, because I really like the exact sciences, and I followed some of the lectures published by the institute from afar. It was very interesting to see the in-depth analysis of the polynomial in the equation.”

Kauã Conceição

Walcy Santos, director of the Brazilian Mathematical Society (SBM) and professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), participated in this edition of the project. The researcher, who was responsible for proposing puzzles for some student teams, highlights the curiosity and "contagious energy" of the young people.

“This event is a great stimulus to research for high school students! It’s a way for young people to discover research in mathematics. I’m impressed because they are very excited! The students are confident, they learned well, and they really enjoy what they did,” commented the researcher.

The event program also includes poster presentations, roundtables, workshops, and other lectures.