14/02/2022

PhD student fell in love with mathematics at OBMEP.

The seed planted by OBMEP (Brazilian Mathematics Olympiad for Public Schools) led IMPA doctoral student Eduardo dos Santos Silva to fall in love with the discipline in his youth. Graduated in physics from the Federal University of Alagoas and the Complutense University of Madrid, he decided to pursue a career in mathematics after participating in the competition. With a master's degree from IMPA, Eduardo will present, next Thursday (17), his doctoral thesis “Degeneracies of linear series for curves with three components, using quiver representations”. Supervised by researcher Eduardo Esteves, the presentation of the work, at 10:30 am, will be broadcast on IMPA's YouTube channel .

“Until I won my first gold medal at the OBMEP (Brazilian Mathematical Olympiad for Public Schools) and traveled to the awards ceremony in Rio de Janeiro, I thought I would never leave Alagoas. In high school, I met several classmates who participated in academic olympiads, and while studying for the exams, I fell in love with science,” he says. The doctoral student opted for physics in his undergraduate studies, but was later drawn to the “beauty” of mathematics. “As I progressed through the course, physics lost its 'beauty,' and mathematics became more and more beautiful and attractive each day. When I took my first algebra course at IMPA (Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics), it was love at first sight. So I decided to study algebraic geometry as a research area,” he explains.

Silva joined IMPA in 2015 for a master's degree in applied mathematics in the area of fluids, but ended up becoming interested in pure mathematics and, more specifically, algebra, the subject of the thesis that will be presented on Thursday. The work focuses on linear series, degeneracies, and quiver representations. “I started studying my problem at the end of my master's degree when Professor Olive Lorscheid asked me to study Quiver Grassmannians. What motivates me is that I really see beauty in doing it and I know that all the mathematics done today will be useful to society in the future. Algebraic geometry results obtained years ago still have applications today for data storage, cryptography, and robotics,” explains the doctoral candidate.

The pandemic significantly impacted the doctoral research, but the support of advisor Eduardo Esteves was fundamental. “The doctorate was remarkable because it involved researching something new and highly relevant that had never been done before, something much more difficult and exciting than I ever imagined. With the pandemic, I lost interaction with several colleagues and the environment of IMPA, which was very difficult. In this aspect, my advisor was fundamental. He taught me much more than just mathematics; he taught me to research with seriousness, dedication, and ethics because, as researchers, we are in a crucial position for the development of society,” praises the doctoral candidate.

Now, Eduardo hopes that, through his work, he can influence other young people to pursue mathematics and science in general. “For me, mathematics represents a powerful art form for society. As a mathematician, I find my field so beautiful that some results can be contemplated as a work of art. And without a doubt, society reaps the benefits. For example, the advancement of robots relies on this art. I hope that one day I can encourage people to enter and pursue mathematics and science, just as I did,” he says.