The 34th Brazilian Mathematical Confederation (CBM) draws a record crowd to IMPA.

Featuring various plenary sessions, outreach lectures, courses, thematic sessions, and roundtables, the 34th Brazilian Mathematics Colloquium (CBM) brought together more than 1,100 people at IMPA. The event, which took place between July 24 and 28, had the highest number of in-person participants since its first edition in 1957.

In a caravan with 45 other students, Rayssa de Oliveira came from Belém (PA). The group took three days to reach Rio de Janeiro. She says that she participated in the CBM for the first time and assessed that the trip was worthwhile. “It’s difficult to explain what it’s like to be at the Colloquium because those in the field know that this event is the pinnacle. The community and the event are incredible.”

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The young woman also highlights that one of the things that most caught her attention was the structure of IMPA. “I hadn’t been to the institute before and I was impressed. It’s funny that when you enter the campus, you immediately think about studying. Being here makes you want to study.”

Professor Sylvia Ferreira, a mathematics professor at the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco (UFRPE) who was also attending the Colloquium for the first time, said she was encouraged by the diversity in the institute's corridors. “We see that mathematics is changing and evolving. I could see a very significant number of undergraduate and graduate students, as well as professors. The themes of the panels were also very important,” said the professor, referring to discussions about the presence of women in science and the prospects for young mathematicians.

Raphael Modesto, an undergraduate student of Mathematics at the Federal Fluminense University (UFF), attended the event focusing on Dynamical Systems courses. “I used to study Physics, but I attended some math classes during my undergraduate studies and was fascinated. I was encouraged by professors and now I'm pursuing a teaching degree. It's my first time and the experience is incredible. Who knows, maybe in a few years I'll come and do a master's degree at IMPA.”

There's also a place for children at the Colloquium.

Unesp researcher Cintya Wink attended the Colloquium accompanied by her one-year-old son, Antônio. She presented a poster during the event and also participated in the thematic sessions. “I am also the mother of Catarina, who is five years old, and I brought her to the Colloquium in 2019. Since becoming a mother, I try not to miss the events, despite the tiredness and difficulties. Antônio likes the events; he's getting used to them.”

Evelin Heringer is a postdoctoral researcher at the Nova University of Lisbon, in Portugal, and she also came accompanied by her two-month-old son and her husband, Alex Krulikovski. She presented her work in the thematic session on Optimization. “It’s his first mathematics event and it’s also very important to be with my family. I was invited to participate and I didn’t want to miss it because I know it’s very important for my career.”

Biggest event in Brazilian mathematics

The Brazilian Mathematics Colloquium is the most comprehensive scientific meeting of the Brazilian mathematical community. The 34th edition also featured six plenary sessions led by internationally renowned researchers.

Federico Ardila , from the University of San Francisco (USA), opened his presentation speaking in Portuguese. He introduced himself as an educator, musician, and soccer player. The researcher addressed the theme "The geometry of geometries: matroid theory, old and new" .

Laura DeMarco, a researcher at Harvard University (USA), participated in the Colloquium in 1999 as an attendee and said it was an honor to return as a plenary speaker. She presented the lecture "Rigidity, uniformity, and the Mandelbrot set".

Claudia Polini, a researcher at the University of Notre Dame (USA), dedicated her presentation to the Brazilian mathematician Wolmer Vasconcelos (1937-2021). Her lecture was about Blowup algebras .

Camilo De Lellis addressed "Area-minimizing integral currents: singularities and structure" in his lecture. He mentioned that the book 'Differential Geometry of Curves and Surfaces', by IMPA researcher Manfredo do Carmo (1928 – 2018), was his first positive contact with the subject.

With the title “Dynamics of Smooth Chaotic Surface Diffeomorphisms ” , Israeli researcher Omri Sarig , from the Weizmann Institute of Science, filled the auditorium. In his opening remarks, he thanked the organizers for the invitation and mentioned Brazilian mathematicians who are his friends, such as the director-general of IMPA, Marcelo Viana.

French physicist Bernard Derrida , a researcher at the Collège de France, addressed the presence of the equation in various phenomena in his lecture "The many faces of the Fisher-KPP equation" .

This year's edition also featured outreach lectures, roundtables, poster presentations, and 23 thematic sessions – a record number in the event's history.

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