The IMPA Prize closes for entries on October 4th.

The IMPA Journalism Prize was created with the goal of stimulating the production of content about mathematics and science in Brazil, giving visibility to national production and recognizing works that bring these themes closer to society.

But what type of publication can compete? To inspire journalists, we recall here the first-place winners in last year's edition in the "Mathematics" category. Entries close on October 4th. The prizes are identical in both categories, "Mathematics and Scientific Dissemination": R$ 10,000 for 1st place, R$ 3,000 for 2nd place, and R$ 2,000 for 3rd place. Two honorable mentions will also be awarded in each category.

Meet the 2021 winners.

1st place – Covid-19 Open-Air Market / Patient Zero (author: Camille Lichotte; Piauí Magazine) –

"On the morning of April 20th, on a local radio station, the city hall of Maragogi, in Alagoas, announced the first death from Covid-19 in the municipality." This is how Camille Lichotte's report begins, showcasing the work of researchers and mathematicians from the Federal University of Alagoas (UFAL), in partnership with the local city hall. The project traced the chain of community transmission in the municipality. The objective was to understand how the virus had spread, simulate disease scenarios in the region, and stop the contagion – which was only possible with the development of software and the mining of government data. The result was a unique database, a kind of electronic medical record, with information on each resident.

2nd place – The Many Faces of Infinity (author: Bruno Vaiano; Superinteressante Magazine)

The article tells a fascinating, and sometimes tragic, story: the evolution of the concept of infinity in the perception of mathematicians over time, from Galileo to Georg Cantor. In 1891, Cantor showed that some infinities are larger than others – and that the largest infinities are hidden in the gaps between numbers, not beyond them. The report also recalls the legend of Hippasus: a pupil of Pythagoras, he showed his master that the square root of two (√2) is an irrational number – whose decimal places continue forever and follow no pattern. For this reason, Hippasus was thrown into the Mediterranean Sea with weights tied to his feet.

3rd place – Mathematics allows us to know something even when everything is uncertain (Author: Gabriel Alves; Folha de S.Paulo)

The article in the "Folhinha" supplement explains what the area of mathematics known as probability is. Through it, the report explains, it's possible to know the chance of someone winning the lottery, to find out if a medicine can treat a disease, and to know who is leading in an election without having to ask everyone.

Honorable mentions

Vital Signs: Medicine 4.0 (Authors: Lucas Rocha, Michelle Trombelli, Alexandre Petillo and others; CNN)

An episode of CNN's "Vital Signs" series discusses the use of algorithms in building artificial intelligence in the new digital age, known as the 4.0 Revolution, and how this tool can be used for advancements in medicine.

'Vaccination alone will not be able to contain Delta' (author: Giuliana de Toledo; O Globo)

Interview with British mathematician and epidemiologist Adam Kucharski, who comments on the course of the pandemic in light of the spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus.

Mathematics in Everyday Life (authors: Renato Fanti Cavalcanti, Vitor Chambon, Priscila Cestari, Leandro Viana and Ana Elisa Santana; TV Brasil)

This episode of the series "Science is Everything" presents the history of mathematics and some of its applications and uses in everyday life. It also discusses market opportunities.

About the IMPA Journalism Prize

Journalistic pieces published or broadcast between October 2021 and September 2022 , in any media outlet – newspaper, magazine, portal, blog, television, radio or other – are eligible to participate. Professionals from the country's leading media outlets, both traditional media and scientific publications, have been awarded in past editions.

Each journalist may submit a maximum of three reports or series, and winners from the 4th edition (2021) are ineligible to compete in this year's edition. The main judging criteria are: journalistic relevance of the topic, originality, depth, clarity, and quality of execution of the report. Click here to access the regulations.