25/06/2024

'Very moving,' says Cukierman about the tribute.

The conference “Foliation Theory and Algebraic Geometry” concluded the first day of lectures at IMPA with a tribute to the Argentinian researcher Fernando Cukierman. The event, celebrating his 70th birthday, featured video testimonials from Cukierman's former doctoral students. The mathematician was described by the students as a master, an extremely ethical person, a friend, and a companion. “He is a person who motivates you and your passion for mathematics,” highlighted Javier Acea in a recorded statement.

“The truth is that meeting Fernando was very pleasant, not only as a mentor, but as a teacher in the general sense of the world, not just in mathematics. He was a kind of director in my life,” said Mariano Chehebar.

The conference also included a tribute from renowned researchers in the field, such as the president of the National Academy of Exact Sciences of Argentina, Alicia Dickenstein (University of Buenos Aires), the emeritus researcher at IMPA and former director César Camacho (FGV), Xavier Gomez-Mont (Center for Research in Mathematics), and Gian Pietro Pirola (University of Pavia).

“He started this fantastic seminar in Algebraic Geometry in 2006 and has continued it every year, almost every week. It’s a place for students to get together and discuss. I am very grateful to Fernando,” Dickenstein recalled.

“I am very happy to be here congratulating Fernando on his birthday. I was surprised to see the video produced by Fernando's students about him. They love him. I wonder what feeling he inspires? It is certainly something very different,” said Camacho.

In an interview with IMPA, Cukierman expressed his gratitude for the tribute and spoke about his relationship with IMPA. “This roundtable was very moving for me. I feel very grateful to everyone and very grateful to IMPA for helping me organize this event. It’s great to see people again. There are friends here I was with recently and others I haven’t seen in a long time. It’s wonderful to see everyone again and retrace the path we’ve traveled together,” he said.

The Conference “Foliation Theory and Algebraic Geometry” started this Monday (24) at IMPA and ends on Friday (28). The event brings together around 100 Brazilian and foreign participants and offers more than 20 lectures with researchers from Brazilian and international institutions.