'We need to transform our expertise into wealth,' says Viana.

IMPA's Director-General, Marcelo Viana, assumed the Otavio Frias Filho Chair of Studies in Communication, Democracy and Diversity this Wednesday (6) , created by the Institute of Advanced Studies (IEA) of USP in partnership with Folha de S.Paulo . The inauguration ceremony took place in the Folha auditorium, in downtown São Paulo. At the event, Viana began the lecture cycle planned for the 2024/2025 biennium with the theme "How much is mathematics worth to Brazil?". In his presentation, he addressed the importance of mathematics for the country's economic development, the rise of the profession in the productive sector and the need to bring universities and the job market closer together. "The degree of development of a nation can be measured by the participation that mathematics has in its economy," said Viana, who also highlighted the quality of mathematics produced in Brazil, despite the challenges faced in teaching the subject in basic education. “Brazil is one of the member countries of the main group of the International Mathematical Union, the highest group, in terms of mathematical knowledge production, research, and teaching in this area. So, we have mathematical expertise. What's lacking is transforming this expertise into wealth; we need to take this knowledge from within the walls of the university to the productive sectors and transform it into innovation, efficiency, and wealth generation.” To explain the scale of opportunities for the sector, the mathematician and researcher from IMPA also presented a study by Itaú Social, conducted in partnership with the institute, which shows that professions linked to mathematics account for 4.6% of GDP. Similar research done in France shows that mathematicians accounted for 18% of the country's Gross Domestic Product.

"Understanding that we are less developed than these nations, the number reflects something we already know. But, far from being a disappointment, the data signals an opportunity. "According to a study by the Itaú Foundation, the contribution of mathematics was 4.6%, or R$ 455 billion." If we were at the French level, 18%, that number would have been R$ 1.8 trillion reais,” highlighted the director-general of IMPA. Repercussion The inauguration ceremony of the Otavio Frias Filho Chair and Viana's lecture were reported by Folha in two articles in the online and print versions published this Wednesday and Thursday (8) respectively. See here. The newspaper highlighted that the event “set the tone for the new cycle of the chair, with the theme Science, Technology, Innovation and Development” and stated that the new chair holder “presented a series of international studies to support his defense that there is a direct relationship between professions linked to mathematics and economic prosperity”. Signed by journalist Maurício Meireles, the text also listed the difficulties pointed out by Viana in the area such as “the catastrophic results in the teaching of mathematics to students in school phase. "Not to mention the decline in postgraduate enrollments in the exact sciences and the difficulty of dialogue between universities and the private sector," he cited. The Otavio Frias Filho Chair of Studies in Communication, Democracy and Diversity was launched in 2021 as part of the celebrations for the 100th anniversary of the Folha de São Paulo newspaper and honors the journalist Otavio Frias Filho (1957-2018), who directed the newspaper's editorial staff until his death . The initiative aims to promote research and disseminate knowledge about the role of communication in maintaining and constantly strengthening democracy, including the rights of minorities and against different types of discrimination. The director-general of IMPA succeeds the biologist and neuroscientist Suzana Herculano-Houzel , associate professor at Vanderbilt University in the United States, and also a columnist for Folha. With the scientist at the helm, the chair had the theme "Science, Communication and the Future". Author of the recently released book "Histories of Mathematics – "From finger counting to Artificial Intelligence," Viana is the winner of the Louis D. Grand Scientific Prize, one of the most prestigious scientific honors, which recognized his advancements in the field of dynamical systems. The director-general of IMPA is also a columnist for Folha, a publication he uses to demystify mathematics for the general public.