'We want mathematics to be less frightening,' Viana tells Globo.

O Globo presents this Sunday (29) a highlight interview with the general director of IMPA and president of the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM), Marcelo Viana, about the event, which starts next Wednesday (1). Read below the article and the interview conducted by reporter César Baima, from O GLOBO (Photo: Brenno Carvalho).

On the eve of hosting around 3,000 mathematicians from around the world, including some of the most respected professionals in the field, Marcelo Viana, director-general of the Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics (IMPA), is optimistic. The quadrennial International Congress of Mathematicians, the main event in the field, which begins this Wednesday at Riocentro, represents the culmination of decades of work by the institution and its researchers who have made IMPA a center of excellence and a global reference, but also a six-year personal effort by Viana and his colleagues to bring it to a country in the Southern Hemisphere for the first time.

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When Brazil was chosen to host the International Congress of Mathematicians in 2014, IMPA (the Brazilian Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics) had plans such as expanding its campus in the South Zone of Rio de Janeiro and initiatives to welcome professionals from developing countries. What was it like to organize the event in a context of budget cuts in science and technology in the country?

It was certainly a complicated period, not only for organizing the event but for doing anything, as Brazil is going through a difficult situation. With the effort we put in, the organization is well underway. We still have a few things to do, all within the deadline and on schedule. I believe we are doing the best we can given the situation and I am quite optimistic about the results of the congress.

And what are those expected results?

Besides reaffirming Brazil's commitment, excellence, and prestige in mathematics, there's another very important aspect: the popularization of mathematics. We've always aimed for the congress to be a historical landmark in Brazilian mathematics, a positive influence in making it more popular and better discussed in the country. Our "madness," in a good way, of wanting to hold the congress in Brazil was to use it as a pretext to make mathematics less intimidating for Brazilian society as a whole.

Are there any special initiatives in this regard?

We are taking elementary and high school students to participate in the congress, with activities specifically designed for them. In addition, the OBMEP (Brazilian Mathematics Olympiad for Public Schools) awards ceremony will be held during the congress. The students will attend the opening ceremony on the 1st, see the Fields Medal winners (the "Nobel Prize of mathematics," awarded every four years to professionals under 40) firsthand, and the following day, in the same location, they will receive their medals. It's an experience I think they'll never forget.

There was concern about obtaining the resources to organize the congress given the budget cuts. Was the requested funding approved?

The support from the federal government was very positive. We're not swimming in abundance, there's nothing to spare, but we managed to secure all the fundamental aspects of the congress. One of them is the support for the attendance of mathematicians from poor and developing countries, in the "Open Arms" program, one of the congress's traditions and the responsibility of the host. We offered 630 scholarships to mathematicians from Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific, and another 250 to Brazilians.

What was the final investment?

The final budget for organizing the entire congress came to just under R$ 15 million, including subsidies, venue rental, and all legally mandated expenses such as healthcare, insurance, etc.

You mentioned "boys" when talking about the winners of the OBMEP (Brazilian Mathematical Olympiad). Just like in other areas of the exact sciences, there is a large gender gap in mathematics…

Unfortunately, the gap is large and doesn't close. Every year we admit two dozen students. Our percentage of female students admitted is small, around 20% to 25%. But this is mainly because we have few female candidates. At the researcher level, this is even more pronounced. It's something that worries us, and we are looking for ways to preserve the institute's excellence and improve gender distribution. It's a general problem, not just in mathematics or in Brazil.