IMPA and CNRS celebrate 20 years of partnership looking to the future
Meeting marked the launch of the Federation of French Institutes in the Americas
On Monday (26), IMPA and France’s Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) celebrated two decades of the Jean-Christophe Yoccoz International Research Laboratory (IRL), a CNRS research unit based at IMPA. The president of the CNRS, Antoine Petit, the consul general of France in Rio de Janeiro, Eric Tallon, the Municipal Secretary for Science, Technology and Innovation of Rio de Janeiro, Tatiana Roque, and the president of Faperj, Caroline Alves, were received by the director-general of IMPA, Marcelo Viana, the deputy director, Jorge Vitório Pereira, and the researcher Claudio Landim at the Institute’s headquarters in Jardim Botânico.
Viana recalled the fundamental role of Jacob Palis, the former director of IMPA who died in May 2025, in the creation of the International Joint Unit at IMPA. “He would have been very happy and proud to see the stage we have reached,” he said.
The president of the CNRS, Antoine Petit, referred to IMPA as an “exceptional and dynamic center of excellence” and an example of an egalitarian education system. “Everything they do with the math Olympiads and how they select students for IMPA Tech is impressive. I’m very happy to be here and to celebrate what has happened in these 20 years, but also to look to the future.”
The director of mathematics at the CNRS, Christophe Besse, praised the two decades of partnership between the institution and IMPA, said that the model of international cooperation had achieved great results and that “the next chapter will have even more impact”. The Consul General of France in Rio de Janeiro, Eric Tallon, described the initiative as an example of “Franco-Brazilian cooperation, or Franco-Carioca cooperation” of excellence.
Tatiana Roque, representing the Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, highlighted the partnership between IMPA and the City Hall for the realization of IMPA Tech, the Institute’s graduate program launched in 2024.
Created in 2006, IRL 2924 Jean-Christophe Yoccoz CNRS/IMPA is the result of a formal agreement between the two institutions, which is renewed periodically. The initiative aims to stimulate long-term collaborations, the mobility of researchers and the development of joint projects in fundamental areas of mathematics. The IRL Jean-Christophe Yoccoz – which pays homage to the French mathematician, Fields medallist and honorary researcher at IMPA – symbolizes the consolidation of this partnership.
Launch of the Federation of French Institutes in the Americas
As well as celebrating 20 years, the meeting marked the official launch of the Federation of French Institutes in the Americas, which brings together six CNRS IRLs (two in Canada, Mexico, Uruguay, Chile and Brazil). The initiative aims to expand and consolidate the collaboration that already exists between the partners. “The goal is to articulate more research and solve concrete problems, especially with the PI Center. To use applied mathematics to develop solutions to challenges such as climate, the ocean and others,” said Alejandro Maass, a researcher at the University of Chile and president of the Federation.
At IMPA’s headquarters, the delegation visited the main auditorium, the library and the PI Center. In the morning, the group visited the IMPA Tech facilities in Porto Maravalley, in Rio de Janeiro’s port area. The campus hosts the bachelor’s degree in Mathematics for Technology and Innovation. As well as touring the classrooms and computer and physics laboratories, the researchers talked to students. It was an opportunity for the undergraduates to exchange experiences about day-to-day research, mathematics, international laboratories and the future of some areas that are constantly evolving, such as artificial intelligence.
