Mathematician Jacob Palis, giant of Brazilian science, dies

7/5/2025

Mathematician Jacob Palis, former director-general of IMPA and former president of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (ABC), died on Wednesday (7) at the age of 85 in Rio de Janeiro. A member of ten National Academies of Sciences and an honorary doctorate from nine universities in Brazil and around the world, he was one of the country’s leading scientists and most awarded and respected mathematicians.

“Jacob is simply a giant of our science. His strategic vision, his leadership and his scientific contribution revolutionized the face of mathematics and science in Brazil and Latin America, influencing institutions and inspiring young people whose lives he profoundly impacted and among whom I have the honour of including myself,” said IMPA’s director-general, Marcelo Viana, who was mentored by him.

Jacob Palis’ life was inspired by uncertainty, the essential raw material for a mathematician dedicated to unraveling the mysteries of chaos in Dynamic Systems. A native of Uberaba, Minas Gerais, Jacob arrived in Rio at the age of 16 determined to study engineering. Although he had already decided to be a scientist and dedicate himself to mathematics, he believed that it was in engineering that “good mathematics” was done.

He came first in the entrance exam at the University of Brazil, now the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, where he graduated in 1962. He left university with the first trophy of his career in his arms, the title of Best Undergraduate Student. At the time, he was already a regular at the seminars at the newly created IMPA (Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics) on Saturday afternoons.

Stephen Smale, a Fields Medalist as advisor and friend

He ended up doing an internship at the institution, but had the fixed idea of studying with the “best mathematician in the world” at the time. When he asked Elon Lages Lima who this person was, he heard that it was “the American Stephen Smale”.

One of the most brilliant mathematicians of all time, Smale won the Fields Medal, the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for mathematics, shortly afterwards, in 1966. At the time, he was dividing his time between political activities and advising doctoral students. The uncertainty didn’t shake Jacob Palis, who set off for Berkeley in 1964 with his dream and a grant from the Fullbright Commission to support him.

The partnership with Smale worked very well and led to a lifelong friendship, with reciprocal visits. In a sense, they agreed on how to deal with the subject without going into so much technical detail. “It was always the global vision that prevailed,” he said. And he watched his advisor win the prestigious Fields medal while he was still doing his doctorate. “It was an event!”

After completing his doctorate, he spent another year in the United States as a researcher at Brown University and assistant professor at the University of California. Escaping the norm of the time, he decided to return to Brazil in 1968.

His first job was at UFRJ, but he soon realized that the university at the time didn’t offer the research model he dreamed of. That’s when he put down roots at IMPA, where he helped build a model of research and higher education that he felt was appropriate.

Leadership in Brazilian mathematics and science

In the early 1970s, he made fundamental pioneering contributions to the theory of bifurcations and also to laying the foundations for a cosmopolitan scientific culture in Brazil. He organized the International Symposium on Dynamical Systems in 1971, opening IMPA’s doors to renowned international visitors who helped build Brazilian mathematics.

His vision meant that talented young people no longer had to leave the country to carry out pioneering research, cementing excellence in the discipline in Brazil, which is now in Group 5 of the International Mathematical Union (IMU), among the 12 most advanced countries in the field.

In the 1980s, Jacob Palis began to occupy positions in the international structure of mathematics, while also taking on important roles in Brazil. From 1993 to 2003, he was director-general of IMPA, leading its transformation into a Social Organization, which gave the institute more autonomy and flexibility, allowing it to grow and internationalize. In 1998, he was elected president of the IMU, the world’s leading mathematical organization. From 2007 to 2016, he was president of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, notable for defending the minimum investment of 2% of the national GDP in the area – but even today it is only 1.2%.

An advocate of international networks, in 1995 he led the founding of the Mathematical Union of Latin America and the Caribbean (UMALCA). An active advisor, he did not let the bureaucracy of academic management positions stop him from researching and teaching. His academic genealogy includes at least 42 students and 141 descendants – doctors trained by others he trained. The most prominent is “academic grandson” Artur Avila, an IMPA researcher who won the Fields Medal, a doctorate from IMPA and the only holder of the honor fully trained in the developing world.

He also had plenty of time to devote to his own research. Jacob was one of the most respected and laureate researchers in Brazilian mathematics, with important work on the most chaotic regions of various families of dynamic systems. He lived inspired by uncertainty. Among many other fundamental contributions, in the 1990s he formulated a global vision of the theory of dynamical systems that still constitutes one of the main research themes in the area, inspiring generations of young and senior researchers.

His career has been recognized by dozens of awards, such as the Grand Cross of the National Order of Scientific Merit (1994); the Inter-American Prize for Science (1995); Officer of the Legion of Honour (2018); Trieste Prize for Science (2006); Balzan Prize in Mathematics (2010). He was a member of ten National Academies of Sciences (including the USA, France, Russia and Europe) and an Honorary Doctor of nine universities in Brazil and around the world, among other achievements.

Jacob Palis leaves his children Rebeca, Carlos Emanuel and Laura, his wife Suely Lima, five grandchildren and a great legacy for world mathematics and an example of a life dedicated to science.

The wake will take place at Memorial do Carmo, chapel 4, this Thursday (8), from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.