Seminars Foster Dialogue Between Mathematics and Society
Open to the general public, these events cover topics such as mathematics, art, and science
Mathematics, robotics, philosophy of art, and conservation laws. IMPA Tech’s scientific seminars bring together researchers from different fields and institutions to discuss research topics with students. Since August, these meetings have also been open to the public, expanding participation beyond the IMPA Tech academic community.
The first seminar in this format took place on August 18, featuring researcher Hermes Bloomfield-Gadelha from the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom. In “The Mathematics of Living Motion: From Molecular Machines and Muscles to Soft Robots,” he demonstrated how mathematics can help us understand the movement of living beings and inspire the development of new robots.
The lecture brought together mathematics, biology, physics, and robotics, covering topics such as molecular mechanisms, muscles, self-organization, and robotics.
The topic caught the attention of 14-year-old Theo Vieira, who traveled about 150 kilometers with his parents from Cabo Frio to Rio de Janeiro to attend the presentation. A 9th-grade student and OBMEP bronze medalist, he learned about the seminar through social media and was captivated by the initiative.
“The presentation was incredible. The subject was explained and developed in an excellent way; the accounts of researcher Hermes’ experiments were very interesting, and it was impressive how many different topics related to the lecture’s central theme were introduced,” he says.
The event also marked Theo’s first exposure to IMPA’s undergraduate program. “I hadn’t heard of the college before this event, but I’m confident that I’ll be studying at IMPA Tech soon,” he says.
Art, Beauty, and Subjectivity
On September 3, the program featured a dialogue between art, philosophy, and science. Via remote presentation, Anna Christina Soy Ribeiro, a professor of philosophy and an affiliate professor at the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Texas Tech University in the United States, presented “Beauty, Pleasure, Art, and Representation: An Introduction to the Fundamental Themes of Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art.”
For student Paula Pires, the discussion stood out precisely because it offered new perspectives. “The way it approaches the history of aesthetics from a different point of view is very interesting. While we students were trying to make art more objective by attempting to define subjective concepts like beauty, Anna Christina showed us how important subjectivity is,” she said.
Mathematics Applied to the Real World
On September 8, researcher Pablo Castañeda presented “From Oleĭnik’s Mirror to the Land of Waves: A Journey Through the Laws of Conservation.”
The lecture took as its starting point a result by the Ukrainian mathematician Oleĭnik from 1957 and explored different geometric interpretations for the study of conservation laws. The researcher also demonstrated how these mathematical tools can be applied to concrete problems.
Among the applications presented are oil extraction in porous media, CO₂ capture in reservoirs, sedimentation, and traffic models—including the phenomenon known as “bus bunching,” when buses on the same route end up clustering together.
The three seminars highlight the diversity of topics discussed at scientific conferences. By bringing students and researchers together, the program creates opportunities to explore new perspectives and engage in discussions that bridge various fields of knowledge.
The schedule of activities is posted on IMPA Tech’s social media accounts. Information about topics, guest researchers, and dates can be found on the institution’s official channels.
