The XXVIII National Congress of Applied and Computational Mathematics (CNMAC), at the Unicamp Convention Center. Under the theme “Applied Mathematics in Latin America”, the opening panel featured professors from Argentina, Chile and Colombia, who informed participants about the area in each country. “Essentially, applied mathematics seeks to contribute to problem solving using mathematics. Thus, in addition to mathematicians, this event attracts computer scientists, engineers, physicists and all scientists who need mathematics. It’s a very broad event”, explained Carlile Lavor, president of the Brazilian Society of Applied and Computational Mathematics (SBMAC), responsible for the event.
The Congress, which takes place annually, gained not only national prominence, attracting researchers from across the continent and establishing itself as the most important event in the area in Latin America. In this edition, CNMAC celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Institute of Mathematics, Statistics and Scientific Computing (Imecc) and 40 years of SBMAC, the society responsible for its origin and organization. 700 participants are expected, more than 100 oral works and around 350 posters, including scientific initiations and postgraduate studies.
“The growth of the event, we see that there is a lot of applied mathematics being done. In fact, there are many different applied mathematics being done. One of the richest things about this event is to talk to these people who work with very different applications”, said Marcelo Terra, professor at Imecc and member of the event's organizing committee.
As highlighted by Edson Cataldo, vice-president of SBMAC, until Friday (21) there will be 17 technical sessions, which will cover topics such as: mathematical modeling applied to engineering, mathematical modeling applied to physics, signal processing, biomathematics and teaching, among others.
“Women in Mathematics”
Among the round tables that make up the program, the one coordinated by professor Walcy Souza, from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), stands out. The professor will discuss the low representation of women in the area.
“The proportion of women in the area is much lower than it should be. Although the gender issue is debated worldwide, here in Brazil it is getting worse. We are making an effort to at least start discussing and putting forward points for people to think about,” she explained.
According to the professor, with the aim of debating the issue and promoting the presence of women at congresses, a gender committee was formed at SBMAC. “There are stereotypes that keep people away from making the decision because it is mathematical. As a university student myself, at the top of my class, I heard from colleagues: 'not a PhD for you'. Unfortunately, the situation has not evolved much since then,” she said.
Walcy also highlighted the absence of maternity protection mechanisms and situations of discrimination in selection processes. In addition to the researchers' professional careers, Walcy observes the number of girls in the Olympics and competitions in the area. “We are investigating what is keeping girls from being competitive until the end,” she reported.
Check out programming complete event.
