The Instituto de Matematica Pura e Aplicada (IMPA) in Rio de Janeiro is
celebrating the 50th anniversary of its foundation, by a 1952 decree of
Brazil's national research agency, CNPq. To mark the date, an international
conference was held at IMPA from 3-14 June 2002, with the participation of
about 200 foreign guests, including Fields Medal winners Sergei Novikov,
Steve Smale and Jean-Christophe Yoccoz, besides a large number of Brazilian
and Latin American Mathematicians. The conference included about 28 plenary
lectures on topics ranging from Dynamical Systems and Algebraic Geometry to
various applications of Mathematics. It also included 8 special sessions on
research topics most active at IMPA and throughout Brazil. Over the years
IMPA grew to become the best research center in Mathematics in Latin
America, and a fine research institution by any international
standards. As a graduate school, IMPA has formed about 250 doctoral
students who are now active in Brazil and other countries in the
region, thus crucially contributing to the development of Mathematics
across the region. The Institute has also attained strong
international presence, and currently houses the presidency of the
International Mathematical Union (current president and IMPA's
director is Jacob Palis).
Marcelo Viana, IMPA, Brazil
Saturday, June 8 2002