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Luis Caffarelli, the Argentine who won the "Nobel" in Mathematics: "In Argentina, even in science there is more friendship"

2023-04-08T10:40:58.671Z


From his office in Texas, he spoke with Clarín about what the Abel prize meant. His trips to the country and the differences with the US and with what the series show.


We Argentines

"got excited again"

.

In December 2022, the National Team won the World Cup.

And, this year, Messi, Scaloni, "Dibu" Martínez and the fans themselves were established as the best in The

Best awards.

The Oscar run for the movie "1985" was another moment of illusion.

Although there was no statuette, the passion remained intact.

During the same weeks,

another compatriot made history

.

This time, in the field of hard sciences.

This is

Luis Caffarelli, winner of the Abel Prize

, awarded by the Norwegian Academy of Sciences.

It was for "his seminal contributions to the theory of regularity for nonlinear partial differential equations, including free boundary problems and the Monge-Ampere equation."

In other words, his contribution to

make intellection of the world more accessible.

The award is at the top of his field: it is the

equivalent of the Nobel in Mathematics

: and the doctor put on 10, representing the country.

From his office at the University of Texas, where he settled in 1997, he spoke with

Clarín

about the path he traveled up to this culminating moment.

Although he has been in the United States for decades, his accent gives him away: he is

a porteño through and through.

And he never broke connection with his land.

Returning to a World Cup song that was played again during these days, "There is no cure, it wears on the skin."

Here or there, he is rooting for the jersey.

Luis Caffarelli has just won the Abel Prize, equivalent to the Nobel in the field of Mathematics.

Throughout his 74 years, Caffarelli garnered an

extensive resume.

The love for numbers came in his DNA, but he cultivated it with effort and perseverance.

First, at the Colegio Nacional Buenos Aires, the place from which he received his honors.

Later, at the University of Buenos Aires, where he received his doctorate.

It is modest.

He still smiles when, during the interview, he is reminded of a phrase from the statement that accompanied the announcement of his award: "

No other living mathematician has made more contributions

to our understanding of these equations than Luis Ángel Caffarelli."

He has hundreds and hundreds of published articles, scholarships, residencies, experience as a professor.

And he already accumulates the Bôcher Prize, from the American Mathematical Society (1984);

the Rolf Schock Prize in Mathematics (2005);

and the Wolf Prize in Mathematics (2012).

The hugs with his

wife

, the brilliant mathematician

Irene Martínez Gamba

, when they received the news about Abel, are proof that there is always room for surprise... and that emotions escape calculations.

Together, they will travel to Oslo on May 23, to participate in an

official ceremony

with the presence of King Harald.

For Caffarelli, the medals are consequences ("very beautiful") of the work and not the other way around.

He emphasizes that there is no need to "speculate."

That is, he does not have them as goals, but he takes them as

valuable rewards

, which imply the respect of colleagues he admires.

Before money or headlines, he cares about the human, the advancement of his area of ​​study, the incessant exchange between professionals who enhance each other.

How did you experience having received this luck of "Nobel Prize in Mathematics"?

"In general, you don't expect it... when it arrives, it's very gratifying, because the decision is made by well-known researchers in a certain field, who show

consideration for a trajectory

."

Of course he was glad.

"

Like when everyone applauds you when you score a goal.

One can be happy in different directions, for different reasons. The groups behind these awards are made up of about 20 people, some of the best. It makes you feel that you are doing things well "It is a reassurance that

one is dedicated to something difficult and important

. And, furthermore, that it has repercussions in other branches of science. Particularly, in Physics, with which the dialogue is constant", he elaborates.

All roads lead to Argentina

Caffarelli began his journey north shortly after receiving his doctorate.

The exchange was very common at the time and some visiting professors took him, early, to the University of Minnesota, where he worked as a professor.

He also had his stay at the prestigious University of New York and Chicago.

He went through different exceptional experiences before disembarking in Austin.

He does not miss Argentina.

But don't get it wrong: it's because

it's constantly coming back.

She was born in La Boca.

Her wife is a compatriot: she also came to the United States due to her gift for numbers and she has a loyal student body.

They have been together for nearly four decades.

Irene and Luis are, as he describes,

"very fond of Argentine mathematicians and, particularly, of Buenos Aires."

They usually come several weeks or months during the year.

Sometimes they stay in Mar del Plata, where they have family.

Science is always present, but they leave room for the Sunday roast, the walk on the beach.

Together with his wife, the prominent mathematician Irene Martínez Gamba, they have lived in the United States for decades, but they are always returning to Argentina.

Marriage favors, as is to be expected, moments with groups of colleagues who are already friends.

"We collaborate, we exchange ideas, it's very rich. We have things in common. They also visit us when they can. It's an important union. We don't usually give classes because we don't have enough time, but we do participate in local academic life through talks , seminars", says Luis.

At the same time, he highlights: "In the United States there are prestigious institutions, with a lot of money to work with. In that, Argentina cannot compete. But in terms of interaction between people, culture... it is something else."

Once again, the

human factor

that sustained it throughout its development emerges.

He remembers his days at the Faculty of Exact Sciences of the UBA;

the lunches between class and class, when socialization was mixed with affection, with

"solidarity of ideas".

He emphasizes that in those corridors and classrooms, "everyone was happy when someone was doing well, there was generosity, if someone got sick or did not come with the money, the others helped."

Fellowship and science were one thing: 

"It is something very positive for our country."

What does this consecrated mathematician recommend to children, adolescents and young people who want to pursue their career?

"

You have to be serious.

This does not mean being locked up 24 hours a day, but it does mean feeding curiosity with dedication above all. From elementary school, from high school."

He reflects, in turn, on

the "fame" given to scientists in the series

: always reclusive, shy, too sober.

"Those of us who dedicate ourselves to these issues are forced to have a special time dedicated to our tasks and it is true that the interaction can be concentrated among colleagues. But in Argentina, even in science, there is more friendship, due to the way we are ".


Before closing the conversation, the fundamental question arises: how do you transmit what you do to your non-mathematical family and friends.

The knowledge that he handles is very specific, inaccessible to the uninitiated.

Caffarelli, when he won the Konex in 2003. File Photo

"Communication depends on the level of approach to the subject that the interlocutor has. How did I tell why I won the prize? I didn't start drawing the equations on the blackboard, I just passed on the good news," he laughs.

Humble above all

, compare this basic linguistic obstacle with which they can have specialists in different areas.

"What a mathematician does can be problematic for others. In the same way, for us,

many things that others do can seem strange to us

," she concludes.

He apologizes for a cold that ails him and continues working.

Because he has two securities.

The first is that science does not give up.

The second, that you never have to rest on your laurels.

It doesn't matter that they are infinite, like numbers.

AS


look also

Argentine Luis Caffarelli won a prestigious prize considered the "Nobel" in mathematics

An Argentine biologist was distinguished by a prestigious natural history organization in London

Source: clarin

All life articles on 2023-04-08

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