Interview conducted by EURAXESS Links Brazil
Initially published in November 2015 Newsletter |
Page 1 of 3
EURAXESS LINKS BRAZIL
Meet the researcher
Interview with Artur Avila, Fields
Medal Awardee and Brazilian ERC
starting grant awardee
You are in the privileged position of being able to conduct research both
in Brazil and in France. Since EURAXESS Links is an intiative to promote
researcher mobility, we are particularly interested in finding out more
about the stages of your research career so far. Could you tell us a little
more about your experience? How did your cooperation with CNRS start?
I obtained my PhD at the age of 21 at the Institute for Pure and Applied
Mathematics (IMPA) in Rio de Janeiro, before arriving in France in 2001, where
I completed a two year post-doctoral degree at the College de France.
After two unsuccessful attempts, I qualified for the competition held by the
National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) - open to foreign researchers -
in 2003, where I now hold a permanent position. After spending three years in
Paris, I received a grant from the Clay Mathematics Institute, which allowed me
to spend three years in Brazil, and in 2008, I was promoted director of research
at CNRS.
I began to split my time between France and Brazil in 2009. My mobility has
been facilitated by the fact that since 2006, IMPA has been part of the CNRS as
an international joint research unit . When I am at IMPA in Brazil, somehow I'm
also at the CNRS, although I officially still remain director of research at the
Jussieu-Pairs Institute of Mathematics Rive Gauche (IMJ-PRG), in France.
Furthermore, I usually work on several projects simultaneously, some with
partners in France, others in Brazil or elsewhere, and I can therefore easily
switch from one project to the other.
You are also an ERC Starting Grantee. How did you find out about the
ERC selection process? Could you tell us a little bit about the research
you are conducting with this grant?
In 2010, the director of my laboratory encouraged me to submit a project to the
ERC and helped me with the administrative procedures. It was the first time I
asked for EU funding as a principal investigator (PI). As a result, I was awarded
an ERC Starting grant for a period of five years.
The project, entitled "Quasiperiodic", covers several classes of dynamical
systems which display a quasiperiodic component, while the second class
consists of translation flows on higher genus surfaces.
Over this period, our research has sometimes taken an unexpected turn, as it
has been influenced by the findings of the researchers who were recruited on
the project. We ended up doing many things that were not originally planned.
Without the ERC funds, I would not have been able to explore some of the
themes we worked on.
Artur Avila
is a franco-
brazilian mathematician who
was born in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil, in 1979.
He won the International
Mathematical Olympic gold
medal at the age of 16.
Even before finishing high
school, he started studying at
the Instituto Nacional de
Matemática Pura e Aplicada
(IMPA) of Rio de Janeiro
where he began his PhD
supervised by Welington de
Melo at 19 years old.
He is now senior researcher
both at CNRS and IMPA.
The
Centre National de la
Recherche
Scientifique
(National Center for Scientific
Research - CNRS) is a public
organization under the French
Ministry of Education and
Research.
CNRS covers research in all
fields of knowledge. It is the
largest fundamental research
organization in Europe.
International
Joint
Unit
(Unité Mixte Internationale -
UMI), is a single location Joint
Lab with permanent CNRS
staff. Its duration is 4 years,
with two renewals possible.
UMI is the highest level of
international cooperation.
Interview conducted by EURAXESS Links Brazil
Initially published in November 2015 Newsletter |
Page 2 of 3
EURAXESS LINKS BRAZIL
How did your ERC grant influence your research career and your Fields
award?
In mathematics, you do not need much equipment, and a good part of the grant
can be directed towards funding mobility, be it for hiring post docs (regardless of
their nationality or origin), or to participate in congresses and meeting partners.
The ERC grant allowed me to benefit from better working conditions and to
continue my research in France more efficiently and comfortably for 5 years, by
surrounding myself with competent researchers with whom we made major
progress on several questions.
This particularly applies to problems that I looked at a few years ago but was
not able to solve on my own. For example, back then I tried to solve the
problems of low combination of billiards in regular polygons several times
without success. Thanks to the ERC grant, we were able to recruit a post- doc
who examined this problem and solved it.
Similarly, there is a more complex version of the problem known as the "10
Martini" which clearly escaped the previously developed techniques. With the
help of a Chinese post-doc recruited through the ERC grant, I was surprised to
see that the ideas I had developed earlier could be applied in this project.. The
issue has not been solved yet, but we are making good progress.
When I was awarded the Fields Medal, the selection committee mentioned my
contribution "to the dynamical systems theory, which has changed the face of
the field, using the powerful idea of renormalis
ation as a unifying principle… " .
These are the comments the committee published on my work:" Avila leads and
shapes the field of dynamical systems…. W
ith his research team, he has made
essential progress in many areas, including real and complex one-dimensional
dynamics , spectral theory of the one- frequency Schrödinger operator , flat
billiards and partially hyperbolic dynamics…."
So I have been recognised for the work I have done over all these years, but
also for more recent developments, which were achieved through international
cooperation, and partly funded by the ERC.
Can you share any tips with our readers to apply successfully for an ERC
grant?
I am not well placed to give advice because the rules were a little different when
I got my grant. My career was already well under way, I had completed my PhD
almost 10 years before, and had been published several times . I was invited to
international conferences, awarded European prizes such as the Michael Brin,
the Jacques Herbrand, and the Salem Prizes, and the Early Career Award from
the International Association of Mathematical Physics.
I would like to advise your readers that, unlike me, they should not wait to be an
internationally recognised researcher to apply, especially for starting grants.
The important thing is to have a good science project, detailed and consistent,
and good colleagues.
About
the
European
Research Council (ERC)
Set up in 2007 by the EU, the
European Research Council
is the first pan-European
funding
organization
for
frontier research. It aims to
stimulate scientific excellence
in Europe by encouraging
competition
for
funding
between
the
very
best,
creative researchers of any
nationality and age. The ERC
also strives to attract top
researchers from anywhere in
the world to come to Europe.
It funds young, early-career
top
researchers
(
'ERC
Starting grants
'), already
independent
excellent
scientists (
'ERC Consolidator
Grants'
), and senior research
leaders
('
ERC
Advanced
Grants'
). The ERC operates
according to an 'investigator-
driven',
or
'bottom-
up',
approach,
allowing
researchers to identify new
opportunities in any field of
research, without thematic
priorities.
More here:
ERC
Interview conducted by EURAXESS Links Brazil
Initially published in November 2015 Newsletter |
Page 3 of 3
EURAXESS LINKS BRAZIL
How important is the scientific cooperation between these two regions?
Cooperation between Brazil and France in mathematics is longstanding. Many
young and excellent French researchers have, for example, carried out
research at IMPA in the 80s as part of their French military service. This is the
case of renowned researcher Jean -Christophe Yoccoz. He won the Fields
Medal in '94 and completed his PhD at IMPA. Such collaborations have long-
lasting and positive consequences since Jean-Christophe Yoccoz maintained
his links with researchers at IMPA after his own experience, and it is also
thanks to him that I came to Paris when I was recruited for a post- doc at the
College de France!
In your opinion, how important is the mobility of international researchers
between these two regions?
Scientific exchanges between Brazil and France are numerous and beneficial
for both countries but also for mathematics. The advantage of scientific mobility
is obvious to me.
For France, the presence of foreign researchers is beneficial. There are
numerous foreign researchers here and we are always ready to welcome more.
The language has never been a great obstacle for me. When I first arrived in
France, I did not speak perfect French, but could still communicate without
difficulty with my colleagues who spoke English or even Portuguese, thanks to
the long tradition of international cooperation and their previous experiences
abroad.
In the long term, I am convinced that Brazil will be attractive. The university
system will develop and grow, and so will the recruitment needs. The potential
for growth is larger than the one for developed countries.
Today, Brazil sends researchers abroad, but it should not be afraid of losing
them. Once the researchers return, they will bring back a different type of
knowledge and will contribute to the scientific development of the country. As
for those who decided not to return, they will always be a reference for those
who aim to follow their path. I also mention this to French researchers, and
encourage young researchers to spend a few years in Brazil at the beginning of
their careers.
I do not think we should be afraid of brain drain.
Having conducted research both in Brazil and in Europe, what are the
main aspects of each of these countries’ research landscape
?
Being both Brazilian and French, it is important to me that conditions are
favourable for mathematical research in both countries.
It is important not to let the researchers' careers deteriorate, not to put off
talents. Some of these brilliant minds could indeed be discouraged by increased
competition, difficult financial conditions and a lack of social recognition for
researchers. As a consequence, they may turn away from this path. We must
ensure that this does not happen.
For me it is different. I started my career very early and I am unable to do
anything but maths. But we must also think of a more egalitarian research
system, not only conducive to internationally recognised researchers. Ideas are
universal and research is based on the work of many people, including also
those who will unfortunately never be distinguished.
ERC grants are open to
researchers
of
any
nationality who may reside in
any country in the world at the
time of application.
To date, there are 402
principal investigators of
non-ERA
nationality
(nationals of countries other
than the EU and the countries
associated to the Framework
Programme) among the over
5.000
ERC-funded
researchers, representing 8%
of all grantees (292 Starting
and Consolidator Grants and
110 Advanced Grants). These
grant holders are mainly
nationals of the US (177),
Canada (41), Russia (33),
Australia (29), India (26), and
Japan (18). Only 2 grantees
are Brazilian: Artur Avila and
Aureo de Paula.
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