The impa and the community of mathematicians in Brazil

Abstract

This article presents the role played by the Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics - Impa -, created in 1952 by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, in the education of researchers in mathematics in Brazil. It shows how this Institute, as well as the knowledge of mathematics it produced, contributed to build the scientific field of mathematicians in the country. Its main results indicate the consolidation of lines of research such as Dynamic Systems, Algebra, Mathematical Analysis, Differential Geometry, and Mathematical Statistics, as well as a concern about the education of researchers to meet the demands of the teaching staff of Brazilian universities, to produce mathematics and recruit "talented" students to ensure the education of researchers and high quality mathematical production. The network of influences established by the Institute's researchers surpassed its limits, as its leaders had important positions in funding agencies and other scientific Institutions and societies. The discourse of these researchers reveals the academic hierarchy and the corporatism in force in the institution, as well as its prestige in the scientific community.