The posthumous tribute on the third day of the event was accompanied by friends and colleagues, as well as the families.
The biannual meeting, which began in 1972, is the largest algebra conference in Brazil, and this year the 27th edition was held between July 15 and 19. With the aim of improving collaboration between students and researchers, the Algebra School covers a wide range of topics in algebra through lectures and workshops, and this year honored Professors Adilson Gonçalves (UnB) and Jairo Zacarias Gonçalves (IME-USP). Despite having the same surname, both did not belong to the same family, but made many contributions to mathematics.
The honors were on the agenda for the third day of the meeting, July 17. Professor Vitor Ferreira mediated tributes to Professor Jairo Zacarias Gonçalves (1949-2024), with the participation of Professors Arnaldo Mandel (IME-USP), one of his close friends and research colleague, and Javier Sánchez Serdà.
Jairo was a renowned Brazilian mathematician who made significant contributions to algebra throughout his career. A full professor in the Mathematics Department at IME-USP, he supervised undergraduate and graduate students and post-doctoral trainees. His research has focused on the area of non-commutative rings, with emphasis on the subareas of group rings and divided rings. The professor passed away at the age of 75 in June 2024.
During the tribute to the life and work of Jairo Gonçalves, held at the 27th Algebra School, a video full of photos of Professor Jairo, friends and family was shown, accompanied by the performance of the song Maple Leaf Rag, by Scott Joplin, played on the piano by his doctoral student, Pedro Russo, now a PhD in Mathematics.
The 2019 edition of the Group Rings, Groups and Rings event also featured a special session in which several collaborators, colleagues and friends paid tribute to Professor Jairo.
The full tribute can be watched on IME’s YouTube channel.
By: Nathalie Rodrigues | Institutional Support Service