Zero was invented by Indian mathematicians. Vishal discovered this fact in his youth and it became the driving force for his mathematical journey. It also provided him a way to explore his national pride. Vishal came to Canada from Trinidad two years ago and although he grew up in the Caribbean, he embraces his Indian ethnicity and his Hindu religion.

Maria Interviews Vishal

Prior to the program Vishal learned many software languages on his own. LaTeX and Maple are just a couple, however Vishal is constantly searching for ways to apply mathematical theory.

He believes communication to be an essential ingredient for mathematicians, but notes that, “it depends on the problem whether it is better to solve it on your own or in a group”.

Glaucoma patients suffer from increased pressure in the eye, which can cause complete blindness. Patients cannot be cured and need regular medication. Vishal enjoys researching the bio-mechanics of glaucoma, mainly because of the utility of models. In particular, the group is exploring the behaviour of the eye fluid, its pressure, and movements using techniques from fluid mechanics. An implication of the model’s solution includes the determination of the underlying causes of glaucoma. This fundamental understanding will eventually lead to better medications and improved methods of treatment.

“Math is the base of all sciences”, says Vishal. This quote illustrates his perspective as both respectful and philosophical.

Interview conducted by Mariya Boyko

Zoltán, Anna, and Ferenc (L to R)

Hungary has a strong culture of mathematics. It also has a rich history of mathematicians including figures such as Lovász László and Erdős Pál. Interestingly, mathematics is popular in Hungary and many opportunities exist for mathematics graduates. We have been given a generous view into Hungarian mathematical culture by Anna, Ferenc, and Zoltán.

Anna and some friends recently created a new competition for students in grades 6 to 12. They did this after noticing children who weren’t indulging in exciting math, mostly from a specific region of the country. “The competition is fun and not as serious as an Olympiad… If children can be reached when they are young they will like math more”, said Anna. Various other math competitions and camps are organized around Hungary, but urban cities have more mathematical activity for children. While in high school, Zoltán won many competitions. Ferenc is from a small town close to Szeged and children in such towns do not always have access to Hungary’s major competitions.

In terms of group research style, Zoltán and Ferenc take the position that independent thinking is of critical value in collaboration. In contrast, Anna places higher value in planning and communication. They agree that unhealthy competition ruins professional relationships and can be counterproductive.

The three Hungarians want to teach in the future and are always looking for ways to meaningfully improve the Hungarian education system.

Interview conducted by Mariya Boyko

Louis-Philippe and Nigel are part of the Model Theory of Operators group supervised by Professors Brad Hart and Ilijas Farah. Nigel and Louis-Philippe have established an excellent professional relationship. Intellectually they are well rounded with a sharp sense of humour and great ambitions for their future academic careers.

Nigel and Louis-Philippe were pleasantly surprised by the daily routine that was established amongst the Fields-MITACS students. Upon arrival Louis assumed that the students will have to be ‘focused on math only.’ As several weeks passed his assumption was proven wrong. The Fields-MITACS group lives a very active and balanced life style. Nigel appreciates the flexible schedule and believes that, “the environment impacts the way we think.” Taking regular breaks filled with physical activity and friendly interactions increase Nigel’s and Louis-Philippe’s research productivity.

Louis-Philippe and Nigel, behind the Fields Institute

Louis-Philippe recently graduated from the University of Montreal. His long term goal is to become a professor of mathematics. As for now, he is striving to finish a one-year Masters Degree at the University of Toronto. Louis-Philippe is aware of the challenges that might arise on the way of a young mathematician but he is not willing to give up his dream.

Nigel is going into the third year of a Mathematics Program at McMaster University. His interests span multiple academic disciplines. Nigel enjoys discovering mathematics through other disciplines such as medicine and logic. With such a wide erudition it is hard for him to pinpoint the field in which he would be willing to get into after graduating.

Nigel and Louis-Philippe have never been a part of a group research project before, but they quickly discovered that the key to productive collaboration is the ability to take criticism and to be attentive to each other’s ideas. “We wouldn’t get very far without [accepting] criticism”, said Nigel.

Interview conducted by Mariya Boyko

The oldest of ten children in the family, Luke was born in a small rural community in Alberta. He was home schooled by his mother and grandfather, then took eight correspondence courses at Athabaskan University and transferred to the University of Calgary. Luke is going into his fourth year.

He has refined his views  on the impact of home schooling on social development, the  essential and necessary conditions for optimal collaboration, as  well as a theory to explain the shortage of female mathematicians in academia.

It is not common to find a home schooled student in the GTA but  such a practice is widely used in rural areas. It is often argued that home schooled children are less social than their peers form public schools. Luke stated that he has never seen any evidence to back up this stereotype. He had a wide range of friends both home schooled and public schooled. There were very social children and very shy children in both groups. Moreover, it was impossible to say that one group had more non social children than the other.

Even though Fields-MITACS is the first group research project for Luke, he is well prepared for this research style and the possible difficulties that can arise in collaborative work. He has observed group  research projects at the Institute for the Quantum Information Science where researchers needed to collect data and to analyze if it can be representative of a real life situation. Luke learned that common scientific interests are necessary for a successful collaboration but some degree of personal compatibility is needed as well.

Luke realizes that males compose the majority of mathematicians. Luke`s theory is that young girls sustain the stereotype that boys are good at math and girls are good at creative writing and reading. His sister is interested in sciences but none of her friends are interested in it. As a result, she avoids having meaningful conversations with them because she is scared to be labeled as a nerd. Over time his sister felt discouraged and spent a much less time pursuing her scientific interests.

Interview conducted by Mariya Boyko

Max is at the dawn of his mathematical career. He has already interacted with many professors, displaying optimism and enthusiastic personality. Max contemplates over the possibility to stay in academia and to teach at the university level. His views on teaching are fully formed. In particular, the teaching styles he enjoys most are those which exude a high subject proficiency. His favourite professors focus on conceptual knowledge and rigorous concepts.

He has just finished his second year at the University of Toronto, so he certainly has a lot of time to find his academic passion. Max is determined to learn new skills. Long before the second semester was over he started looking for various summer projects that would provide him with valuable research experience. The MITACS summer project looked like a perfect opportunity.

Max appreciates the diversity of mathematical abstraction. When asked to name his favourite field of math, Max admitted that the abundance of “very interesting topics make it hard to choose”.

Max is a member of the Symmetries of Euclidian Tesselations and Their Covers project supervised by Isabel Hubard, Mark Mixer, Daniel Pellicer and Asia Ivic Weiss.  There is a lot of independent work involved in this project. Max enjoys the ‘atmosphere’ of his office. It helps all the group members work productively. Max is studying the algebra of tessellations. Quotients of tessellations are another focus of his work. Such work demands a great deal of individual attention but he emphasizes that collaboration among colleagues is essential to be able to consider different views on the problem.

Interview conducted by Mariya Boyko