Pioneers of all time in Brazilian mathematics – 10/03/2023 – Marcelo Viana

Eliza Maria Ferreira Veras da Silva was born in 1944 into a humble family in southern Bahia. Her studies were always encouraged by her mother, Dahil, who recognized her daughter’s exceptional talent. After finishing high school — with an A in all subjects in the final year! — She moved to Salvador, where she taught at several schools.

In 1964, she was approved in 2nd place in the mathematics undergraduate entrance exam at the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA). She completed her course — bachelor’s and licentiate degree — at the end of 1967 at the Institute of Mathematics and Statistics (IME) at UFBA, where she soon became an assistant professor.

There he learned about the possibility of continuing his studies abroad. In the early 1970s, he won a UNESCO scholarship to pursue a master’s degree at the University of Montpellier in France, where he worked with algebraist Artibano Micali.

After defending his dissertation on associative algebras, he resumed his duties at UFBA, where, at the same time, he continued working towards his doctorate.

In 1977, he returned to Montpellier with a scholarship from the French government to complete his thesis, entitled “On non-associative integers”.

A survey carried out by professor Manuela Souza (UFBA) indicates that Eliza Maria was the first black Brazilian woman to obtain a doctorate in mathematics.

She remained at IME-UFBA, where she was vice-director in the 1980s, until her retirement in 1994. During that time, she contributed to teaching and the cause of diversity in mathematics. In 2022, she was honored by UFBA with the “Support Program for Projects and Scientific Initiation in Mathematics Professor Dr. Eliza Maria Ferreira Veras da Silva”, which supports the training of black students.

The Aurélio dictionary defines “pioneer” as “one who opens or discovers a path through an unknown region”.

Eliza Maria is a pioneer of Brazilian mathematics, as are Marília Peixoto, Maria Laura Mouzinho and Elza Gomide, about whom I wrote before. Many paths still remain to be opened, and their trajectories motivate and inspire other pioneers, of all ages.

Like, for example, the students of the Impa Olympic Girls project, and other similar initiatives across the country, whose objective is to reduce barriers to young people’s access to the scientific scene. They are the first generation to be told that science is a woman’s place, and experience shows that they are listening. It is with them that the battle to achieve full female presence in the world of science and technology is fought.

LINK PRESENT: Did you like this text? Subscribers can access five free accesses from any link per day. Just click the blue F below.