Irene Fonseca received the University of Lisbon Award

Irene Fonseca, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University and a former student of the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Lisbon (Ciências ULisboa), received the University of Lisbon Award this Wednesday at a ceremony held in the Rector’s Hall. The award aims to recognise “world-leading scientific leadership and a fundamental impact on contemporary mathematics”, according to the University of Lisbon’s (ULisboa) official website.

“Irene Fonseca is one of the most influential figures in contemporary mathematics, internationally recognised for her scientific leadership and the impact of her contributions at the interface between Mathematical Analysis, Materials Science and Computer Vision,” states the ULisboa website. “On the national scene, she stands out unequivocally as a leading figure in Portuguese mathematics, both for the quality of her scientific output and for the institutional impact she has generated,” the same ULisboa news item adds.

The award ceremony was attended by Luís Ferreira, Dean of ULisboa; Luís Pereira Coutinho, Executive Director of Caixa Geral de Depósitos; and Jorge Buescu, a professor and researcher in the Department of Mathematical Sciences of Ciências ULisboa.

In her speech, Irene Fonseca noted that mathematics is distinguished by being “a way of asking questions that no one has yet been able to formulate and of finding answers that no one has yet been able to provide”. In her acceptance speech, the researcher pledged to continue her research “in the service of knowledge, in the service of people and in the service of Portugal”.

For his part, Luís Ferreira praised the scientific impact of Irene Fonseca’s work. “In honouring Professor Irene Fonseca, we are celebrating an extraordinary scientific career, as well as the value of mathematics as the universal language of science,” remarked the Dean of ULisboa.

The University of Lisbon Award was established with the support of Caixa Geral de Depósitos to recognise individuals who have made significant contributions in the fields of science and culture. Adriano Moreira, Maria de Sousa, António Guterres, Gonçalo M. Tavares, Maria do Carmo Fonseca and Vítor Cardoso feature on the list of previous winners of this prestigious award.