India CSR News Network
BANGALORE: The Infosys Science Foundation (ISF) today organized a public lecture by Infosys Prize juror, Prof. Cedric Villani, Professor of Mathematics, Lyon University and Director of the Henri Poincaré Institute, Paris, France, and a juror for the #InfosysPrize. The lecture on ‘Modern Romance of Mathematics and Society’ was delivered at the Infosys campus in Bangalore, and was well attended by employees, academicians and students.
Taking forward the objective of inspiring young minds to take up science and research as a career option, ISF commenced the Infosys Science Foundation Lecture series in 2011. This lecture by Prof. Cedric Villani intends to popularize Mathematics amongst youngsters and inspire them to pursue research in this field.
Over the years, the Infosys Science Foundation Lectures have gained great popularity within the research fraternity and have served as a platform for young talent to stay informed about different fields of scientific research and studies,.
Peppered with interesting anecdotes, Prof. Villani’s talk was in a lighter vein and pointed how the subject influences every part of our life. The talk also highlighted various interesting facts around few mathematical discoveries which kept the audience engaged. Dressed in his customary cravat and three piece suit with his trademark spider brooch, Prof. Villani, aptly described as the Lady Gaga of French Mathematics by The New Yorker, likes to maintain some mystery about himself while demystifying the subject of his work.
Prof. Cedric Villani is a renowned Mathematician and a recipient of several national and international prizes for his research, in particular, the Fields Medal, awarded at the 2010 International Congress of Mathematicians in Hyderabad by the President of India. Since then he has served as a spokesperson for the French mathematical community in media and political circles.
His main research interests are in kinetic theory (Boltzmann and Vlasov equations and their variants), and optimal transport and its applications, a field in which he wrote the two main reference. He serves on many national and international scientific boards, including the Scientific Advisory Board of the European Commission and one of the pan-African institute AIMS. He also serves as an administrator for several associations, in particular the pro-European Think-Tank EuropaNova.
The Infosys Prize is awarded under the aegis of the Infosys Science Foundation, a not-for-profit trust instituted in 2009. The Infosys Science Foundation is funded by a corpus which today stands at over INR 140 Crore (USD 20 million), contributed by the former Board of Directorsand senior management at Infosys.
