The JAE School 2026 consisted of seven mini-courses, six short talks and one round-table discussion. Images: Laura M. Iraola/ICMAT
Laura M. Iraola (ICMAT)
Once again, the JAE School of Mathematics, organised by the Institute of Mathematical Sciences, has served as a meeting point between final-year Mathematics undergraduate and master’s students and cutting-edge mathematical research. From 22 June to 3 July, 85 participants were introduced to the most current research topics by leading researchers.
“I am interested in the world of research, and I believe this is a first step towards discovering new topics and learning about areas that are not covered during an undergraduate degree,” said Iván Jáñez, a Mathematics undergraduate student at the University of the Basque Country and recipient of an ICMAT-Severo Ochoa Introduction to Research Grant 2026, who will also begin an ICMAT-Severo Ochoa master’s scholarship in October.
Most participants came from universities across Spain, including those in Valencia, Seville, Murcia, Oviedo and Castilla-La Mancha. Four students from overseas universities also took part: Brown University (USA), the University of Chicago (USA), the University of Manchester (United Kingdom) and King’s College London (United Kingdom).
“One of the strengths of the school is that people come from different places and have the opportunity to connect with one another. The relationships that develop are highly enriching and mark the beginning of the research experience,” says Oscar García-Prada, CSIC Research Professor at ICMAT and one of the School’s lecturers.
Two weeks of courses and talks introducing students to research
The core of the programme consisted of seven mini-courses covering a range of areas, including symplectic geometry and topology, algebraic geometry, quantum computing, fluid mechanics, analysis and general relativity. They were taught by Sara Daneri (Gran Sasso Science Institute), Theo Drivas (Stony Brook University), José Luis Fernández Barbón (IFT-CSIC), Oscar García-Prada (ICMAT-CSIC), Aram Harrow (MIT) and Eva Miranda (Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Centre de Recerca Matemàtica, Severo Ochoa-ICMAT Distinguished Visiting Professor).
Students also attended introductory research talks, including one by Hannah Cairo (University of Maryland, USA), who in 2025, at just 17 years of age, disproved the Mizohata–Takeuchi conjecture, a problem in harmonic analysis that had remained open for 40 years.
“One of the things that helped me get started in research was understanding what people were studying at the time. That is the purpose of a research school: bringing together people with mathematical knowledge and showing them how they can carry out research and develop new ideas,” commented Cairo.
The young researcher also took advantage of her visit to ICMAT to meet students from the Mathematics Intensive Program (MIP) and share her experience in research with them.
Cairo’s talk was joined by those of Caterina Campagnolo (ICMAT-UAM), Manuel Garzón (ICMAT-CSIC), Willi Kepplinger (ICMAT-CSIC), María de la Paz Tirado (ICMAT-UAM), Luis Martínez Zoroa (CUNEF) and Pedro Tradacete (ICMAT-CSIC).
Students also had the opportunity to ask questions and learn more about the research career path during a round-table discussion featuring Andrés Laín, a CSIC predoctoral researcher at ICMAT; Eva Miranda; and Izar Alonso Lorenzo, a CSIC postdoctoral researcher at ICMAT. The discussion was moderated by Ágata Timón, Head of the Mathematical Culture Unit at ICMAT.