During her visit, Morant stressed that the ICMAT, a Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence since the start of the programme in 2011, ‘trains and researches mathematicians and mathematicians who are changing our society’.

Today, 10 July, at 11:00, the Spanish Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities, Diana Morant, visited the Institute of Mathematical Sciences (ICMAT), one of only two centres in Spain with four consecutive accreditations as a Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence. She was joined by top institutional representatives of the entities that make up the ICMAT: Eloísa del Pino, president of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Amaya Mendikoetxea Pelayo, rector of the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM), Joaquín Goyache Goñi, rector of the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), and Ángel Arias Hernández, rector of the Carlos III University of Madrid (UC3M).

They were welcomed by Javier Aramayona, director of ICMAT, Ana Bravo, deputy director of the Institute, and Diego Córdoba, director of the Severo Ochoa project at ICMAT, together with other members of the scientific and management staff of the centre. They visited the building’s facilities, including the library of the Centre for Theoretical Physics and Mathematics (CFTMAT), which contains outstanding books such as Galileo Galilei’s Cosmic System (17th century) and Isaac Newton’s Principles of Natural Philosophy (13th century).

‘Mathematicians who are changing our society and who are key to developing the decisive technologies in our lives: artificial intelligence, quantum computing and the energy transition are trained and researched at ICMAT. That is why I call on girls and women to join mathematics because it explains life and guarantees a working future in which we also need to incorporate their talent’, stressed Morant.

‘The Severo Ochoa award, and also this visit, are a recognition of the work carried out by ICMAT and its contributions to scientific research of excellence’, said Aramayona, CSIC senior scientist at the ICMAT.

Credit: Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades

Excellence in mathematics

Last May, ICMAT became one of only two centres in Spain to receive four consecutive accreditations as a Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence from the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities. This is a huge endorsement of the Institute’s scientific project, ‘focused on carrying out research in mathematics of the highest quality, in turn exerting a positive influence on the national scientific system and society as a whole,’ says Javier Aramayona.

Each of the centres accredited as Severo Ochoa receive a total of 4.5 million euros in structural funding over four years. Morant pointed to this programme as an example of the Ministry’s commitment to science and the strengthening of research centres. ‘Investing in science is investing in the future of Spain, in welfare, in economic development and in the international projection of our country,’ she said.

Since its foundation in 2007, the ICMAT has maintained a firm commitment to excellence in mathematical research, with outstanding research staff in their respective fields. Its nature as a mixed centre and the backing of the Severo Ochoa programme have helped to consolidate it as ‘a clear reference point for mathematical activity, at regional, national and international level’, says Diego Córdoba.

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