Institute of Mathematical Sciences (ICMAT) has been accredited, for the fourth consecutive time, as a ‘Severo Ochoa’ Centre of Excellence by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, through the State Research Agency (AEI). This entity has just made public the proposal for the final resolution of the 2023 call, which also includes the beneficiaries as ‘María de Maeztu’ Units of Excellence.

Having achieved this distinction again ‘represents a tremendous recognition of the scientific work carried out by the Institute since its creation in 2007’, says Javier Aramayona, director of ICMAT. ‘We will continue to implement the institute’s scientific project, focused on carrying out research in mathematics of the highest quality, while exerting a positive influence on the national scientific system and society as a whole,’ he continues.

‘In the whole of Spain, only two research centres have won four consecutive awards – ICMAT and Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB) – which means that they have received Severo Ochoa funding uninterruptedly since the creation of this programme in 2011,’ stresses Diego Córdoba, scientific director of ICMAT’s Severo Ochoa programme.

Since its foundation in 2007, the Institute has maintained a firm commitment to excellence in mathematical research, with outstanding research staff in their respective fields. Moreover, its nature as a joint centre – it is owned by four institutions: the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), the Autonomous University of Madrid, the Complutense University of Madrid and the Carlos III University of Madrid – has helped to consolidate it as a natural meeting point for mathematics in the Madrid region. ‘All this, backed to a large extent by funding from the Severo Ochoa programme, has helped to reinforce the ICMAT’s position as a leader in research and also as a clear reference point for mathematical activity, at regional, national and international level,’ says Córdoba.

Thanks to this new accreditation, ICMAT will receive funding of 4.5 million euros until 2027 for its institutional strengthening. One of the main programmes that will be continued is the ICMAT Laboratories, research groups led by an internationally renowned researcher. ‘It has been an undeniable success within the ICMAT’s scientific project, fostering the scientific cohesion of the Institute and consolidating its position as an outstanding reference in the field of mathematics at international level,’ explains Aramayona.

Likewise, support will continue to be given to the Little Institute of Mathematics (PIM), an activity aimed at secondary school students which takes place every Friday of the school year and which has attracted 150 boys and girls between the ages of 12 and 18 in each of its two editions. ‘Funded by ICMAT and CUNEF University, it is one of our main training activities, and will play a crucial role in increasing the participation of students, especially girls, in STEM degrees and careers,’ concludes Aramayona.

Also of note is ‘Mathematical Bridges between Spain and Latin America’, a new ICMAT initiative in collaboration with the Institute for the Mathematical Sciences of the Americas (IMSA, Miami), which aims to formalise and strengthen cooperation between the mathematical communities of both regions. Launched in April, its main motivation is to establish a research platform to facilitate the exchange of knowledge, as well as to contribute to the creation of a new generation of researchers in both regions.

In addition, ICMAT will also receive 1.16 million euros from the Severo Ochoa accreditation for the training of research personnel during these four years. ‘With the help of this funding, we will be able to continue contributing to the training of a new generation of researchers in mathematics, which in turn will help to ensure an appropriate generational transition in the coming years,’ says Córdoba.

Severo Ocha’ Centres of Excellence and María de Maeztu Units of Excellence

The call for support and accreditation of ‘Severo Ochoa’ Centres of Excellence and ‘María de Maeztu’ Units of Excellence seeks their institutional strengthening and is aimed at those centres and units of excellence in the public sector, as well as private non-profit research institutions ‘whose scientific leadership is proven at international level, with the capacity to contribute decisively to advance the frontier of knowledge and generate high impact results, as well as to exert a tractor effect on the Spanish Science, Technology and Innovation System’, as stated on the website of the AEI.

In the 2023 call, in addition to ICMAT, the following have been accredited as ‘Severo Ochoa’ Centres of Excellence: AGR-Institut de Recerca contra la leucemia Josep Carreras, Institut de Recerca Biomédica, Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Barcelona, the Institut de Bioenginyeria de Catalunya private foundation, the Instituto de Nanociencia y Materiales de Aragón, the ISGLOBAL-Research Centre, the Instituto de Física Corpuscular, the AGR-Centro de Investigación Ecología y Aplicaciones Forestales and the Centro Nacional de Biotecnología.

The Centre Ciéncia i Enginyeria Multiescala, POLYMAT, the Centre for Research, Mind, Brain and Behaviour, the Condensed Matter Physics Research Centre, the Galician Institute of High Energy Physics and the Barcelona Institute of Microelectronics – National Microelectronics Centre have received accreditation as Units of Excellence ‘María de Maeztu’.

—

This content has been automatically translated. The original text may differ slightly