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They arrived from different places, but specially from France and Spain, countries with a long-established tradition in mathematics. Also people from Chile showed up. The Congress Conca 60 was mostly attended by prominent mathematicians from Europe, Asia, North America and South America. They all met in Bilbao (Spain) for an exceptional event: paying homage in his 60 years to their master, colleague and friend, Carlos Conca, researcher at the Center for Mathematical Modeling (CMM) of Universidad de Chile.
“It was very exciting. Firstly, I highlight the fact of having received the affection of an international community dedicated to mathematics. This makes me feel to belong to a group in which counts, not only work, but also the contribution to the society”, pointed out the National Prize of Sciences 2003.
It was a kind of celebration that the academy usually reserves only for the most renowned members. In this occasion, it gathered more than 70 people, among them relatives of the lecturer and political authorities.
“Rather than a scientific congress, we aimed to make a friends meeting with those who have been important in the career and life of Carlos, who have had a relation with him. We wanted all together to talk about his work”, said Jaime Ortega, CMM researcher and main organizer of the event.
The activity took place in collaboration with the Centro Vasco de Matemáticas Aplicadas (BCAM), institution whose members Conca has worked for 30 years with. During two intense days, the program consisted of social events and 15 conferences, which were offered, among others, by Pierre-Louis Lions, Gregoire Allaire and Axel Osses.
“Any mathematician is a bad teacher. Even more, we have the gift of teaching, and we invest time and effort in cultivating this talent”, stressed Conca in his inauguration speech, a moment that was shared with Enrique Zuazua, BCAM director.
It was a kind of celebration that the academy usually reserves only for the most renowned members. In this occasion, it gathered more than 70 people, among them relatives of the lecturer and political authorities.
“The event was excellent. There were high level participants”, said Juan Asenjo, academic of the Faculty of Physical and Mathematical Sciences (FCFM) and President of the Chilean Academy of Sciences, who described Conca’ s way of working as “deep and precise”.
Muthusamy Vanninathan, professor at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (India), said that “the congress reflected clearly Carlos Conca´s profile in three dimensions: as a mathematician, human being and family man”.
Carlos Echevarría, an old friend of Conca from the Saint Gabriel School of Santiago, did not hesitate to participate in the meeting: “We met when we were children. Our colleagues asked me to go on their behalf. Carlos deserved it. He was surprised and we both were excited when we said goodbye”.
Carlos Conca is a mathematical civil engineer from Universidad de Chile. He obtained a PhD in Mathematics in the University Pierre and Marie Curie in Paris and a Docteur d´Etat in Applied Mathematics (1982 and 1987, respectively), as well as Doctor Honoris Causa from the Universidad de Metz (France). He was given the Manuel Noriega Morales in Exact Sciences Prize in 2003 and was awarded with the Rector´s Medal Andrés Bello. The Universidad de Chile, where he has lectured for more than 40 years, recognized him twice as best professor.
His research interests are mechanical mathematics and partial differential equations. In this sense, he focuses in applied and industrial mathematics, and basic research. So, he has led projects such as Teniente converter and portable ultrasound scanner.
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