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The scientist, an expert in the field of mathematics and probabilities, was honored in an event that brought together students from different schools in the commune of La Granja, where he became part of the sculpture of the Paseo de la Ciencia, after unveiling a plaque bearing his name.
The Interactive Knowledge Center (which brings together the Mirador Interactive Museum, the Interactive Museum of Astronomy and the Adriana Hofmann Forest, among other spaces), paid tribute to Jaime San Martín, winner of the 2023 National Prize for Exact Sciences and researcher at the Center for Mathematical Modeling (CMM) of the University of Chile, in the Science Walkway of the museum.
Jaime San Martín receives recognition from MIM authorities, the Ministry of Science and students from La Granja. Photo: MIM.
On the day, the scientist added a plaque with his name on a sculpture that brings together these men and women who have made a great contribution to the country and the world, from this branch of knowledge. “It was a spectacular ceremony, I was very grateful to the MIM and to all the participants, it was a beautiful ceremony that touched me very deeply”, said an emotional Jaime San Martín.
The activity was attended by the Minister of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation, Aysén Etcheverry, relatives of the honoree, scientists, teachers, neighbors and elementary and middle school students of two schools Tecno Sur and Malaquías Concha of La Granja; all of whom were able to learn more about the work of this outstanding researcher, as well as the episodes of his life that led them to dedicate themselves to science and his reflections on topics to which he has devoted much of his career.
The Minister of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation, Aysén Etcheverry. Photo: MIM.
“Breaking this idea that science is something distant, that it happens only in laboratories, is something fundamental; and to be able to have this activity of Professor San Martín with school students, points precisely to that, to understand that science is close, that it is in our daily lives, that it has to do with the decisions we make, I think that was achieved very successfully today”, said the Secretary of State.
The executive director of the Fundación Tiempos Nuevos (MIM), Enrique Rivera, indicated that “this type of recognition is very important, because the knowledge that these scientists have produced can reverberate in a museum like this one; but as we well know, if that knowledge only remains in the infrastructure of this place and does not have an impact on the curiosity of the students, so that they investigate or develop knowledge that has to do with our current context, it is of no use”.
The executive director of Fundación Tiempos Nuevos, Enrique Rivera. Photo: MIM.
This event, which is being held for the ninth consecutive year at the MIM, also seeks to motivate children and young people with science, so that they feel that it is close to them, that it is linked to their daily lives and that it is not separated from other disciplines such as history or art.
Biography
The 2023 National Prize for Exact Sciences was awarded to Jaime San Martín considering his excellence, international recognition in the area of probabilities and his mathematical results that have provided a new theoretical framework for a number of other scientific disciplines. Likewise, his outstanding capacity to train mathematicians and his leadership in the creation of mathematics was evaluated.
Jaime San Martín is a mathematical civil engineer from the University of Chile, Master and PhD in Statistics from Purdue University in the United States, and is a full professor in the Department of Mathematical Engineering at FCFM, researcher at the Center for Mathematical Modeling (CMM) and scientific director of the National Laboratory for High Performance Computing (NLHPC).
His career and work in the area of Probability Theory, its connections with the analysis of partial differential equations, Discrete Potential Theory and Matrix Algebra have been highlighted. He currently leads a Latin American network in the exploration of large science databases, known as “big data”, a topic that is one of the greatest contemporary challenges.
By MIM Communications.
