
Four young researchers (S. Dhyr, A. Garcia, L. Unamuno and R.Homs) at CRM present their work in geometry, neuroscience, environmental statistics, and algebraic methods in the final SIJIMat session of the academic year.
On June 12, the Centre de Recerca Matemàtica (CRM) hosted the closing session of the SIJIMat seminar, a space designed to foster interaction among early-career researchers at the center. This final event of the academic year was a celebration of emerging mathematical talent, featuring accessible presentations and a collaborative atmosphere.
Throughout the year, SIJIMat has provided a platform for PhD students and postdoctoral researchers to share their work in an engaging and interdisciplinary format. The closing session brought together four young researchers who presented brief talks on their current projects:
- Søren Dhyr, PhD student at the CRM, gave a visual introduction to cosymplectic geometry, a branch of mathematics that studies three-dimensional spaces built from stacked planes. By adding a metric, one can analyze how angles and lengths change when moving between these planes, leading to a notion of “energy” associated with the structure. Without assuming prior knowledge of differential geometry, Dhyr guided the audience through this geometric world and introduced a recent joint work with Ángel González-Prieto, Eva Miranda, and Daniel Peralta-Salas, which investigates when this energy is minimized.
- Alexandre Garcia, also a PhD student, explored the phenomenon of bistable perception, where a single stimulus can lead to two mutually exclusive interpretations. Although perception is a fundamental brain process, the mechanisms behind this bistability remain unclear. Alexandre presented a mathematical framework developed to study these mechanisms and explained how the team validates its predictions using experimental data.
- Leire Unamuno, research technician at the CRM, focused on the link between air pollution and mental health, particularly in children and adolescents. She presented an ongoing project that investigates this association across Catalonia, explaining the general idea behind the spatio-temporal model they use and how it is implemented. Her talk highlighted the intersection of statistics, environmental health, and social impact.
- Roser Homs, Beatriu de Pinós postdoctoral fellow, introduced the field of Algebraic Statistics, which applies tools from algebraic geometry, commutative algebra, combinatorics, and computational algebra to statistical problems. Her talk focused on graphical models—statistical models where a graph encodes dependencies among random variables. She showcased a range of applications, from reconstructing phylogenetic trees to causal discovery, and concluded by addressing a fundamental question: how much data is minimally required for reliable statistical inference?
The session was a vivid reflection of the diversity and dynamism of the CRM research community. Beyond the scientific content, it strengthened connections among researchers and celebrated the collaborative spirit that drives mathematical discovery.
|
CRM CommNatalia Vallina
|
ESGI 2025: Mathematics Meets Industry at the CRM
Over the course of five days, ESGI 2025 turned the CRM into a collaborative lab where mathematics tackled questions raised by industry. From safer autonomous driving systems to smart water resource allocation and the financial uncertainties of wind...
Quatre noves figures s’incorporen a l’exposició del CRM sobre dones matemàtiques
Aquest estiu, el CRM ha ampliat fins a tretze els roll ups de la seva exposició sobre dones matemàtiques, incorporant quatre noves figures del context espanyol i català. La mostra aprofita l’afluència de visitants al centre per visibilitzar...
From Real Problems to Mathematical Applications: A Chronicle of the XI Iberian Modeling Week
From July 7 to 11, the CRM became a hub for collaborative problem-solving during the XI Iberian Modeling Week, an international training initiative that brought together nearly 30 students from diverse academic backgrounds to tackle real-world...
The Way DNA Folds Might Help Explain How Cells Decide What to Become
A new study by researchers from the University of Edinburgh, Oxford, and CRM reveals how the 3D structure of DNA and a microscopic molecular tug-of-war shape the identity of every cell in our...
The CRM hosts a new edition of the Barcelona Introduction to Mathematical Research summer school
From June 30 to July 25, 2025, the CRM is organising a new edition of the Barcelona Introduction to Mathematical Research (BIMR), a summer school hosted at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. The programme brings together 30 undergraduate...
Niclas Rieger defends his PhD thesis on data-driven climate analysis and marine pollution
Niclas Rieger defended his PhD thesis at the Institut de Ciències del Mar, culminating a research journey focused on extracting insights from both massive climate datasets and scarce environmental observations. Developed within the European CAFE...
A Day of Higher Structures in Symplectic and Poisson Geometry, with Summer Tapas at UPC Barcelona
The event "A Summer Tapas Invitation to Higher Structures in Symplectic and Poisson Geometry I", held on July 7, 2025, at EPSEB–UPC, featured talks by Alejandro Cabrera, Chenchang Zhu, Miquel Cueca, and Mario Garcia-Fernandez, offering a rich and informal exploration...
Luís Álamo, premi al millor pòster a la SFMC 2025 per un treball dirigit per Jezabel Curbelo
Luís Álamo, estudiant del màster FISYMAT de la Universitat de Granada, ha guanyat el premi al millor pòster a la conferència 3rd Spanish Fluid Mechanics Conference (SFMC25) amb un treball sobre estructures coherents Lagrangianes, basat en el seu...
Three CRM Researchers Invited to Speak at the 2026 International Congress of Mathematicians
From left to right: Xavier Cabré, Joaquim Ortega (photo by Xènia Fuentes, UB), and Xavier Tolsa. Three researchers affiliated with the Centre de Recerca Matemàtica (CRM), Xavier Cabré, Joaquim Ortega-Cerdà and Xavier Tolsa, have been invited to...
Gissell Estrada, beca Leonardo 2025 per explorar la migració col·lectiva amb matemàtiques i robots
L’investigadora Gissell Estrada Rodríguez, professora a la UPC i adscrita al CRM, ha rebut una Beca Leonardo 2025 per desenvolupar un projecte que combina matemàtiques i robòtica per estudiar la migració col·lectiva en sistemes vius i artificials....
JISD 2025 – Where Dynamical Systems Meet PDEs
JISD 2025, held at the Centre de Recerca Matemàtica (CRM) from June 30 to July 4, 2025, featured four advanced minicourses delivered by Dmitry Dolgopyat (on averaging and Fermi acceleration in dynamical systems), Serena Dipierro (on the theory of nonlocal minimal...
CERCA llança la campanya “Recerca amb orgull” per promoure la diversitat LGBTI+ en la ciència
La institució CERCA ha llançat la campanya “Recerca amb orgull” per promoure la visibilitat i la inclusió de les persones LGBTI+ en l’àmbit científic. Amb el lema “Als centres CERCA, fem ciència amb diversitat”, la iniciativa denuncia les...