Global collaboration adds up for mathematician
- Wits University
Number theory specialist Professor Florian Luca is now a CNRS Fellow-Ambassador.
The National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS – Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) is France’s national centre for scientific research.
Luca joined the School of Mathematics at Wits in 2014. He is a number theory specialist with a particular research interest in Diophantine equations and arithmetic functions.
His current research focuses on the Skolem problem and automatic word transcendence criteria, which are topics of interest not only to mathematicians but also to theoretical computer scientists.
Twice A-rated by the National Research Foundation, Luca is considered a world expert in his field by international peers.
The CNRS Fellow-Ambassador system was created in 2023. This new instrument is rooted in the tradition of the eminent ‘visiting professors’ in academia who are world-leaders in their fields.
The goals of the Fellow-Ambassador system are both to “energise French research” and to demonstrate – via the quality of world-class scientists that participate – “the attractiveness of the CNRS, doing so in a way that goes beyond simple speech,” says Alain Schuhl, Chief Scientific Officer at the CNBS.
By being present over a long-term basis within a laboratory, a Fellow-Ambassador becomes more accessible and available to interact with French researchers on scientific issues, and more broadly on how to approach research, according to CNRS. These high-calibre figures can assume a support role more spontaneously with younger scientists and doctoral students, who may not have had the opportunity to meet them in a conference.
Luca says of his nomination, “I am of course very happy and honoured to receive such a nomination. For almost 20 years, I have maintained a very good collaboration with France in general, and more particularly with Professor Yuri Bilu and his research group in Bordeaux.”
The CNRS and Wits lead numerous joint research projects, notably in Physics, Astronomy-Astrophysics, Anthropology, Palaeosciences, Environment and Ecology. In 2021, Wits University established a PhD partnership programme with the CNRS.
Professor Lynn Morris, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research & Innovation, says: “Congratulations Florian on being named a CNRS Fellow Ambassador. Thank you for continuing to bring much prestige to Wits through your research.”
Luca’s ‘portrait-interview’ for the CNRS Mathematics website follows:
What does the CNRS Fellow-Ambassador nomination mean to you?
I was very surprised to learn this. I am of course very happy and honoured to receive such a nomination. For almost 20 years, I have maintained a very good collaboration with France in general, and more particularly with Professor Yuri Bilu and his research group in Bordeaux.
Official cooperation began in 2004 as part of joint projects of ANUIES and CoNACyT on the Mexican side, where I was based at the time, and CNRS on the French side. For many years, I travelled to Bordeaux for short (a few weeks) or longer (up to three months) periods under all kinds of arrangements, from one-month professorships to "positions rouge" of the CNRS and I engaged in interesting research work with this team. Notably, 2 or 3 of these extended stays were as part of the ALGANT program , a famous international master's program of which Bordeaux is among the participants.
I ended up co-authoring articles with several French doctoral students in the laboratory. Some of my Mexican and South African doctoral students were also invited to visit Bordeaux and wrote joint articles with French doctoral students. I am happy to receive this nomination which will allow me to continue my visits to Bordeaux over the coming years.
What do you expect from this appointment?
I am happy to continue traveling to Bordeaux because we still have many projects in progress. However, I know many other colleagues in France with whom I would like to have the opportunity to interact more. I therefore plan to approach them in the near future and inquire about the possibility of visiting their laboratories for a few weeks at a time over the next three years, with the aim of identifying suitable joint research topics that could lead to interesting results in the future.
When it comes to the goals I hope to achieve, there are two different directions. On the one hand, I would like to start making my annual month-long visits soon. The first visit will probably take place in September or October in Bordeaux, I will communicate my exact dates to the CNRS by July.
On the other hand, in the coming years, I would like to organize visits to Paris, Nancy and Marseille where I have many colleagues with whom I would like to cooperate. On the African side, I would like to continue to receive visits from French colleagues or teams to give us conferences and collaborate with my colleagues and our students. If there is interest on the French side, I would like to serve as an “ambassador” and ask my university that the CNRS could open an office at Wits, which CNRS researchers could use to visit us more often.
What is IRN GANDA?
GANDA, for Geometry and Arithmetic, is an International Research Network funded by the CNRS and its partners. Born under the impetus of the numerous collaborations existing between South Africa and the University of Bordeaux, it today brings together mathematicians from France, South Africa, Denmark and Madagascar. The network is led by Fabien Pazuki, professor at the Copenhagen Institute of Mathematics and by Yuri Bilu, professor at the Bordeaux Institute of Mathematics.
Since its creation in 2018, IRN GANDA has enjoyed great success: following conferences organized in South Africa, several collaborations between researchers from the different countries involved were born. If the original partner was the University of Stellenbosch, the network has since opened up to the University of the Witwatersrand as well as the University of Antananarivo, expanding its research themes to related subjects in order to follow the scientific evolution of the country.
Both structuring and exploratory, IRN GANDA supports numerous collaborative projects, whether long-term or for shorter periods, while including thesis and sometimes Master’s students during events in order to perpetuate this dynamic. exchange in the future.