Mathematics Journals

Brazil, a vast South American country, stretches from the Amazon Basin in the north to vineyards and massive Iguaçu Falls in the south. Rio de Janeiro, symbolized by its 38m Christ the Redeemer statue atop Mt. Corcovado, is famed for its busy Copacabana and Ipanema beaches as well as its enormous, raucous Carnival festival, featuring parade floats, flamboyant costumes and samba.

Brazil’s geography is a fascinating one. As the home of the acclaimed Amazon Rainforest, as well as the Brazilian Highlands and vast stretches of coastline, this South American country continues to impress visitors in its natural splendour and complexity. Brazil has a total surface area of 8 514 877 square kilometres (3 287 612 square miles) of which 8 459 417 square kilometres (3 266 199 square miles) is land and 55 460 square kilometres (or 21 410 square miles) is water. As such, Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world (both in terms of area and population) and occupies almost half of the entire South American continent. The coastline stretches for 7 491 kilometres (or 4 655 miles), and continues to be a major tourist attraction for the country. The shore is made up of mangroves, lagoons, dunes and spectacular coral reefs.

Brazil is the world’s fifth-largest country, Latin America’s largest economy, and an important trading partner for the U.S. The Brazilian government dominates many areas of the country’s economy, undercutting development of a more vibrant private sector, and Brazil’s four-year growth average of 4 percent has recently weakened. Government expenditures consume more than 40 percent of GDP. The pace of Brazil’s regulatory reform has slowed, and the tax burden is much heavier than in many other emerging economies. Corruption is high, private property rights are insecure, and the judicial system remains vulnerable to political influence. Brazil needs more economic freedom, and the government should eliminate barriers to entrepreneurial activity-burdensome taxes, inefficient regulation, flaws in long-term financing, and continuing government-created rigidities in the labor market.

Brown University and the Insituto Nacional de Matemática Pura e Aplicada (IMPA), a leading mathematics research institute in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, signed a memorandum of understanding Monday, March 26, 2012, to promote exchanges, conferences, and research collaborations. David Mumford, professor emeritus of applied mathematics gave a lecture at the IMPA. Young Brazilian mathematician Artur Avila is one of the four 2014 recipients of the prestigious Fields Prize – recognized by academics as the equivalent of a Nobel Prize. It is awarded by the International Mathematical Union and the winners were announced 13th August. First awarded in 1936 and then every four years since 1950, the medal is awarded to between two and four researchers, who must be no older than 40, because Fields wanted to encourage the winners to strive for “further achievement” as well as recognise their success. The Brazilian Journal of Probability and Statistics is an official publication of the Brazilian Statistical Association and is supported by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (IMS). Starting in 2012, the Journal will publish four issues a year, in February, May, August and December. The Journal publishes papers in applied probability, applied statistics, computational statistics, mathematical statistics, probability theory and stochastic processes. The Bulletin of the Brazilian Mathematical Society was relaunched in 1989 in a new edition and international editorial board. This journal publishes high quality papers in mathematics.