Ecuadorian Mathematical Society

The start of the scholarly mathematics history in Ecuador goes back to the year1869, when the first technical university “Escuela Politécnica Nacional” was established as a part of the former Central University “Santo Tomás” in Quito. The first Ecuadorian Faculty of Mathematics was a constitutive part of this new higher education foundation. Its initial scholastic activities were facilitated by the German and Italian scholars Revd. Johannes Baptist Menten, Revd Teodor Wolf and Revd Luis Sodiro. For additional than a century, courses on mathematics were offered at universities only as support for building and similar careers. This changed in 1975 when the Department of Mathematics was created at the – in the meantime independent-National Technical University “Escuela Politécnica Nacional” in Quito, with the enthusiastic help of Prof. Bernard Chevreau and Prof. William Voxman who spent three and one years in Ecuador, respectively. A first generation of Ecuadorian mathematicians were educated there and were afterwards supported for graduate concentrates abroad. Subsequent to getting their Ph.D. degrees at universities in Europe and the United States, some of these mathematicians come back to Ecuador during the 80's. Most of them joined the Department of Mathematics at EPN as professors, while others supported the formation of new careers in mathematics and at other Ecuadorian universities.

              The Ecuadorian Mathematical Society was formed in 1967 at the initiative of some enthusiastic professors interested in the fostering of mathematics in Ecuador. Initially, its main goal was the change of the quality of education in mathematics at all levels countrywide. Later on, this objective was extended and since then the SEdeM is expected to provide an environment where Ecuadorian mathematicians can trade thoughts and devise concrete actions aiming at the enhancement of the general foundation conditions for both exploration and training in mathematics in Ecuador. From 41 members in 2006, the Ecuadorian Mathematical Society expanded that number to a total of 135 up to date.

Research in pure and applied mathematics in Ecuador has increased significantly during the recent years. From 15 international refereed articles composed by Ecuadorian mathematicians up to the year 2000, the number has expanded to 88 up to the present. The publications showed up in leading journals like SIAM Journal on Control and Optimization and Journal of Algebra or the proceedings of the American Math. Nowadays, the different mathematics divisions have active researchers in areas like discrete mathematics, numerical analysis, advancement, among others.