Tomas Garza relates how the Research Center for Applied Mathematics Systems and Services in Mexico became the Research Institute for Applied Mathematics and Systems and what the type of work performed is

Prieto, A.

English

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NASA TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM NASA TM-75657
TASK FORCE ON APPLIED MATHEMATICS
Angelica Prieto
Translation of "El grupo de tratajo en matematicas
aplicadas," Ciencia y desarrollo, Wo. 26, May - June •
1979, PP 7-9
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
WASHINGTON, D. C. 205*1-6 JULY 1979
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19790020782 2020-03-11T19:14:47+00:00Z
TASK FORCE ON APPLIED MATHEMATICS
Angelica Prieto
Tomas Garza relates how the Research Center for Applied /!'•
Mathematics_, Systems and Services became the Research Institute
for Applied Mathematics and Systems^ and what is the type of
work that is being developed there.
The Research Institute for Applied Mathematics and Systems
((IIMAS) Institute de Investigaciones en Matematicas Aplicadas y
en Sistemas} of the National Autonomous University of Mexico
((UNAM) Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico} lodges approxi-
mately 100 researchers and technicians, says its director, doc-
tor Tomas Garza. What should be emphasized — continued Garza —
is the novel structure of the IIMAS, as there are almost no other
institutions in the world covering fields so dissimilar.
Doctor Tomas Garza studied Mathematics at the Faculty of
Sciences of the UNAM. He attended the University of Cornell for
two years and the University of London for three; in the latter
he obtained his doctorate in Statistics. Upon his return to Mexi-
co, he took charge of a teaching program in El Colegio de Mexico
(The College of Mexico) and, at the end of 1970, he again joined
the UNAM as assistant director in the area of research in the
then newly created Centra de Investigaciones en Matematicas Apli-
cadas, Sistemas y Servicios ((CIMASS) Research Center for Applied
Mathematics, Systems and Services.)
— What Das the status of Mathematical Research in those
days?
— Traditionally, the interest in Mathematics in the Univer-
* Numbers in the margin indicate pagination in the foreign text.
sity had been oriented to its more abstract aspects, fields that
are very difficult and in which the most prominent mathematicians
are working. Those difficulties were increased in Mexico due to
its incipient scientific development, the lack of experience of
local mathematicians, the isolation, and the difficult access to
the bibliography of the most recent studies. The study of what
could have been called Applied Mathematics was completely abandon;
it was only at the Faculty of Engineering where these topics were
touched upon in a tangential way, and then only to solve specific
problems.
— How did the CIMASS come into existence?
— You see, due to a fortuitous circumstance, the UNAM was
the first Latinamerican university, or firm, to have a computer,
about 1958. Furthermore, as another product of chance, between
1970 and 1971 there was a gathering of people that had studied
branches of science overseas, these fields were very little known
in Mexico (statistics, computation, the Theory of Probability, dif-
ferential equations) and they decided to work together. It was
a heterodox group that did not follow the orientation of profes-
sional mathematicians, nor was it influenced by engineers. Then
came the time when university officials decided to create the
Research Center for Applied Mathematics, Systems and Services
(CIMASS), that would fulfill a double function: i.e. supply com-
putation services to the university community, and start perform-
ing autonomous research in several disciplines, which was later
to be called Applied Mathematics. I was appointed as assistant
director in the area of research.
The group developed rather quickly, and the CIMASS was di-
vided into a research section (CIMAS) and a service section (the
Centre de Servicios de Compute (Center for Computation Services)),
although it was still one center. The university's concept of a
oenteT is an incipient group trying to develop a new area; the
center is created by a resolution of the headmaster, and as such,
it may, also by a resolution of the headmaster, disappear, if con-
ditions make it necessary. The center is to be flexible, and it
will be maintained only if it gives signs of being adequately
directed and structured. If so, it will deserve to be formalized
within the university and transformed into an institute, which,
according to the University's by-laws will have a certain im-
plicit permanency. And, as a matter of fact, the research center,
founded in 1973, was promoted to the status of research institute
in 1976 by university legislation, and now its name is Research
Institute for Applied Mathematics, and Systems (IIMAS).
— What were the objectives of IIMAS in the beginning?
— This will lead us to talk about the researchers' duties. /8
In fact I may answer your question as follows: from the beginning
we tried to do research work. When we started in 1971, my col-
leages and I did not worry about performing very transcendental
research work; what we had to do was to insure the long term sur-
vival of the group. It was not easy, it is never an easy task to
start a group, especially in such a large structure like this uni-
versity. The birth of this group provoked much suspicion, even
certain hostility, I would say, on the part of some other groups.
One of the reasons for this, I believe, was quite legitimate: i.e.
it was to be a new burden to the resources assigned to research.
Therefore, we started a very ambitious plan for the formation of
human resources. We called upon mathematics and physics students
in their first years of study, and occasionally on engineering
students, in order that they would associate with us as research
assistants. The title was their only payment, since there were
no funds to pay them a salary. It was a sort of proselytism,
almost to a personal level. We were able to assemble about twenty
young persons, very well chosen: i.e. good students, enthusiastic
and responsible, which allowed us to assume that in the end they
were to be integrated into the original group. We were very sue-
cessful, since many of the Institute's current researchers come
from that group of assistants. This has permitted us to enjoy,
in a way, a esprit de corps' like the french would say. The peo-
ple that work at the Institute are deeply rooted. It is very rare
to have a change, as is frequently observed elsewhere. There are
more people wishing to enter than wishing to leave.
— How did IIMAS progress later on?
— IIMAS has grown in a very spontaneous way, but, at the
same time, in a very natural way. There has not been artificial
creations, since each new area appeared because the conditions
were already set for it to occur. A series of systematic studies
were begun on topics that were practically never touched upon
before in Mexico, such as the Theory of Probability, and numeri-
cal analysis. We have specialists in fields that can hardly be
accepted as belonging to applied mathematics, ranging to experts
in essentially practical matters, for example, digital electronics
(that which deals with problems related to computers, to distin-
guish it from telecommunications electronics) and inbetween we have
a great variety of fields, since the fertilization of ideas is
something very big. Problems have appeared and have simply been
resolved due to the fact that the occupants in the adjoining of-
fices had completely different specialties. I am convinced that
the effect of a well organized task force is much larger than the
sum of its components taken individually. It occurred to us that
a very effective way to develope the work of the group would be
to pose extremely complicated problems; the solutions to which
were not to depend on one person alone or even on specialists in
one area. Problems in which persons with different backgrounds
and specialties would intervene.
— On what basis did you choose to work on projects such as
the one on Remote Perception, or on the Sismological Network, and
some others at the IIMAS?
— The projects that you have just mentioned, such as the
one on Remote Perception, are simply samples of intricate prob-
lems. Remote Perception technology involves aspects that range
from the launching of a satellite up to the processing of images
for their analysis. We had to gather persons that knew computa-
tion, electronics, more or less abstract-mathematics, statistics,
persons that were able to solve those problems. Why did we choose
those projects? I would say because they were there; it was very
casual. They are interesting projects of course, but there was
no external motivation from someone that proposed them to us for
a solution. Rather, they were borne out of the interest of one
or two persons within the Institute.
— Are there other centers or institutes in Mexico, where
the type of research being perfomed here at IIMAS on Applied Math-
ematics is also carried out?
— In Mexico there are no other properly called institutes
where Applied Mathematics are being developed, actually there are
very few centers where any kind of mathematics research is being
performed. There is the Mathematics Institute of the UNAM, the
Research and Advanced Studies Center of the National Polytechnic
Institute (Centro de Investigacion y Estudios Avanzados del Insti-
tute Politecnico Nacional~) and the groups, more or less incipient,
of the Iztapalapa Unit of the Metropolitan Autonomous University
(Unidad Iztapala de la Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana}. I
feel it is not necessary to mention the rest, because they are
either isolated individuals or their research is at a very elemen-
tary level. I think that only at IIMAS there is Applied Mathema-
tics research. But not only that, there is not another center in
Mexico with the variety of things we perform here, from rather
abstract aspects of applied mathematics to concrete questions.
Not one center, I believe, maintains a group of specialists so
heterogeneous.
— At the international level, is the IIMAS research compet-
itive in its quality?
— I think it would be worthwhile to give an explanation
before answering. Your question, the way you put it, is well
phrased: competitive in quality. What is quality in research?
Quality in research means clarity in the definition of the prob-
lem; information on the development and solution of the problem
worldwide, that is, access to specialized literature, with its
knowledge and domain; methodologic responsability, that is, ade-
quate selection of techniques that have to be employed to solve
the problem. All these, is what a would call quality in research.
Now comes the answer. Under the terms of that quality, I would
say that the personnel of IIMAS that work on problems that may be
internationally compared, are, in effect, in a: more or less compet-
itive situation. Under no circumstances would I dare to say that
the Institute has specialists of the highest international recog-
nition, but certainly the fact taht the results of research per-
formed here are being published in magazines with international
prestige, indicates that yes, we are in a competitive situation /9
and that the IIMAS is already being recognized as a serious re-
search senter.
— And what are the necessary qualifications to get pub-
lished by a magazine, with international prestige?
— A series of requisites, one of them is that you should
be working with problems not yet solved. Last year approximately
forty-five articles from the Institute were published by serious
international magazines in several areas. Half of the research
team is dedicated to the study of unsolved problems and the other
half is trying to understand the already solved problems and try-
ing to find applications in the local environment. For example,
once, when I was explaining to a distinguished Mexican official
about what the Remote Perception project consisted of, he told me:
"My friend, that has already been done by NASA," his intention
was to ma'ke me aware, perhaps, of the fact that we were wasting
our time, trying to solve that problem. But to me, his words
were very flattering; if we have here the technical capacity to
solve a problem previously solved by NASA, then we are O.K. You
see, the reason is that many of these results are not in the pub-
lic domain, as is the case with a great portion of the technology
developed in the United States or in other advanced countries.
The second group of people, the one that is not dedicated
to compete in the "major leagues", but rather to deal in problems
already solved in order to develop technology here, has great im-
portance, because it takes us out of the position we were in be-
fore. To illustrate this I would like to tell you that practically
any of the different technologies that are already of common use
in Mexico (such as electric energy, railroad transportation, the
automobile, the airplane, and television) were developed over fif-
ty years ago. However, even though we assume that we know how to
do all those things, we cannot do them. Simply, it is not being
done. That is why it is very important to cross the line between
know-how and being able to do it, pass from one to the other.
There lies, is part, the value of the research centers in Mexico,
and it is a part of what we want to do, I don't know with how much
success.
— What has been the effect of IIMAS existence, and the fact
that research in the field of applied mathematics is being carried
out in Mexico? What are the implications for the future?
— It would be extremely presumptuous for me to say that the
existence of a research group such as ours has contributed chan-
ges in the country's situation. If you wish a very honest answer,
I would say that it has not modified anything. Here, we are ap-
proximately 100 researchers and technicians, in what ways can we
change the general aspect of our country? In no way. However,
I believe that we should look at this as a seed. What should be
pointed out is the novel structure of the IIMAS, as there are al-
most no institutuions in the world that cover fields so dissimilar.
We have a department called the Mathematics and Mechanics Depart-
ment, where there are around six to eight mathematicians that per-
form very abstract studies, occupying themselves with problems
related to functional analysis, or quantum mechanics, or problems
on physical mathematics. Within the same organization and build-
ing, there are numerical analists, statisticians, computation and
electronics specialists, in brief, a variety of individuals nour-
ished from the same budget, that make decisions and many times
solve problems together. In spite of its originality, in IIMAS
we are only one hundred people, while in the United States, for
example, there are approximately 200 to 300 centers for research
in the same fields. These numbers suffice to show that it would
be very risky to say that such a small group like ours is going to
have an effect in a short period of time.. If we preserve the struc
ture and work rythm that we have at present, and we worry about
contributing to the formation of more and more specialists, it is
possible that in twenty or twenty-five years the effect of what is
being done here will be perceptible. I think that the existence
of center such as this one is absolutely necessary. However, it
is not, by far, sufficient. We are performing our work because
we know it is very important -, but it is. not the most important one,
and certainly, it is not the only one.
— In reference to the preocupation in the formation of
specialists, are there postgraduate courses at IIMAS?
— Yes, that aspect of the training preocupies us very much.
We are, I would say, desperately trying to train individuals, and
we are doing it at several levels. We are continuing with the
plan of attracting very young students as our associates so that
they may learn at a very early age. We also participate, indi-
vidually in teaching at schools such as the Faculty of Sciences
8
and the Faculty of Engineering. We have, likewise, designed train-
ing programs in a sp-ecial way for individuals that may wish to
come here for six months or one year to learn a specific technique.
And, finally, we are in charge of two teaching degree programs,
one in statistics and the other in computation.
— Do you have interchange programs with other universities
or research centers abroad, so as to be able to employ researchers
in fields you are interested in?
— Yes, we have very close contact with universities world-
wide, particularly in the United States and Canada. The purpose
is to exchange experiences in the areas where the two institutions
involved are working on. Foreign specialists come here, or our
personnel travels abroad to study for more or less extended periods
We are very satisfied with these relationships, because now, in
effect, they are carried out in a relatively equal level. We deal
in equal terms with our American, Canadian, and European friends,
and there .is no sign of the odious paternalism noticeable in the
international relations of many of our country's institutions,
where the Mexicans are the meek and the foreigners are the sages
who come to teach them. For me it is a pleasure to say that in
our case, we have always tried to deal on an equal basis.
STANDARD T I T L E PAGE
1. Reporl No.
NASA TM-75657
2. Government Access ion No. 3. Recipient 's Cotolog No
4. T i t le and Subtit le
TASK FORCE ON APPLIED MATHEMATICS
5. Report DoleJuly, 1979
6. Performing Organization Code
7. Author(s)
Angelica Prieto
6. Performing Organization Report NO.
10. Work Unit No.
9. Performing Organization Nome and Address
Leo Kanner Associates,
Redwood City. CA 94065
) 1. Contract or Grant No.
NASw-3199
12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address
National Aeronautics and Space Admin-
istration, Washington, B.C. 20546
13. Type of Report and Period Covered
Translation
14. Sponsoring Agency Code
15. Supplementary Notes
Translation of "El grupo de t'rabajo en matematicas aplicadas,1
Ciencia y desarrollo, No. 26J May - June 1979, PP 7-9
16. Abstrocl
Doctor Tomas Garza is interviewed by a reporter. He relates
how the Research Center for Applied Mathematics, Systems
and Services became the Research Institute for Applied
Mathematics and Systems, and what is the type of work
that is being developed there.
17. Key Words (Selected by Author(s)) 18. Distribution Statement
Unclassified-Unlimited
19. Security dossil, (of this report)
:
 Unclassified
20. Security Classi f . (of this page)
Unclassified
21- No. of Pages
11
22. Prie
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