The Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science: fifty years of teaching, research and innovation at the UB
“This is not just a ceremony to open the academic year, it is also an act of remembrance”. With these words, Rector Joan Guàrdia opened the institutional ceremony celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the University of Barcelona’s Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science. The ceremony, which took place on 2 October in the Paranymph of the Historic Building, was attended by Dean Oriol Pujol, and former deans Josep Pla, Marta Sanz, Joan Elias, Joaquín Maria Ortega, Carme Cascante and Carles Casacuberta. The opening lecture at the start of the academic year was given by Professor Ernest Fontich, an expert in dynamical systems and one of the leading figures in the field of mathematics.
“This is not just a ceremony to open the academic year, it is also an act of remembrance”. With these words, Rector Joan Guàrdia opened the institutional ceremony celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the University of Barcelona’s Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science. The ceremony, which took place on 2 October in the Paranymph of the Historic Building, was attended by Dean Oriol Pujol, and former deans Josep Pla, Marta Sanz, Joan Elias, Joaquín Maria Ortega, Carme Cascante and Carles Casacuberta. The opening lecture at the start of the academic year was given by Professor Ernest Fontich, an expert in dynamical systems and one of the leading figures in the field of mathematics.
Under the title “Varietats invariants, els camins de la dinàmica”, Fontich began his lecture by focusing on the figure of the mathematician Henri Poincaré, “the hero of this whole story, who is one of the last mathematicians who understood all the mathematics of his time”. As Fontich recalled, “the well-known author of the three volumes of Les méthodes nouvelles de la mécanique celeste introduced asymptotic solutions, asymptotic surfaces and doubly asymptotic solutions into the world of mathematics”. In his speech, Fontich also explored the progress of knowledge in the Theory of Dynamical Systems — systems in which there is a temporal evolution — and stressed that “invariant varieties are the way to be able to study the problems of celestial mechanics and dynamics”.
Present, past and future of the Faculty
This event also featured a round table discussion with the participation of former deans Josep Pla (1990-1993), Marta Sanz (1993-1996), Joan Elias (1996-2002), Joaquín Maria Ortega (2002-2009), Carme Cascante (2009-2017), Carles Casacuberta (2017-2021) and the current dean Oriol Pujol, who reviewed the centre’s half-century of history in a dialogue chaired by journalist Carla Turró.
“The structure of the University was very different at the time when I was dean, and the role of the deans was also different. I don’t think I could do it now with the complexity of today”, recalled former dean Josep Pla, who also recalled how the change of political regime in the 1970s “forced us to rethink all the universities within the new democratic framework”.
Former dean Marta Sanz shared with the audience Josep Pla’s efforts to transform the Faculty into a much more human institution, “with some initiatives that still survive today. Regarding the difficulties that the dean’s team went through, one of the most important was linked to the decree of permanence, at a time when access to mathematics studies did not require any high marks for students”.
“Since the reform of the old curriculum in 1992, the changes have been brutal. There was a certain renewal in the way of doing things, and I remember with special interest the creation of the first website for the faculties, the incorporation of computer science studies and the creation of the UB Institute of Mathematics (IMUB)”, said Joan Elias, former dean of the Faculty — the only one to repeat his mandate — and also former rector of the UB.
The complexity and difficulties arising from the change in the curriculum with the introduction of the Bologna Plan — with all that it entailed for the university system throughout Spain — is one of the issues raised by former dean Joaquim Maria Ortega. He also highlighted the value of the White Paper on Mathematics at a time in university life when the transition from llicenciatura (bachelor’s degrees) to graus (bachelor’s degree) and master’s degrees was being forged.
The economic crisis, the reduction in the number of teaching staff and the process of implementing university degrees are elements that coincided during the term of office of former dean Carme Cascante. “There was also the process of merging the faculties, and the merger of the three departments of the faculty, which was very significant for the centre, as it allowed to break doors down within the centre to encourage collaboration between teachers”.
“In my case, I had the responsibility of guiding this ship in calmer times, with more calm”, explained former dean Carles Casacuberta. “However, let us not forget that we also had to deal with the time of the pandemic, which forced us to adapt the equipment and facilities at the Faculty. And we came out with a series of changes that, in some cases, have been maintained to the present day”.
The current dean, Oriol Pujol, said that “in the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, we are orthodox, pragmatic and institutionally loyal. We are not an abstract entity, but a collective of people who love the institution. As dean, I have found an orderly faculty, in a better economic situation than in the past”. “I believe that now is the time to promote rejuvenation policies, and to promote strategies and initiatives to project ourselves into the future. And I am particularly concerned about the challenge posed by the impact of our disciplines on society and the tunnel vision that many disciplines have”, added Pujol.
In closing the session, Rector Joan Guàrdia recalled the value of the start of the academic year in the academic world. “We are teachers, we are dedicated to teaching. Every start of the academic year, every day of class, every academic session, is totally different. This is a moment of hope and excitement in our profession of teaching”.
Regarding the process of changing the Faculty’s headquarters, the rector said that the history of the University “is linked to unfulfilled diaspora”. In his speech, he stressed the need to give the Faculty a new space to be able to grow. “We cannot allow the Faculty not to be part of the strategic scientific nucleus together with the other faculties on the Diagonal”. “There is still a lot of work to be done, but we are going in the right direction”, said the Rector.
The event also included the participation of the Choir of the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science and the projection of a video with a compilation of photographs of the Faculty since its beginnings. In the afternoon, the Science Courtyard was the setting for various fun activities, such as the butifarra (sausage) competition and a board game session organized by the UB Leisure Club, as well as a game of escape through the whole building.
Mathematics at the University of Barcelona
Mathematics studies have been present at the UB since its beginnings. In the mid-16th century, a chair of Mathematics and Astrology was created within the Faculty of Arts, although it was not until the creation of the Physics and Mathematics Section of the Faculty of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences in the mid-19th century that mathematics studies became more structured.
During the 20th century and as the Mathematics Section of the Science Faculty of the University of Barcelona, significant events took place: in 1928 the Mathematics Library was created, in 1947 the Mathematical Seminar was started and in 1948 the first issue of the journal Collectanea Mathematica appeared. Somewhat later, in 1968, the first calculus centre was created.
The Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science as we know it today was born in 1974, following the division of the former Faculty of Science (1957-73) into five faculties: Physics, Chemistry, Geology, Biology and Mathematics, and has always been located in the Historic Building, in the Science Courtyard. Since the 2003 reform, the Faculty has been organized into three departments: the Department of Algebra and Geometry, the Department of Applied Mathematics and Analysis and the Department of Probability, Logic and Statistics. In 2016, these three departments were merged into a single department under the name of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science.
In March 2023, the University, the Barcelona City Council and the Government of Catalonia signed a protocol, known as the MIES project, which foresees, among other things, the transfer of the faculty to a new building to be constructed in the Diagonal Campus.