The Department of Mathematical Physics: a legacy of excellence
The Department of Mathematical Physics (DFMA) was established in 1977 under the leadership of Prof. Hersch Moysés Nussenzveig, who had returned to Brazil after a long stay at the University of Rochester, USA, taking on the position of full professor at the Department of Nuclear Physics of the Physics Institute of the University of São Paulo. The establishment of this new department restored the workspace of a group of seventeen theoretical physicists who, before the university reform of 1970, had been linked to different chairs in the former Physics Department of the School of Philosophy, Sciences and Letters of the University of São Paulo, and survived the process of compulsory retirements triggered for political reasons at the end of 1968, which particularly affected Prof. Jayme Tiomno, whose name today identifies the seminar room of the DFMA.
The history of DFMA has been marked by prominent figures in Brazilian Physics. The legacy of these researchers is a department that was, and continues to be, considered one of the best scientific research centers in Brazil. Since its inception, DFMA has assumed the vocation of doing Basic Science in a broad sense: from the foundations of Quantum Mechanics to applications in Biology and Medicine; from Elementary Particle Physics to Cosmology and Astrophysics; from Mathematical Physics to Quantum Computing.
In addition to contributing at the highest level to the advancement of Science in Brazil, DFMA also has a long tradition of excellence in teaching Physics. Among the textbooks produced by DFMA professors are some of the best and most well-known texts in Brazil, such as Curso de Física Básica, by Moysés Nussenzveig. Several others were also awarded the Jabuti Prize, such as Thermodynamics, by Walter Wrezsinski, Quantum Mechanics, by Antônio Piza, Quantum Field Theory, by Marcelo Gomes, and Electrodynamics, by Josif Frenkel. DFMA also stands out in the dissemination of Brazilian science, with books and colloquia of national and international scope, such as the Invitation to Physics.
Prof. Hersch Moysés Nussenzveig
