Nagoya University Lecture 2025

The Joy and Beauty of Mathematics

The Nagoya University Lecture, the university’s most prestigious academic lecture series, annually welcomes world-renowned scholars as invited lecturers. For the 2025 academic year, we are pleased to announce that Professor Shigefumi Mori, Director-General of the Kyoto University Institute for Advanced Study and Distinguished Professor, will deliver a lecture entitled "The Joy and Beauty of Mathematics."

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Professor Shigefumi Mori

Born in Nagoya in 1951. After receiving his master’s degree at the Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, he served as an assistant at the Faculty of Science, Kyoto University, an assistant professor at Harvard University in the United States, a visiting professor at Columbia University in the United States, and a professor at Nagoya University, before becoming a professor at the Research Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Kyoto University, in 1990. In 2010, he was awarded the title of Distinguished Professor by Nagoya University in recognition of his achievements, including receiving the Fields Medal. From 2011, he served as Director of the Research Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Kyoto University for three years. He has also served on numerous important committees both domestically and internationally, including those related to the International Mathematical Union.

His specialty is algebraic geometry. His paper that solved the Hartshorne conjecture became a milestone in the history of mathematics, and in 1990 he became only the third Japanese to win the Fields Medal for his work on the “Mori theory” (a theory of minimal models of algebraic varieties), which was based on this paper. In the same year, he was selected as a Person of Cultural Merit by the Japanese government and received many prestigious awards, including the American Mathematical Society’s Cole Prize and the Japan Academy Prize. He was awarded the Order of Culture in 2021.

Lecture Abstract

What is the joy of mathematics? It may be fun because you receive praise when you solve a mathematics problem. However, perhaps it could be described more simply as the pleasure of having solved something, or, to analyze it further, the feeling that as soon as you change your perspective, something that was previously a mystery suddenly becomes clear, like the fog has lifted. In fact, the feelings that students experience while studying mathematics can be said to be the driving force behind research, continuing even after they decide to pursue mathematical research as their lifelong career.

Now, what is the beauty of mathematics? You might respond by asking whether such a thing exists. However, there is a beauty in mathematics that is common to other fields and even the arts. The beauty of mathematics is not just something to be displayed and admired; for researchers, it is something of vital importance that is inextricably linked to the correctness of mathematical research.

In my lecture, I will talk about these issues with concrete examples, looking back on my memories from high school and my experiences since becoming a researcher.

Event Information

[Date & Time] 2025年12月21日(Sun) 13:30 – 16:10 (Opening: 13:00)

[Venue]Toyoda Auditorium, Higashiyama Campus, Nagoya University

[Language]Japanese only

For directions to Nagoya University Higashiyama Campus, please click here.

For a detailed map to Toyoda Auditorium, please search for "豊田講堂" in the campus map keyword search.

Campus parking facilities are not available. Please use public transportation or nearby coin-operated parking lots.

[Speaker]Prof. Shigefumi Mori(Director-General of the Kyoto University Institute for Advanced Study and Distinguished Professor)

[Eligibility]Open to all (admission free)

[Registration]https://forms.gle/DEgpSYQZLfVnsTE89
The registration form is in Japanese, so please use the translation function of your browser, application, etc.

Registration deadline: Sunday, December 14. (Although sufficient seating will be arranged, registration may close earlier if the number of applications exceeds capacity.)

A reservation confirmation email will be sent from the Secretariat (iarcommon@gmail.com) in early November, early December, and again shortly before the event. Please ensure that you can receive emails from iarcommon@gmail.com.

When attending, please either bring a printed copy of the confirmation email or show the confirmation email screen on your smartphone or other mobile device to the reception staff.

Please print out your reservation confirmation e-mail or show the screen of your reservation confirmation e-mail on your smartphone or other cell phone to the reception staff when you arrive.

[Email]iarcommon@gmail.com