Rwanda: Tribute to the mathematician Augustin Banyaga

The Rwandan-American Professor of mathematics, Augustin Banyaga was honored at the “research school” last month (May 2012), by the University Cheikh Anta Diop (UCAD) in Dakar, Senegal. This was an acknowledgment of his commitment to education and research in Africa.

Augustin Banyaga

Professor Banyaga, born in Rwanda in 1947, studied at the University of Geneva, where he earned a doctorate degree  in 1976.  He is currently professor of mathematics at the University of Pennsylvania in the United States.

Prof. Banyaga is also a speaker at the International Centre for Pure and Applied Mathematics (CIMPA), an international association founded in France in 1978. The association’s  objectives include promotion of international cooperation for the benefit of developing countries in the field of higher education and research in mathematics and related disciplines, in particular informatics.

One of the main tasks of CIMPA, is to  organise  “research schools”. It generally is a seminar in which an introduction or a presentation related to  the conditions of research in the area of mathematics. These are designed for novice teachers-researchers in developing countries.

In his other work on the African continent, Prof Banyaga  was editor of the Africa Matematika  Journal  of the African Mathematical Union  but now he is a visiting professor at the the University of Benin.

Anastase Nzira

Translated by Harmonie Uwizera