Asia Pacific Mathematics Newsletter A Brief Account On the Relationship between SMF and VMS Lê Dung Tráng

he history of the link between the French Mathematical Society (SMF) and the Vietnam Mathematical Society (VMS) goes back to Tthe time Professor Lê Van Thiêm studied at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris. It was during the Second World War. He passed his thesis in Göttingen a few days before it fell in the hands of the American Army. During many years the northern part of Vietnam L Schwartz, his wife, and Ta Quang Buu in North Vietnam, 1968 was isolated from the World. Laurent Schwartz, Professor at Ecole Polytechnique, In spite of the danger of the war a man stood at the a Fields medalist (considered to be a Nobel Prize in side of Professor Lê Van Thiêm to develop Mathematics. mathematics), founded the organisation “Comités Minister Ta Quang Buu studied in France before the France–Vietnam” in 1966 and, then, joined the Tribune Second World War. He told me that he was supposed of Bertrand Russell for crimes against humanity of to study at the Sorbonne, but in order to make things the American War in Vietnam. But, only in 1967 did difficult to the French masters he decided to pass a a mathematician, Alexander Grothendieck, also a free Licence, studying some mathematics, physics, Fields medalist, visit Vietnam for the first time. Laurent literature, English. By this way he understood the Schwartz visited Vietnam in 1968. However, it was more value of science and the meaning of mathematics. At as member of the Russell’s Tribune than as a mathemati- some point he was private secretary of President Ho cian. In 1969 Laurent Schwartz arranged that Nguyen Chi Minh, then vice-Minister of Defence. In 1954, he Dinh Tri, a professor in the Polytechnique school in signed the Geneva Peace Agreement after Dien Bien engineering of Hanoi, could visit Japan from Vietnam Phu. When I met him, he was Minister of Higher to attend a Mathematical meeting. Professor André Education. In the Vietnamese government he was Martineau, a former student of Laurent Schwartz, the one who immediately understood the potential of who unfortunately passed away in 1972, came in 1970. mathematics in Vietnam. Professor Bui Trong Lieu, a Vietnamese mathematician Minister Ta Quang Buu knew who Grothendieck living in France, visited Vietnam in 1970. He organ- was. In those days no politician in the World would ised my visit in 1972. So until then, nearly no one in know who a mathematician like Grothendieck would mathematics visited Vietnam. One of the main reason be. It is rather surprising that Ta Quang Buu knew of is that Vietnam was continuously at war between 1945 him and of his mathematics. He organised the travel of and 1975. Grothendieck, although the bombings were fierce and the universities had to hold their classes in the moun- tains north of Hanoi. A young female mathematician, Ms Hoang Xuân Sinh, answered a problem conjectured by Grothendieck during his course and a few years later passed her thesis under his supervision. Later in October 1974, Ta Quang Buu helped me organise a school with Bernard Malgrange, Alain Chenciner and Frédéric Pham. For the occasion he wrote a long article on the theory of Catastrophes in the Party newspaper Nhân Dân. He welcomed the visits of Yvette Amice

Grothendieck (middle) and Hoang Tuy (far right) at the evacuated who was once President of the SMF, Jean-Louis Verdier, University of Hanoi 1967 another President of the SMF, Pierre Cartier, who later

October 2012, Volume 2 No 4 33 Asia Pacific Mathematics Newsletter

Anything which looks now obvious or easy was then extremely difficult. To arrange the timing between the visas, the arrival of the mathematicians, the reserving of a hotel room, the disponibility of an audience, the room for the lectures, the transportation, the sightseeing, all these were endless source of difficulties. I remember that it was hidden to Grothendieck that, after his visit (he lectured around 70 hours in three weeks in the mountains) the mathematics library lost more than a hundred books in a flood. First row, left to right: Hoang Tuy, Ta Quang Buu, Pham Van Dong on a visit to the Institute of Mathematics in 1978 Well, memories still flow in my head and I could endlessly speak about these earlier years. I have just visited Vietnam several times, Dacunha-Castelle, who chosen to tell them to-day so that younger generations introduced Probability and Statistics in Vietnam. In do not forget all the efforts that were put in developing relation with Japan he also organised the visit of Kyoji mathematics in Vietnam and remember the names of Saito who was in those days one of my best Japanese Lê Van Thiêm and Ta Quang Buu. friend. To end my talk, let me give you a vivid memory that Nowadays all this seems an easy achievement. I have of this early times. Young people have to understand that until the end of It was during my first visit in 1972. In those the 80’s, Vietnam was one of the poorest countries in days Tran Quynh was the Head of the Science State the World. When I came in 1972, there were less than Committee. He was not really a scientist, but he was 30 mathematicians in Mathematics in North Vietnam. a practical man and wanted good reasons to develop The most distinguished then were Professor Lê Van these relations with the outside World. I had a private Thiêm, Professor Hoang Tuy and Professor Phan Dinh meeting with him for half an hour. Then he asked me Diêu. The mathematical institute was a small room in abruptly: “Tráng, what do you want to do in Vietnam?” the State Science Committee in Hanoi. The seminars I did not know what to answer, because I did not happened in one of the universities of Hanoi. Obtaining think of any diplomatic answer, as I should have a visa was a continuous battle with the authorities. done politely. I had to show that I did not hesitate. I Arriving to Hanoi by plane or by train was difficult. I do remembered that my whole brain was concentrating not remember if Malgrange, Chenciner or Pham went to give a proper answer. Then, I answered: “I wish that through Bangkok or Vientiane. I personally came by Vietnam in 25 years can have someone receiving the train in 1972 through Siberia and China. The following Fields Medal, the award that mathematicians consider years I travelled by propeller plane through Moscow or as their Nobel Prize.” I am very sorry I made a mistake Berlin. It was taking 37 hours. of 13 years.

Lê Dung Tráng Aix-Marseilles University, France

Lê Dung Tráng is presently Emeritus Professor at University of Provence in Marseille, France. He holds the position of editor for the International Journal of Mathematics and Acta Mathematica Vietnamica. Professor Lê is an elected fellow of the Academy of Sciences for Developing Countries (TWAS) since 1993. Professor Lê, former Head of the Mathematics section at the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy, was the Directeur de Recherches of the French National Research Council (CNRS) from 1994 to 1999; Professor at the University of Paris 7 from 1975 to 1999; Maître de Conférences at Ecole Polytechnique; visiting Professor at Northeastern University, Boston, USA; Research fellow at Harvard University; and a visiting Professor at Kyoto University, Japan. Professor Lê was also the Mathematics editor of the ‘Hermann Editions’ in Paris until 2005 and the Editor of the Journal of Algebraic Geometry until 1993. He received the d’Aumale Prize from the French Academy in 1990. He authored more than 100 research papers, edited three conference proceedings and published four lecture notes.

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