Mathematics will be his job. He has known this since he was just 9 years old, after discovering the fascination of combinatorics by ‘challenging’ dad and mom with equations. His name is Lorenzo, he is Roman, and today he is only 14 years old (he was born in 2007 and since he is a minor we only disclose his first name), but to crown his dream made of numbers he is burning all the stages. And for a few weeks he has been a university student, just enrolled in the degree course in Mathematics of the University of Pisa. He was able to enroll at the University of Pisa after completing his school studies …
The mathematics it will be his job. He has known this since he was just 9 years old, after discovering the charm of combinatorial calculus ‘challenging’ dad and mom with equations. Is called Lorenzo, is Roman, and of years today it has only one 14 (he was born in 2007 and since he is a minor we only make known his first name), but to fulfill his dream made of numbers he is burning all the stages. And for a few weeks it has been one undergraduate, just enrolled in the course of degree in Mathematics of the University of Pisa. All ‘University of Pisa was able to enroll after completing his secondary school studies in Great Britain and having already attended the first year of the degree course in Mathematics at the prestigious University of Göttingen, the “city of knowledge” in Lower Saxony, which boasts among its students over 40 Nobel laureates.
He has clear ideas, Lorenzo. And two very specific objectives: “My dream – he says – is to study mathematics even as an adult and in the meantime I would like to show Italian children that there is a way to approach this subject with interest and passion”. She is a freshman, but she already speaks as a ‘prof’. “I attended mine first year of Mathematics in Germany and it was a great training experience – he says – I worked hard to pass the exams and in the meantime I also prepared the Cambridge A-Level. After passing the English high school exam, I received offers from very important universities in Italy and abroad, but I dreamed of coming to Pisa “.
Which is the University of Alessio Figalli, another genius graduate of the University of Pisa and former student of the Scuola Normale, now a professor at the Zurich Polytechnic, who in 2018, at the age of 32, was awarded the Fields medal, the international prize considered the Nobel Prize in mathematics, which is awarded every four years to four mathematicians under 40. Figalli was the second Italian to win this award, 44 years after Enrico Bombieri. In the environment it is a myth, for the Pisa University it is a source of pride. And for Lorenzo, who three years ago had already embarked on his path made of numbers and calculations, he is a kind of superhero. “For me Figalli is a bit like Superman – he reveals – even if he deals with optimal transport, to the theory of partial differential equations, and I prefer algebra”.
Meanwhile, he is studying, under the protective wing of his parents who have always supported him with pride, trying to provide Lorenzo with the best training opportunities, wings to let off the innate talents of this prodigy son who has all the numbers, it is the case to say it, to do something great. In his course, he is one of the most enthusiastic students. “The lessons started a week ago – he says – and I am happy, the level is very high and every day is a great discovery: I understand that in Pisa you study to learn how to study and do very good research”. For the rest, in the rare moments not dedicated to study, Lorenzo follows the fashions of his peers, play playstation, chat with friends and read science fiction books.
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