Mathematics is the engine of love, justice and progress. That is the definition given to the science of structures, sequences and relations by those who pursue it professionally.

Mediamax and Foundation for Armenian Science and Technology (FAST) jointly present the MathArt project that tells the stories of talented mathematicians from Armenia and their work. Mathematics holds key importance in the modern world and we hope that MathArt project will inspire young Armenians to choose a career in mathematics.

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Gold medalist of the International Mathematics Competition Grigor Kerobyan was born in Yerevan and lived in Samtskhe-Javakheti (Georgia) until the age of 15, where his parents were assigned to teach mathematics at local school. It was them who taught him to love “the queen of sciences”. Now Grigor is studying advanced mathematics, and he imagines his future in Armenia, going along with the development of math in the country.

Discovering the global role of mathematics

Mathematics was everywhere in my life as long as I can remember: in the school, at home, in the yard. I was still a pupil when I started participating in contests and found it really exciting. In the 9th grade I decided to have a career in mathematics and got admitted into Shahinyan School of Physics and Mathematics.

New achievements in mathematics just cemented my love for the science and I got admitted to the Department of Informatics and Applied Mathematics of Yerevan State University (YSU) after graduating from school. This year I started my master’s program at the department, “Applied statistics and data science”.

Grigor Kerobyan

Photo: Mediamax

I chose that program because I wanted to get involved in something that combines fundamental and applied sciences. I like the program very much, especially because it’s closer to science.

I tried to focus solely on coding before, but I realized I needed more and I was fonder of pure mathematics. It’s important to me to get fundamental knowledge, as it enables me to take my education further in any direction. Besides, data science and machine learning are perspective fields.

Grigor Kerobyan

Photo: Mediamax

I like the process in math. For instance, you might search for a solution to a problem for so long that your head is close to exploding, but a few days later you find it! It’s an entertaining process, a pleasure for any math lover.

The gold medal and its flip side

Success in contests is not easy. It comes as a result of hard work. I recall dedicating most of my time to studies for the contests when I was in school, and I know I wouldn’t win otherwise.

Our team took 3 gold and 3 silver medals in the 26th International Mathematics Competition in Bulgaria. It was my first international contest.

Grigor Kerobyan

Photo: Mediamax

Last year I went to the international contest too but didn’t pass the qualifying round. I used to think that it was advanced math, there would be many strong contestants and I would find it hard to compete. I’m happy we got such a result this year. We solved 7 problems in 5 hours in the qualifying round, and based on these results, our team was formed. Afterwards we started training with our teacher Karen Keroyan. The training was intense, and it took two months.

Grigor Kerobyan

Photo: Mediamax

We stayed in Bulgaria for 6 days. The competition kicked off on the following day after the opening ceremony. The teams competed for two days, solving 5 problems in 5 hours each day. On the next two days, the teams could appeal the results, and on the last day we attended the closing ceremony. I was really happy to win the gold medal.

The problems were from advanced mathematics, mathematical analysis, etc. The level of complexity grew consistently from problem to problem.

Grigor Kerobyan

Photo: Mediamax

There was a particularly noteworthy moment: Albert from our team didn’t solve the 4th problem but solved the 5th, which was actually more difficult. It turned out there was a simpler solution for the 5th than the one intended by the organizers, but even the jury did not think of it, and Albert did.

International contests are interesting in terms of meeting new people and trying to understand how math “lives” in other countries, how they develop the science.

Marie Taryan speaking with Grigor Kerobyan

Photo: Mediamax

Schools should teach love for math

Armenia is a small country without natural resources and we need to focus on people, on brains. Knowledge and science are what can open the doors for us.

All parts of the system must work to develop mathematics. I think the state has to pay special attention to schools. We have some schools that teach math well, but if it is a systematic approach, if all schools teach to love mathematics and get the pupils interested in it, we will have much better results in the future.

Grigor Kerobyan

Photo: Mediamax

I believe the interest towards math is low in schools now. The schools need to motivate the pupils, show them the attractive sides of mathematics and explain how important it is for the development of both individuals and the country. They don’t have to become mathematicians, but good knowledge of math can make it easy for them to succeed in other fields. Textbooks have to be interesting for the pupils. For instance, they can give more practical problems to solve.

Armenia should upgrade higher education too. A good pupil has to receive good education in the university, so we need to install new programs and increase efficiency of practical lessons, because you learn more during those.

Anyway, I’m happy to see other young people are getting interested in mathematics and thinking of how we can advance science.

FAST Foundation is the general partner of the project 

Marie Taryan

Photos by Emin Aristakesyan