Semac - 2007, IME-USP / Brazil

In 2007, Augusto M. Barbati e Viviane L. Maranhão and I worked together to organize the first Computational and Applied Mathematics Week (in Portuguese, "Semana da Matemática Aplicada e Computacional" ) at the University of São Paulo, in Brazil. It was an amazing opportunity, especially if we take into account that applied mathematics departments sometimes do everything but apply the mathematics they develop.

Back then we had to do everything - from talking to the head of the departments, to figuring out a website and arranging speakers for the event - after all, we had a meager budget.

In addition to all that, we had to design the events' logo, of which I was the lucky one responsible to take care of: I ended up drawing the above figure, inspired by the "impossible geometry" paintings of M. C. Escher, the "cartoonish" drawings of Keith Haring (like this one), and coffee, a constant necessity in our daily students' life.

The drawing ended up printed in the event shirt. The idea of an "anomalous/impossible topological transition" (an obstruction due to homology theory), where something with no handles (the boy) is morphed into a coffee mug, was the source of great amusement and endless conversations with students of other majors, some of which not only showed up for the talks but also bought the shirt.

Both event and shirt were a major success among the students. Years after the event I would still see people around with the event's shirt.

A subsequent edition was organized in 2013. I wish it keeps going on (with smaller periodicity between them, for sure).