On a Saturday evening in August, two Ukrainian mathematicians, Maryna Viazovska and Masha Vlasenko, set out on a 19-hour train trip from Warsaw to Kyiv. They were en route to a conference titled “Numbers in the Universe: Recent Advances in Number Theory and Its Applications.” Symbolically, the journey served to plant a flag. The event marked the opening of the International Center for Mathematics in Ukraine, or I.C.M.U., which was established on paper in November. “The goal is to bring the world of mathematics to Ukraine and open, or reopen, Ukrainian science for the world,” said Dr. Viazovska, of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne. She won a Fields Medal in 2022 and serves as scientific lead on the center’s coordination committee.

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Persons: Maryna Viazovska, Masha Vlasenko, “, ”, Viazovska, Jean, Pierre Bourguignon Organizations: International Center for Mathematics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, European Research Council Locations: Warsaw, Kyiv, Ukraine, Lausanne, London