Digging deeper into the math

Khadim War of Senegal says he had very good mathematics teachers at Gaston Berger University in Senegal. But he could only work so closely with his talented professors because the university's tight budget made it so they were always busy.

War grew up in Louga, Senegal, and received his university education in Saint Louis, Senegal. "I had a very nice life there in St. Louis and Louga," said War. War recalls that, despite the busy environment, several educators at Gaston Berger were especially influential in his decision to pursue mathematics, including his professors Mamadou Sy, Ngalla Djitte and Abdou Sene. When War got the highest grade in his class, they asked him what he wanted to do with his mathematics knowledge. "I said I didn't want to do engineering and so on. I wanted to do research," he said, and that's when he received the opportunity by the university to come to ICTP, which is only offered to one student a year.

Now he is working on dynamical systems. Dynamical systems are any object in which a number undergoes a complex change over time, for example, the amount of water flowing through a river or the amount of leaves blowing through the air. War's work is more purely mathematical than those examples. He's looking at two dynamical systems relate to each other - specifically, how a dynamical system based on a geometric object called a uniform hyperbolic set relates to mathematical models that self-assemble.           

War is thankful to be working now in an environment where he can work on his studies closely with mentor figures. "Here for example at any time my professor is free I can go discuss things with him," said War. "Sometimes, in Senegal, professors are very busy doing other things." He's also had the chance to hear and meet more professional mathematicians and discuss dynamical systems with various mathematicians who have done work on that very topic.

He wants to get a Ph.D. in mathematics and hopes to spend his career in an environment similar to ICTP. But he still misses his home in Senegal, a place where he says people are more open with each other, and it's like having a huge family.