PRESS RELEASE
Do you know what the city of Krakow and Higgs boson have in common? Where fish came out of
the water? How to reconcile the left and right parts of the brain? The answer can be found on a
mathematical tree, which is on display in Brussels from today.
Brussels, 22 July. As of today, Brussels is hosting a spectacular sculpture in the shape of a tree at
Place Vieux Marché aux Grains (next to Rue Dansaert). The tree was inspired by a geometric fractal
constructed by a distinguished Polish mathematician, Wacław Sierpiński. Otherwise known as the
Sierpinski triangle, the fractal fascinated many generations of scientists. No wonder – a figure with
infinite sequences and captivating patterns.
While admiring this mesmerizing tree, Brussels’ citizens also
offers a unique trip around Poland. All it takes is to scan the QRcode placed on the sculpture and play the video. The guided
video tour is provided by three Polish scientists: prof. Agnieszka
Zalewska, the first female president of the European
Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Piotr Szrek, the codiscoverer of the traces of an animal which first walked on land
and Kinga Panasiewicz, a teenager who single-handedly
designed and studied synchronization of the hemispheres of the
brain.
The scientists share personal stories about things that inspire
their work. They reveal where they find the energy and
inspiration to work against traditional expectations of their
profession. You can learn about whether their passion is a
matter of personal ambition or a product of stubbornness and
enthusiasm, so common for Poles. The word „youthfulness” is key to understanding their attitude.
And it is not about their birth date, but rather the state of mind.
The film and the tree are being being exhibited in Brussels as part of the campaign ”Polska. Spring
into new”, which promotes Poland abroad. The campaign is linked to three important anniversaries
in 2014: the 25 anniversary of freedom, the 15th anniversary of joining NATO, and the 10th
anniversary of joining the European Union.
In addition, in September, Brussels will host a Polish exhibition design, as part of the Design
September. The exhibition will be located at the crossing of Place St. Catherine and Rue Dansaert.
For more information, please contact Kamilla Rejmer, Affaires de presse et promotion culturelle,
Ambassade de Pologne; Tel: +32 2 7804489; Fax: +32 2 736 18 81; kamilla.rejmer@msz.gov.pl
About the movie’s main characters
Agnieszka Zalewska – Professor of physics at the Institute for Nuclear Research in the Polish Academy
of Sciences in Krakow. In January 2013, she became the first woman and the first person from
Central–Eastern Europe to be President of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), a
science research Centre that has the World’s biggest accelerator – The Large Hadron Collider. In
2012, CERN informed the public that they might have found Higgs boson- an elementary particle
responsible for the existence of mass. The information was confirmed the following year.
Piotr Szrek – A paleontologist from the National Institute of Geology in Warsaw. Along with Piotr
Niedźwiedzki, he studied and described the traces of a quadruped animal, discovered in a quarry in
Zachełmie near the city of Kielce. The scientists revealed that the animal whose traces they
discovered, lived some 395 million years ago, that is 18 million earlier then the oldest known
tetrapods. The paleontologists Philippe Janvier and Gaël Clément described this revelation as
throwing a hand-grenade into the existing picture of evolution of fish into quadrupeds.
Kinga Panasiewicz - Kinga was 16 years old when she elaborated and carried out a study on the
synchronization of the hemispheres of the brain. Thanks to access to an EEG apparatus, she proved
that a set of exercises she had worked out can help in better synchronization of brain hemispheres.
This in turn leads to the improvement of memory and learning capabilities. Her work was awarded
the 2nd prize in a young scientists’ contest, the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.
About Wacław Sierpiński
Wacław Sierpiński (1882-1969) – a distinguished Polish mathematician. He is known for outstanding
contributions to set theory, number theory, theory of functions and topology. He is known to the
broader public especially as the author of a fractal called the Sierpinski triangle.
A fractal is a geometrical figure, each part of which has the same statistical character as the whole.
We come across fractals in our everyday life (all it takes is a close look at a cauliflower, for example),
but scientists became intensively interested in them at the end of the 20th century. Sierpiński was the
forerunner – he constructed and defined his triangle in 1915. 60 years before the term „fractal" came
into existence.
His biggest achievement however, was the founding of a strong science Centre in Warsaw,
associating distinguished mathematicians. Before WW2 similar scientific circles existed also in
Krakow and Lvov. Together they formed the so called Polish School of Mathematics, whose
achievements in the field of set theory, logics or functional analyses opened new horizons for
mathematicians all over the World.