Hello everybody, my name is Jan Brezina (ヤンブレジナ)and I’m an associate professor at Kyushu University since October 2018. I come from Czech Republic（チェコ）, which is a small country in the center of Europe. In Japan it is best known for its music (アントニン・ドヴォルザーク、ベドルジハ・スメタナ)、football (パベル・ネドベド) , golden Olympic winners ( Tokyo 1964 ベラ・チャスラフスカ, Nagano 1998 アイスホッケーチーム, Tokyo 2020 ルカシュ・クルパレク) and the best beer in the world (ピルスナー・ウルケル).

However, I have been living in Japan since April 2009. I came here as a MEXT scholar and obtained my PHD in mathematics from Kyushu University in 2013. I then moved to Kanagawa and I was working at the math department of Tokyo Institute of Technology for almost 5 years. After that I have moved back to Kyushu and started to work at the Faculty of Arts and Science (基幹教育), School of Interdisciplinary Science and Innovation（共創学部）and the Faculty of Mathematics (数理学府). 

Our modern day lives heavily depend on technology that helps us not only with boring and repeated tasks (machinery) but also with communication (smart devices) and understanding of the world around us (scientific research). None of this would be possible without MATHEMATICS. MATH is the key tool used daily in both theory and application of any science (Natural, Social or Formal sciences). To give you a better idea I recommend you watch this short YouTube video called The Map of Mathematics. (https://youtu.be/OmJ-4B-mS-Y)

 It is therefore important for everyone to have a basic correct understanding of math. Unfortunately, there is a big misconception among people (including some university students) about what mathematics is and its importance. As a part of my job in Kyushu University I investigate new methods how to teach mathematics to students so that they would get some basic understanding and appreciation for mathematics even though it’s not their major. 

I’m a theoretical mathematician that studies qualitative and quantitative properties of partial differential equations that come from fluid mechanics. That is a mouthful I know. Let me try to explain a little bit. Nature in its abundance and diversity seems to like to create and repeat PATTERNS. You may observe the same pattern in running water, smoke coming from a campfire or in a school of fish. Mathematics can describe this pattern using so called partial differential equations. Indeed, the parameters of the equations will vary depending on where it comes from or what exactly they describe, however the main information is the same. In such way partial differential equations allow us to mathematically describe natural phenomena of almost any kind. Theoretical mathematicians like me then study properties of the equations themselves and try to understand their inner workings and usability.