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Like many distinguished people in their fields, Ali Al-Baklouti, a professor at the Tunisian University of Sfax, has been passionate about mathematics since middle and high school, so that studying this field was his first choice in university education, and he continued the path of excellence and creativity, which recently culminated in the prestigious “Pfizer” Prize for Scientific Research for the year 2024. , awarded by the British Royal Academy.
Although he received this prestigious international award, as the first Arab to receive it, the disease of vanity did not creep into him, and he did not consider this award a personal honour, as much as it was a tribute to the system of higher education and scientific research in Tunisia.
Al-Baklouti spoke about his relationship with mathematics, which goes beyond the scope of scientific research to interfere in all the details of his life, as every detail is managed using the data and results approach. He revealed that sometimes the mathematical theories he is thinking about steal sleep from his eyes, and he wakes up to write down some of the ideas that came to his mind. .
He believes that mathematics, which is always described as stereotypical and dry, intervenes in many sciences, and that much of his research is based on this approach, through which he tries to combine mathematics with other sciences.
Al-Baklouti did not forget to point out that one of the reasons that creates estrangement between students and mathematics is the method of teaching it, explaining the reform “prescription” from his point of view, which should focus on the applied dimension of mathematics… and the text of the dialogue.
Let's start with the Pfizer award you received. What does it mean to you?
It means a lot on the national and personal level, as it is a certificate of success for the national system of research and training, and on the personal level it is an acknowledgment of the excellence of my research work and its rise to the level of this prestigious scientific award.
Can you describe the moment you received the news of your victory?
They were very happy moments and I experienced great joy with my wife as soon as I received the email informing me of the win. The Pfizer Prize had previously been won by great scientists such as Newton, Castelli, Monge, and Ombre, and it was a great honor for my name to be included in the list of recipients. As the first Arab to receive this honor, I am excited to receive the award in 2025, as this event will be a defining moment in the history of African and Arab scientific research.
Early passion for mathematics
Your excellence in a difficult field such as mathematics is certainly the result of an intense passion for this science that was formed in the early stages of your academic life. What was the spark that ignited this passion?
(In an enthusiastic tone) Like many who have achieved tangible successes in their specialty, my passion for this science has been formed since middle school, and during the baccalaureate stage I was passionate not only about solving mathematical exercises, but also searching for different methods of solving, other than the conventional ones, so after I… I obtained my baccalaureate, followed my passion and joined the Faculty of Science in Sfax, to study mathematics, even though I could have joined other faculties such as medicine and engineering, and because I study what I love, I excelled in college, completed my graduate studies in France, and returned to teach at the University of Sfax.
Your enthusiasm when you talk about your passion for this science may not be palatable to some who see mathematics as a stereotypical and dry science. What is your response to these people?
It is true that mathematics is dry, because it depends on the mind, thinking, reasonableness, and self-analysis, but it can be made interesting by highlighting its applications, without which humanity would not have achieved any progress in scientific research and technology. It is the locomotive of science, and there is no science that does not depend on it, even the humanities. , which requires special statistics to analyze the results.
The revolution now taking place in the field of artificial intelligence is based on this science as well, which also played a role in the production of mobile phones and plasma screens. Therefore, statistics in France, for example, indicate that mathematics alone is responsible for providing 10,000 annual job opportunities. .
One of the reasons I was awarded the last award is that my research focuses on the relationship between mathematics and other sciences, so I focused on the impact of mathematics on other sciences such as theoretical physics, quantum mechanics, histology, and biological cells.
The applied dimension in teaching
Unfortunately, teaching mathematics in the Arab world lacks this approach that shows the relationship between mathematics and other sciences. This is why it remains, in the eyes of some students, a boring science. Do we need a revolution in the method of teaching it?
(Nodding in agreement) I completely agree with you. We need a revolution in teaching mathematics. This science is advanced, and the theories that were prevalent in the seventies are no longer valid now, and teaching must develop with the development of science.
How does teaching develop?
This issue preoccupies us at the Tunisian Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters (House of Wisdom), of which I work as a member, and what we have concluded is that the teaching method requires attention to the applied dimension, so that the student knows what is behind the theory in terms of applications at the level of the various sciences, such as mechanics, engineering, medicine, and others. As for the focus, Just on the theoretical side when teaching, this would bore the students.
How did your research focus on this applied aspect?
There is a difference between research and teaching. My research is theoretical, and one of its most prominent areas is “Lee group theory”, which is a branch of mathematics, named after the Norwegian mathematician Sophos Lee, and plays a crucial role in various fields of mathematics, physics, engineering, and quantum mechanics.
But when I teach, the applied dimension is present by highlighting the applications of science in nature, physics, artificial intelligence, cryptography, and other sciences to create a passion for this science in the student.
Scientists raised the ceiling of ambition
How do you feel your cultural background has shaped your approach to mathematics?
(He is silent for a moment) The passion for a science is very personal, and I could have enrolled in other colleges, but I preferred to study mathematics, and this passion is the main reason for success and obtaining the Pfizer Prize, as the first Arab scientist to receive it.
Although the passion is subjective, as you say, it is certain that there are scholars in the field who have ignited it more and more. Who are they, and did you wish to work with them?
(Smiling) In my career, I was passionate about many scientists, and I actually worked with some of them, and I had the opportunity to meet a lot with others. One of the people of science is the Japanese scientist (Hidenori Fujiwara), with whom I had joint research, and from France, where I obtained my doctorate, I had the opportunity to meet With mathematical geniuses like Michel Deflo.
On the Arab level, I was passionate about many Tunisian scholars, such as Abbas Al-Bahri and Nader Al-Masmadi, as they played a major role in raising the level of self-ambition to accomplish works that amounted to international recognition.
Mathematics and artificial intelligence
In your opinion, what is the most important area in our lives in which mathematics plays the greatest role?
(Without hesitation) the science of statistics. Any country, even a small enterprise, that does not have clear statistics for evaluation is a failure from my point of view, and is doomed to bankruptcy. The other field that has begun to interfere in many matters of our lives is (artificial intelligence), which was born Also from the womb of mathematics, but all the fear that artificial intelligence will overwhelm humans and lead to their destruction.
How could it lead to the destruction of humans?
(Smiling) Just as a man-made car can kill a person if it is misused, artificial intelligence can do the same thing. Airplanes, for example, travel on airways according to programming that, if corrupted by artificial intelligence, can lead to disasters, as well as Bank accounts are protected by intelligent programs. If hacked by artificial intelligence, a major financial crisis could occur in the world.
Is the job of a scientific researcher one of the jobs that artificial intelligence may eliminate?
Artificial intelligence is incapable of producing new ideas. It can only collect what is available and crystallize it in a new context.
Even in mathematics?
(In an excited tone) Artificial intelligence is unable so far to solve a simple exercise, and if it is able to do so in the future, it will be extraordinary. I do not know whether it will be able to or not, but at least it is unable so far. The last award I received was for working on theories based on… 40-year-old guesses remained unsolved, and we were able to do that. Could artificial intelligence have achieved this?
Description of mathematics genius
Because of your success in this, some described you as a “mathematical genius in the Arab world” and “the first mathematician in the Arab world.” Do these descriptions please you?
I do not think that these descriptions are accurate, because I am interested in three areas of mathematical sciences: “Deformation Sciences in Geometry,” “Li Group Theory,” and “Noncommutative Harmonic Analysis,” and I tried to solve major problems in these branches, but it is certain that there are others. Better than me.
I notice that your thoughts are organized as if you are solving a mathematical equation. Is your personal life affected by your major in mathematics?
(He did not wait for the question to be completed) Yes, I use data and results in everything, and any life problem I face, I seek to solve it using the same methodology I use in mathematics.
I fear that mathematics will also haunt you in your sleep, like many people working in this science, who told me in previous interviews that they solve mathematical equations while sleeping?
(Smiling) Often, I cannot actually sleep if there is a problem that I am thinking of solving, and I often wake up from my sleep in the depths of the night to record equations that came to my mind, and many times I shout, “I found it.. I found it” when what I wrote down solves the problem that I had written down. I was thinking about it, and sometimes what I wrote down requires additional work to complete it.
Funding scientific research
Do you feel, like many researchers in the field of mathematics, oppressed by not receiving sufficient funding for research, compared to other sciences?
(He nods dismissively) Let us be objective. Mathematics does not deserve as much funding as chemistry, engineering, and medicine, for example, because these sciences require the provision of tools and raw materials, while mathematics only requires pen and paper.
However, at the University of Sfax in Tunisia, I run a mathematics laboratory that receives reasonable funding from the Ministry of Scientific Research to spend on research, travel, and holding international conferences.
However, funding for mathematics and other sciences remains small in Arab universities, compared to other universities in the Western world, due to the economic conditions of Arab countries compared to those countries.
In conclusion, what is your advice to young researchers who want to obtain prestigious international awards like you?
(After a deep sigh) Wait, wait, wait, wait in publishing research papers, as I notice a rush in publishing research that is not of great importance in medium and less than medium journals, and this would distance the researcher from the opportunity of international exposure.
As for my second advice, it is to choose a research field that satisfies one’s passion, because when other factors interfere in the choices, such as choosing a field that achieves financial gain, the researcher cannot then achieve any success.
