The Department of Mathematics was created in 2012, as a consequence of the implementation of the Italian Law which reformed the Italian University system, which abolished the faculties and made department become the main structures of the universities, Able to coordinate scientific research and manage the study plans.
Consequently the Department absorbed the activities previously performed by the Faculty of Mathematic, Physic and Natural Sciences, which was responsible for the educational activities of the courses in Mathematics, Physics, Computer Sciences and Bio-molecular Sciences and Technologies, as well as those performed by the former Department of Mathematics, which was in charge for the research activities carried out in the various sectors of mathematics.
The former faculty and department dated back to the Seventies, when the University of Trento used to be a private foundation and had chosen for a sound support to the scientific and technological areas, thus attracting to Trento high-level researchers and experts. Among them, Mario Miranda, Enrico Giusti, Giuseppe Da Prato, Giovanni Zacher, Luigi Salvadori, Alberto Tognoli, whose imprinting can still be perceived, even some of them left Trento, and still has an impact on some research areas, such as:
- Calculus of variations
- Evolution equations
- Complex and real algebraic geometry
- Theory of groups
- Physical mathematics
During the Nineties some members of the Department began to devote more time and attention to the applications of Mathematics. In particular research groups are active in the fields of stochastic equations, Numeric approximation and Differential equations, as well as in the field of Mathematic Models applied to Biology; Cryptography and Error correction codes.
The Ph.D. in Mathematics was created at the beginning of the Nineties, offering 4 to 5 positions per year. In this way may young researchers continued their careers, becoming professors in various universities, or researchers in research centres and businesses, or teachers.
In the Nineties the Department created a Laboratory for Mathematics teaching activities and communication, in order to promote the knowledge of mathematics outside the University, in cooperation with the school system and the scientific museums.