My life: Felipe Cucker

I was born in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, in 1958. At that time, Uruguay was like a paradise and we enjoyed a very good quality of life. My childhood was not just happy, it was idyllic. But when I reached my early teens, conditions in Uruguay deteriorated. The economic situation gradually worsened and social unrest grew. In 1972, the military seized power and created a dictatorship. Around the same time my father passed away. So my wonderful childhood came to a very abrupt end.

I found maths easy at school so when it was time to choose my subjects for the preparatorios (the courses Uruguayan students take for two years prior to university) I chose maths subjects. This was a pragmatic choice rather than a romantic one. Maths appealed because it required the least effort - I was lazy! But, during the two years I spent studying for the preparatorios, I fell in love with mathematics. It was more complicated than I had anticipated and I had to work hard but, in doing so, I realised how much I enjoyed it. By the time I finished school I knew I wanted to become a mathematician. Some members of my family tried to discourage me because mathematicians don't make much money, but my mother understood my feelings and supported me.

It wasn't an easy decision for my mother. In Uruguay, in the early 1970s, there had been just a handful of professional mathematicians. They were left-wingers and when the military dictatorship took power they were all either jailed or they fled the country. So, when I finished school, there was no one teaching mathematics at university level. My only option was to leave the country. I visited different embassies and asked in each one what would be required to study maths in their country. Some nations had very restrictive immigration policies and demanded a small fortune, as a warranty, for me to study there. Eventually, the Spanish government offered me an opportunity which required only that I sat an examination. I passed the exam and moved to Barcelona.

When I left for Barcelona my mother didn't say it but she was destroyed. They were tough times in Uruguay and she had already lost her husband. there was no Skype or e-mail in those days. I tried to write her letters, but my handwriting is so bad that even I cannot read something I've written. Eventually I abandoned letter-writing and bought a cassette recorder. I recorded 30 minutes of conversation, once a week, and sent the cassettes. I would tell my mother that everything was fine. The truth was I was very poor and during my first year in Barcelona I didn't eat meat at all. Believe me, that, for a Uruguayan, is very serious - Uruguay has the highest consumption of beef per person per year, so life without it was a challenge. Later I started doing private tutoring for school children so I had a bit more money.

After my degree I did a PhD and then took up an academic position in Barcelona. Some years later, in the mid-90s, I made my first visit to Hong Kong, to spend a few weeks working with three other mathematicians on a book we were writing together. I had the most fantastic time, so, when I later received a job offer from City University, I jumped at the chance. The post was for two years but I never left.

Mathematics is unique. When you study other sciences you deal with things which are real and out there in the world, exterior to yourself. Maths is not "out there". It's in your imagination. This is what I love about maths - it flows from my own ideas and mental processes. And maths is creative. There are no raw materials, there is only what's inside your head. It's hard to explain but the solution to a mathematical problem can be very elegant, very beautiful. And for me this beauty is mesmerising.