Obituary Giorgio Tomaso Bagni (1958–2009)
Bruno D'Amore
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Giorgio Tomaso Bagni was born in Milano, Italy in 1958. He obtained a degree in
Mathematics from the University of Padova (Italy) and followed post-graduate courses in
Numerical Analysis (University of Calabria, Rende, Italy) and in Computer Science (IBM
Novedrate, Milano). From 2000 to 2004, he was Assistant Professor of Complementary
Mathematics in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Rome La Sapienza.
In 2004, he moved to the University of Udine, where he worked in the Department of
Mathematics and Computer Science, until his unexpected death, which resulted from a
bicycle accident in Treviso (Italy) on June 10th, 2009.
His first university positions were in the year 1994 to 1995 as Teaching Professor of
History of Mathematics in the postgraduate course in Didactics of Mathematics and 1995 to
1996 as Teaching contract Professor of History of Mathematics for Didactics of
Mathematics at the University of Bologna.
In 1990, Giorgio started his studies in Didactics of Mathematics under the direction of
Bruno DAmore. They traveled intensively, giving courses and seminars. In 1997 to 1998,
for instance, they gave some courses at the University of Quertaro, Mxico. This period
marked the beginning of a longstanding collaboration and the publication of several articles
and books.
Since 2001, Giorgio was a member of il Gruppo Nazionale per le Strutture Algebriche,
Geometriche e le loro Applicazioni, Instituto Nazionale di Alta Matematica Francesco
Severi, (Rome, Italy). He was director of the Master universitario di II livello in Didattica
delle Scienze, University of Udine, and a member of il Consiglio di Presidenza of the
Centro Ricerche Didattiche U. Morin (Paderno del Grappa, Treviso, Italy). From 1999 to
2002, he was President of the Academy Ateneo di Treviso, legally recognized by the
Italian Department of Culture (he served as Full Member of the Academy from 1996 to
2003, then as Honorary Member). From 2001 to 2002, he was editor of Istituto
dellEnciclopedia Italiana G. Treccani for the History of Sciences (Storia della Scienza,
vol. VI, Let dei Lumi, Rome 2002) and in 2007 for Treccani Scuola. From 1990 to 2000,
he was a member of the Nucleo di Ricerca in Didattica della Matematica, Department of
Mathematics, University of Bologna.
He was also a member of the Scientific Board of the journal Bollettino dei Docenti di
Matematica (Bellinzona, Switzerland) as well as the Editorial Board of the journal
Progetto Alice (Rome, Italy). He was a member of the scientific Board of Direction for
the conferences Incontri con la Matematica n. 10, 11, 12, Castel San Pietro Terme
(Bologna, 1996, 1997, 1998) and member of the Editorial Board of CERME-5 (5th
Congress of the European Society for Research in Mathematics Education, Larnaca,
Cyprus, 2007). In 2009, he was one of the conveners of the CERME-6 algebra working
group. He gave invited lectures of Didactics of Mathematics and of History of Mathematics
in several national and international meetings.
Giorgio was a regular collaborator with journals that solicited him in various capacities.
No editor received Giorgios texts after a deadline. In fact, he was known for submitting his
texts long before his deadlines. His generosity was legendary.
In the past few years, Giorgio became interested in a hermeneutic perspective to
mathematics education. His last articles and two posthumous books deal with hermeneutics
as he understood it from the work of Heidegger and Gadamer.
His friends and collaborators will always remember him as a good and responsible
colleague, a fine and deep thinker, and an enthusiastic person of profound and inspiring
philosophical and epistemological analysis.
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