Two Vietnamese listed among 100 top scientists in Asia
Singaporean-based Asian Scientist Magazine has named two Vietnamese – Professor Phan Thanh Son Nam and Associate Professor Nguyen Sum – in its recently published list of 100 leading scientists in Asia.
Professor Phan Thanh Son Nam (first row, left) in the list of 100 top scientists in Asia. (Photo: vnexpress.net)
Hanoi (VNA) - Singaporean-basedAsian Scientist Magazine has named two Vietnamese – Professor Phan Thanh SonNam and Associate Professor Nguyen Sum – in its recently published list of 100leading scientists in Asia.
Professor Phan Thanh Son Nam, Dean of theFaculty of Chemical Engineering at the Ho Chi Minh City University ofTechnology (National University – HCM City), was one of two scientists awardedthe 2017 Ta Quang Buu Awards for his work on molecular catalysts in organictransformation.
Born in 1977, Nam completed his doctoraldegree for Chemical and Biological Engineering at the UK-based University ofSheffield and post-doctoral degree at the US-based Georgia Institute ofTechnology. He obtained the professor level in 2014, at 36, becoming theyoungest professor in Vietnam at the time.
Associate Professor Nguyen Sum at the QuyNhon University was the other laureate of the 2017 Ta Quang Buu Awards for hisresearch on the Peterson hit problem, an open problem in polynomial algebra. Theresearch was internationally published in 2015.
Born in 1961, Sum has taken part in 11scientific studies and published 15 articles on international magazines.
The Ta Quang Buu Awards is the mostprestigious scientific award in Vietnam to honour scientists in the science-technologyfield.
The 2018 edition of the annual AsianScientist 100 celebrated top researchers, academics and innovators, who madesignificant contributions to fields ranging from space exploration tostructural biology. Each of the 100 honourees on the list won a national orinternational prize in 2017 for their scientific research or leadership.
In 2016, the first year the list waspublished, two female Vietnamese were honoured, namely Tran Lien Ha Phuong ofthe International University (National University – HCM City), and Dang ThiOanh of Thai Nguyen University. The 2017 list featured another femaleVietnamese scientist Le Thi Kim Phung from the Ho Chi Minh City University ofTechnology.-VNA
VNA
Related News
Vietnam has had a remarkably high number of post-graduates in the recent years. However, scientific research projects, which are considered the soul of universities in their quest to produce new knowledge for the world, have remained modest in both quality and quantity.
A gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) study by Assoc. Prof. Dr Tran Van Khanh, which supports prenatal diagnosis of DMD to prevent genetic disorders, has earned the scientist the Kovalevskaya Award 2017.
Two outstanding female scientists have been honoured with the Kovalevskaya Award 2017 during a ceremony held in Hanoi on March 6.
Dr Nguyen Thi Hiep was selected to be part of the International Rising Talents Programme of the L’Oreal-UNESCO For Women In Science Awards, which were presented on March 21 in Paris, France.
In Vietnam, digital transformation in the finance and banking sector is accelerating cashless payments, expanding access to financial services, improving market transparency and supporting economic growth and macroeconomic management.
Fostering the habit of using legitimate copyrighted publications, respecting authors’ rights, and promoting a healthy digital consumption culture will help create a more sustainable environment for the publishing industry in the future.
According to Dr. Le Minh Nghia, Chairman of the Vietnam Financial Consulting Association (VFCA), AI has become a key driver reshaping the global financial industry. In Vietnam, the technology is already widely used in banking and finance for credit analysis, electronic customer identification (eKYC), risk management, service personalisation and real-time transaction processing.
Since the Prime Minister issued Directive 38, which directs ministries and agencies to strengthen efforts against IP violations, 1,438 cases had been detected and processed as of May 27.
The workshop aims to achieve three key objectives providing a platform for academic exchange and strengthening collaboration between leading international scientists and young researchers, including doctoral students; promoting multidimensional scientific dialogue on major open questions in the field; and initiating new directions for international research cooperation with the active participation of Vietnam's physics community.
With the bilateral relations continuing to grow and the determination of both sides to advance innovation, cooperation in AI and high technology is expected to become one of the most dynamic pillars of Vietnam-Singapore relations in the coming time.
Vietnam, Israel deepen cooperation prospects in quantum technology
After four editions of the Top Industry 4.0, this year, the programme was officially renamed “Vietnam I4 Impact Awards”, which is not just a change in name but a shift in development thinking and core values.
Experts said close coordination among State management agencies, research institutes, universities, and businesses will improve training quality and serve the dual goals of quality education and practical research application.
To promote copyright protection, Vietnam is accelerating efforts to master core technologies and build integrated platforms capable of receiving, processing, distributing and protecting digital content on a unified system.
OVs hope the two countries can establish an interconnected cooperation mechanism in the technology supply chain, from sharing research, testing, and development infrastructure to training human resources, thereby forming a technology alliance able to compete with others in the ASEAN region and the world.
Part of the Vietnam Innovation Challenge 2026, the programme goes beyond conventional coding competitions by requiring participants to develop AI-driven solutions to business challenges in real time.
Many experts in Singapore expressed their hope that the General Secretary and President’s visit will pave the way for more substantive cooperation mechanisms between Vietnam and Singapore in high technology, innovation and human resources development.
Ho Chi Minh City currently hosts 143 science and technology enterprises, accounting for around 20% of the national total. Total factor productivity (TFP) contributes 59% to the city’s GRDP growth, with science and technology responsible for 74% of TFP growth.
Over recent years, NSTDA has built strong partnerships with Vietnamese research institutes and organisations in agriculture, biotechnology, energy and sustainable development. Notable examples include joint projects on cassava value chains, salt-tolerant rice, biotechnology products and an initiative on green energy cooperation and development in the Mekong basin.
Vietnam now needs more effective digital transformation to create higher productivity, new growth models and stronger competitiveness in the AI era, said participants at the plenary session of the Vietnam-Asia DX Summit 2026.
The project aims to transform VNeID into a modern, secure and highly scalable national digital platform capable of effectively serving citizens, businesses, agencies and organisations in handling administrative procedures, accessing online public services, conducting electronic transactions and using digital utilities.
More than just a major technology competition for engineering students, this year’s event provides a platform for innovation, artificial intelligence (AI) and practical industrial applications to converge.
Regional Representative of the UNODC for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, Delphine Schantz, recommended that countries should treat the UN Convention against Cybercrime (Hanoi Convention) as a ‘starting point,’ instead of an ‘end goal.’
The inclusion of Vietnamese researchers in the 2026 Asian Scientist 100 list alongside Nobel laureates highlights Vietnam’s increasing integration into the global scientific community and its expanding research capabilities.