Vietnamese Americans scientists successful in the U.S.
(11/19/2003 -- 22:03GMT+7)
Ha Noi, Nov. 19 (VNA) - "American scientists of Vietnamese descent have made substantial successes in many socio-economic areas of the US."
That remark was made at a workshop in the US to review contributions by Americans of Asian origin in the sci-tech fields.
The workshop was told that there are around 1.5 million Vietnamese living in the US, of which the number of specialists accounts for 10.7 percent; high-school graduates, 59 percent; and university graduates, 15.9 percent. More than 280 American inventors of Vietnamese origin have obtained patents. Among them, is Dr. Doan Trung of the Micron Group, who holds 72 patents.
Healthcare is an area in which Vietnamese Americans have made advances. The number of Vietnamese operating in the sector reached 2,500, with 3.5 out of every 1,000 persons being doctors. Many Vietnamese professors have produced scientific works of important value. Prof. Nghiem Dai Dao has made several initiatives to transplant pancreatic juices in diabetics. Prof. Nguyen Huu Xuong developed a famous process to research protein structures in cancer.
In the aviation sciences, outstanding people are Eugene Trinh, an astronaut who has flown in space and Nguyen Manh Tien, member of the Jet-Engine Research Section of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), who joined in the Consultative Committee For Space Data Systems (CCSDS).
Many professors of Vietnamese origin are teaching at universities and high schools such as Nguyen Manh Hung at George Mason University, Hoang Van Duc at the Medical School of the University of Southern California, and Le Trai at Notre Dame University.
Dr. Nguyen Tue has earned a BS in physics, mathematics and electronics each and an MS and PhD in nuclear physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Doan Lien Phung, also a PhD in nuclear physics from MIT, has set up his own business, providing consultancy on energy and the environment. His company employs 300 engineers and scientists and has seven offices across the US. Phung has established a Study Encouragement Fund, valued at over 1 million USD, which offers 500 scholarships annually for Vietnamese students.
