5 U70 female scientists receive Kovalevskaia award

Nearly 70 years old, female scientists of the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology still stay up all night to do research, still participate in teaching and training in many universities.

The group of female scientists Tran Kim Anh, Vu Thi Bich, Pham Thu Nga, Tran Hong Nhung and Nguyen Phuong Tung are both associate professors, PhDs, senior researchers of the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology. With the cluster of basic research projects on the application of science and nanotechnology, the group has achieved many awards, including the 2016 Kovalevskaia Prize presented by the Vietnam Women's Union on 7 March.

"Kovalevskaia 2016 is not the first award we received but very noble, honoring the contributions of our team in the cause of science and technology development of the country. The prize is a great encouragement to help We are more dedicated to scientific research, despite being nearly 70 years old , " said Pham Thu Nga.

Research on nanoscience and science since the 1990s, 5 female scientists presided over, participated in 86 scientific research topics, all of which are fundamentally application-oriented to keep up with the development. The development of science and technology in the world has just met the urgent needs of science and technology in the country. They are also the authors of 636 scientific reports published in journals and conference proceedings at home and abroad, including 120 reports published in ISI journals.

5 female scientists are proud to be pioneers in Vietnam to study using sol-gel and wet chemical methods to create nano-sized particles such as quantum dots, nano ion of rare earth, nano-metal Organic gold, silver and nano-silica nanoparticles are used in medicine, biology, agriculture, security printing and optoelectronic components.

They studied the production of rare earth-containing luminescent powder materials for the production of high-performance fluorescent tubes, white light emitting, economical use of luminescent powder; research and manufacture materials for oil and gas exploitation; develop photonic methods and devices for basic research on materials and biomedical, for example, developing laser scanning fluorescence microscopy.

5 female scientists have many contributions in scientific and nanotechnology research in Vietnam.(Photo: NVCC).

In order to achieve these achievements, female scientists must participate in many internships, maintain cooperation with many laboratories in France, USA, Japan, Poland . Ms. Pham Thu Nga said that research It is difficult to save science, it is difficult for women to participate many times."At home, to fulfill the obligations of the wife and the mother, the agency must do the right function of the researcher. Therefore, the time for implementing a project is twice as much as for men," Ms Nga said. .

Many married female scientists also do research, the couple must take turns going abroad."When my first child is born, my husband is far away. When my child is 2-3 years old, my husband comes back to take care of my child and my wife goes back to the road. It is common to save two children who are ten years apart from each other , " Ms Nga said, telling each other to burst into tears in the middle of France when she heard of her sick child.

Ms. Vu Thi Bich remembers her postgraduate studies in France, and her family sent letters six months later."Reading the lines of confidant younger sisters at home constantly asking her where she was, yesterday she was here to make her want to leave all to come back to her. But passion and responsibility did not allow her to do so" , Ms. Bich said.

Even when at home, the time spent with children is encapsulated in two words "enlist". Research is a continuous process and scientists cannot leave it halfway. Ms. Hong Nhung shared that even though she was at the age of seven, she still had to stay up until 12 midnight to work, even at night.

Aside from the time issue, the fact that retired people continue to participate in scientific research also led to some difficulties. Nhung said that all 5 people were aged between 65 and 68. People in the state payroll and retired people were allocated powers and funding for research was completely different."If you don't find the source and the topic yourself, there will be no funding to work," Nhung said. However, they still feel lucky when the state does not limit the age and gender to those who do scientific research.

Together is the second generation of Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 5 female scientists sticking together as family members, understand each other very well."Each of us is a petal in a 5-pointed flower, inseparable. Although Ms. Phuong Tung studied in Ho Chi Minh City, we still keep in close contact and close cooperation," Nhung said.

Kim Anh said that they were lucky to be supported by many people, including professor and academician Nguyen Van Hieu. " He trained and mentored us right from the beginning of the job and directed us to basically research the orientation of applying science and nanotechnology right from the early years of the 90s of the previous century. proudly, Vietnam is one of the first countries in Southeast Asia to study in depth on this field, " said Kim Anh.

4 scientists Kim Anh, Thu Nga, Vu Bich and Hong Nhung (from left) in Hanoi, Ms. Phuong Tung studied in Ho Chi Minh City.(Photo: Thanh Tam).

Not only do scientific research, 5 scientists also train many generations of students, are doing teaching or research work at training institutions, research institutes. 5 she guided 20 graduate students successfully defended their doctoral dissertation, 6 doctoral students and 60 masters. From the perspective of the teachers and researchers, the female scientists recommend the young generation and especially the girls to really be passionate about new ways to pursue this path.

Talking about future plans, the group of female scientists said that they are still and will continue to do research, contributing to the development of the country's science and technology. In addition, they will still participate in teaching. The only desire of all 5 female scientists is to have the health to continue to research and work for the society.

Kovalevskaya Award is an annual award for female scientists with outstanding achievements in research and application of science to real life, benefiting in the fields - economy, society and literature. chemical. The prize bears the name of a Russian mathematician, Kovalevskaya (1850-1891).

Kovalevskaya International Prize Fund was founded in 1985, with the initial contribution of American Ann and his wife and Neal Koblitz. Since that year, the couple has selected Vietnamese female scientists in the field of natural sciences to be considered and awarded Kovalevskaya awards.