L'Oréal Award - UNESCO three female scientists in 2019

Three female scientists were honored by UNESCO's Scientific Council L'Oréal - 150 million VND to further research the topic they are pursuing.

On the morning of December 12, the L'Oréal - UNESCO Award for the Development of Women in Science program awarded three outstanding female scientists in 2019 with potential studies in Vietnam in 2019. The list of 32 outstanding female scientists has contributed to changing the science of Vietnam in the past 10 years. Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh, Prof. Chau Van Minh, President of Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology and leaders of international departments, agencies and research institutes attended the event.

Three outstanding female scientists were selected this year for their outstanding scientific research achievements through the number of publications in international journals, published scientific publications, and scientific research activities. and are participating. Professor Chau Van Minh, Chairman of the Scientific Council of the Award, said that among the documents submitted to the program, three scientists were honored for meaningful research and high practical application potential.

Vice President Dang Thi Thi Ngoc Thinh (second from the left) and the Organizing Committee presented prizes to three female scientists.(Photo: BN)

In this issue, Assoc. Dr. Ho Thi Thanh Van , Head of Science, Technology and External Relations Department, University of Natural Resources and Environment, Ho Chi Minh City with a research project on synthesizing Pt-Mo alloy catalyst on nano materials Ti0, 8W0, 2O2 to improve CO toxicity and reduce the cost of fuel cells directly using methanol as a form of renewable energy.

This research will bring practical benefits in the widespread use of fuel cells, to replace fossil fuels and to reduce global warming due to CO2 emissions.

Assoc.Dr. Ho Thi Thanh Van researched to increase CO toxicity and reduce costs for fuel cells directly using methanol.

This research project will help to reduce the use of Pt precious metals and improve the performance of alloys compared to pure Pt, thereby improving the activity and operating time of Pt electrochemical catalysts, providing cost-effectiveness, performance and durability to commercialize this eco-friendly fuel cell in the near future.

The second scientist named Dr. Tran Thi Hong Hanh , Institute of Marine Biochemistry, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology has studied and used fingerprint chromatography method in combination with modern equipment to assessment of medicinal ingredients and quality of pharmaceuticals to provide a set of data on the composition of active ingredients in the sample of pharmaceutical materials, including chemical structure, composition, substance content, as a basis for the evaluation. price of medicinal materials quality in the market. Fingerprint chromatography method is also applied in evaluating the composition of functional foods derived from medicinal materials.

Dr. Tran Thi Hong Hanh with research and evaluation of medicinal ingredients by fingerprint chromatography method.

This project has important implications in the current situation when the demand for medicinal materials in disease prevention and treatment in Vietnam is increasing, but according to the report of the Drug Administration of Vietnam, the Ministry of Health, Big medicinal materials on the Vietnamese market are imported from abroad, smuggled goods of unknown origin therefore the quality of pharmaceutical materials cannot be guaranteed.

The project of researching the quality components of medicinal herbs through fingerprint chromatographic fingerprinting method will help the qualitative and quantitative determination of herbs quickly and with reliable accuracy. From there, it serves as a scientific basis for proving the effects of materia medica in traditional medicine and at the same time finding new effects and uses of materia medica serving the needs of public health care.

Dr. Pham Thi Thu Ha researches and selects salinity tolerant rice varieties. (Photo: NVCC).

Dr. Pham Thi Thu Ha, Deputy Director of the Institute of Genetic and Genetic Research, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City is the third scientist on this year's list of honors.

Dr. Ha has studied the development of saline tolerant rice varieties by molecular marker selection and disseminated them in the affected areas of saline conditions in the Mekong Delta. This research makes use of modern breeding tools, including marker assisted breeding (MAB), to develop high-yielding, salt tolerant rice varieties adapted to conditions in southern Vietnam. Building on the knowledge gained regarding genetic control of salinity tolerance in rice, to increase the speed and effectiveness of developing improved varieties.

For the past 10 years, this program has awarded 32 outstanding female scientists in Vietnam for research that is considered to be of significant scientific significance. improve and change lives and help them continue their pursuit of passion in science. Among these, 2 female PhDs were awarded the 2015 World Talent Young Scientist Award in 2015 and 2018 in Paris for their outstanding achievements in scientific research and passion for their work. scientific research.