During the session, scientists reflected on the ICTP's rich history and its mission to combat the brain drain of scientists from developing countries, including Vietnam.
Prof Tran Thanh Van, Chairman of Rencontres du Vietnam shared that based on its mission, ICTP is offering scientists from developing nations with necessary skills and ongoing training opportunities to pursue long-term and productive scientific careers.
ICTP has established prestigious awards, such as the Dirac Prize, the ICTP Prize, and the Ramanujan Prize, to honor outstanding scientists. Notably, 85 percent of the Dirac Prize’s recipients subsequently received the Nobel Prize in Physics.
In Vietnam, ICTP awards have been bestowed upon several scientists, including Assoc Prof Dr Le Hong Van, who received the Young Scientist Award from Developing Countries in 1991; Prof Dam Thanh Son (University of Chicago, the US), who was awarded the Dirac Medal; and Prof Pham Hoang Hiep, the youngest professor to receive the ICTP Ramanujan Prize in Mathematics.
"Between 1970 and 2011, ICTP assisted 1,123 Vietnamese scientists in various forms," stated Prof Tran Thanh Van. "Around 70 Vietnamese scientists have collaborated with ICTP at different stages. Notably, since 1996, the organization has provided an average annual grant of EUR120,000/year for scientific activities in Vietnam, totaling over EUR1.9 million by 2011."
Several prominent research institutes at the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Vietnam National University-Hanoi, and Vietnam National University-HCM are actively involved in ICTP's collaborative programs.
Additionally, at Quy Nhon University, 10 young scientists from the Department of Mathematics and Statistics have received ICTP’s scholarships, including 2 associate professors and 8 doctors who are currently contributing to high-quality human resource training in the South Central Coast and Central Highlands regions.
"ICTP plays a pivotal role in the development of Mathematics in Vietnam," shared Assoc Prof Dr Le Cong Trinh, Head of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Quy Nhon University. "Through its Diploma program in Mathematics, ICTP has provided partial funding for Mathematics lecturers and researchers, contributing to the training of high-quality lecturers in the country."
During the 29th PASCOS Symposium on ‘Particles, Strings and Cosmology’, Assoc Prof Dr Pham Ngoc Diep from the Vietnam Space Center (VNSC) under the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology delivered an international presentation on the current status and development of Astrophysics in Vietnam. Vietnam has established its Astronomical and Space Society and currently operates three well-equipped astronomical observatories in Nha Trang City (Khanh Hoa Province), Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park (Hanoi), and Quy Nhon City (Binh Dinh).
Notably, several Astrophysics groups have been established in Vietnam, including the SAGI Astrophysics group at ICISE, which was founded in 2022 by Dr Nguyen Trong Hien from NASA in the US, Dr Hoang Chi Thiem from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, and Dr Nguyen Luong Quang from American University in France. It holds immense promise as it aims at training and connecting Astrophysics researchers both domestically and internationally.
Prof Pierre Darriulat, former Scientific Director of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), has made significant contributions to Astrophysics in Vietnam. After retiring from CERN, Pierre and his Vietnamese wife settled in Hanoi before establishing the Cosmic Ray Laboratory at the Vietnam Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology.
Professor Pierre also played a crucial role in creating the Vietnam Astrophysics group and secured support from international partners to transfer research methods, technologies, and training to Vietnam. Until now, it has trained 12 master's students, 7 doctoral students, and has 17 young researchers working in the same field.
In the anniversary event, Dr Cao Van Son from the Neutrino Physics Group at the Institute For Interdisciplinary Research in Science and Education (IFIRSE) shared his insights on the current state and future of high-energy physics in Vietnam. He emphasized the crucial role of ICTP and the Advanced Physics program founded by Prof Pham Quang Hung (University of Virginia, the US) at Hue University. To date, this program has trained 200 students, one-third of whom have gone on to pursue master's and doctoral degrees and continue their research in various countries around the world.
Dr Cao Van Son also shared some of the research his group is currently conducting in Japan, including the T2K experiment (with 3 Vietnamese PhDs participating) and the Super-Kamiokande (SK) experiment, which Dr Cao Van Son's young research group has recently proposed to the Ministry of Science and Technology, expected to present numerous opportunities for young researchers in Vietnam as well as have a high potential for Nobel Prize-winning discoveries.
