Vietnamese Doctor Makes Top 10 Young Scientists in Australia

Dr. Nguyen Duy Duy has experienced education systems across three continents, having graduated with honors from a university in Russia, obtained a Master's degree in the United States, and earned a Doctorate in Australia with recognition for an outstanding doctoral dissertation.

Currently, Dr. Duy is working at the Water Security Program, Environmental Research Institute under the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in Australia.

 Dr. Nguyen Duy Duy (top right) is among the 10 scientists awarded by SIEF (Photo: Australian Academy of Science).

Recently, Dr. Duy has become one of the 10 outstanding young scientists awarded by the Science and Industry Endowment Fund (SIEF) of the Australian Academy of Science in the fields of science and industry.

The SIEF award, with nearly a century-long history, is bestowed upon scientists who contribute to the Australian industry, promote community benefits, and contribute to Australia's national goals.

This award not only provides significant financial support for scientific research but also offers Dr. Duy, along with other honored scientists, the opportunity to interact and exchange ideas with over 45 Nobel laureates and nearly 600 young scientists worldwide in July at the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings in Germany.

7 pages of achievements and 5 most notable scientific papers

To be considered for the award, Dr. Duy had to prepare extensive documents introducing himself and his research projects since August 2023.

The documents included a list of awards received from undergraduate studies to the present, teaching and training experiences, five most notable scientific papers, patents, social activities, essays, and recommendation letters.

Dr. Duy's list of awards spans about 7 pages, including full scholarships for undergraduate, master's, and doctoral studies, outstanding graduation achievements from Saint Petersburg State Polytechnic University (Russia), the President's Scholarship from the University of Notre Dame (USA), and the award for the best doctoral dissertation from the University of Sydney (Australia), among others.

Dr. Duy during fieldwork at Lake Hume (Australia). Beside him is the spectrophotometer invented by his research team for water quality monitoring. (Photo: NVCC).

As for the 5 required papers, Dr. Duy selected articles published in leading journals in his field, focusing on modeling in projects he is pursuing. Most of these papers are related to water quality, fluid dynamics, hydraulics, combined with artificial intelligence, machine learning, and physics.

Three of Dr. Duy's 5 notable scientific papers have received multiple awards from journals such as Featured Articles, Editor's Choice, and Best Paper Awards. Regarding recommendation letters, Dr. Duy received two letters of recommendation from the CSIRO Chief Scientist and the Head of the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Sydney.

After preparing the documents, Dr. Duy underwent several rounds of evaluation by groups, departments, schools, and the CSIRO Institute, with only 2 scientists selected per round. Besides the CSIRO, Australia has approximately 140-150 large and small universities and research institutes.

With a large number of submitted applications, Dr. Duy and the remaining 9 scientists were selected by the Australian Academy of Science to receive the award and the opportunity to attend the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings in Germany, a meeting between Nobel laureates and young scientists worldwide to promote scientific exchange among generations of scientists.

One of the 5 notable papers by Dr. Duy (Photo: NVCC)

It is known that among nearly 600 young scientists attending the upcoming meeting, Dr. Duy is one of the 14 scientists chosen to present at the networking session.

Dr. Duy is currently preparing the content for a 15-minute presentation at the upcoming meeting in Germany and, notably, has the opportunity to have a private dinner with 3 Nobel laureates among a group of only 10 individuals.

Among the Nobel laureates, 3 work in the similar field that Dr. Duy is focusing on. According to Dr. Duy, the Nobel Prize in Physics has traditionally been awarded to fundamental physics. However, since 2021, the prize has been awarded to scientists working on thermodynamics, hydrodynamics, and climate models.

"I want to ask Nobel laureates about the impact of this recognition on their future research and the global scientific community in the context of current climate change," Dr. Duy said.

Furthermore, he also aims to provide insights as a representative from Vietnam to understand the perspectives of scientists in developing countries on scientific work, while also addressing climate change challenges in Vietnam at the global scientific forum.

Dr. Nguyen Duy Duy and the Deputy Director of the AquaWatch Australia program share at the training course of the Mekong Australia Partnership Program on "Addressing Climate Change Challenges" organized by the University of Queensland in collaboration with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs (Photo: NVCC).

Sharing his future plans, the young scientist said he is pursuing models on water quality and water resources, two hot issues in both Australia and Vietnam. Specifically, he aims to focus on solving water security issues under the influence of climate change.

Additionally, Dr. Duy is collaborating with several non-governmental organizations in Vietnam and the Australian Embassy in Vietnam to conduct a series of lectures on climate change for students, young people, and the general public. Moreover, he is also involved in teaching sessions for businesses and government agencies on climate change mitigation to enhance human resources for the Mekong Delta region through discussions with experts from the United States and Australia.