Ms. Tran Thi Thanh Van is currently the Head of the Faculty of Materials Science and Technology, University of Science, Ho Chi Minh City. She was recognized by the State Council of Professors as a qualified professor in Physics and is one of the very few women recognized as a qualified professor this year.

Ms. Van graduated from university in 2002 with a major in Applied Physics; Master's degree in Optical Physics in 2006 at the University of Natural Sciences in Ho Chi Minh City; PhD in 2011 with majors in Optics - Laser, Physics - Chemistry - Atmosphere, University of Science and Technology Lille 1, France.

Ms. Van started her academic career as a teaching assistant at the Faculty of Physics, University of Natural Sciences, Ho Chi Minh City from 2002 to 2005. She then became a lecturer at the Faculty of Physics from 2005 to 2008. In 2008, she went to France to study a PhD program at the University of Science and Technology Lille 1 and completed her doctoral thesis in 2011 with majors in Optics - Laser, Physics - Chemistry - Atmosphere.

Gemini_Generated_Image_jsz123jsz123jsz1.jpg
Ms. Tran Thi Thanh Van, born in 1980 in Hoai Chau commune, Hoai Nhon district, Binh Dinh province (old) is the youngest female professor to be recognized in 2025.

Returning to Vietnam, she continued to work at the Faculty of Materials Science and Technology of the university as a lecturer (2011-2016), then Deputy Dean (2017-2018) and Dean (from 2018 to present). She was also Head of the Department of Magnetic and Biomedical Materials from 2022 to 2025.

Ms. Van's three research directions are: Rare earth-doped luminescent materials, applications in optoelectronics and anti-counterfeiting security; Biomedical materials, applications in dentistry, drug delivery and antibacterial/antibacterial; Functional nanomaterials, applications in photocatalysis, Raman sensors, optical sensors and energy fields.

During her career, Ms. Van has successfully guided a PhD student to defend his thesis and has also guided many students to win scientific research awards. She has chaired 6 research projects from grassroots to ministerial level and participated in 7 other projects, all of which were accepted with satisfactory results.

Regarding scientific publications, Ms. Van has a total of 81 articles, including 45 articles in prestigious international journals and is the main author of 18 articles. She is also the author of 2 monographs on rare earth-doped luminescent materials and functional nanomaterials, making significant contributions to the field of materials science in Vietnam.

In addition to her research work, Ms. Van also participates in many professional activities: she is the Chairman of the Science and Training Council of the Faculty of Materials Science and Technology, a member of the Science and Training Council of the University, a member of the Interdisciplinary Council of Materials Science and Technology of Ho Chi Minh City National University. She also participates in reviewing international articles and is a guest editor of the Ceramics International journal (Elsevier, Q1, IF: 5.2).

Ms. Van has presided over the development of the undergraduate training program in Materials Technology, starting enrollment in 2020, and at the same time carried out the accreditation of training programs according to AUN-QA standards.

The youngest female professor of 2025 considers herself to be serious, honest, objective and always cooperative with colleagues at home and abroad. She fully meets the teaching, research and training standards as prescribed by the Ministry of Education and Training, has foreign language and IT skills that meet the standards for research and teaching. Her professional philosophy is to constantly learn, update knowledge, develop expertise and create the best conditions for the next generation of students.

Ms. Tran Thi Thanh Van received a certificate of merit from the Ministry of Education and Training, the title of Emulation Fighter at the Ministry of Education and Training level and many other awards.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/nu-giao-su-tre-nhat-nam-2025-2459393.html