Female student won first prize in Mechanical Olympics

Her mother wanted her to study medicine, her father wanted her to study economics , but Pham Thi Hue chose mechanical engineering at Hanoi University of Science and Technology. Hue was the only girl in the class.

Pham Thi Hue is the only female student in the 65th class of mechanical engineering, Hanoi University of Science and Technology - Photo: NGUYEN BAO

Recently, in the 2024 National Mechanics Olympiad, Hue was the only female student to win first prize in hydraulics.

Two older sisters give up their study opportunities to their younger sister.

"When I heard the news that I won first prize in the National Mechanics Olympiad, I was very happy. When I learned that I was the only female to win first prize in the competition, I was even more proud. This is a worthy result for the efforts of both teachers and students during two months of preparation" - Pham Thi Hue, currently a fourth-year student majoring in mechanical engineering (engineering system), School of Mechanical Engineering, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, shared. Hue is from Hai Duong . Her parents are workers. Her two older sisters stopped studying after high school to work to earn money to support the family, giving their younger siblings the opportunity to study. The fact that Hue is the first child in the family to go to university is a source of motivation for her to pursue her goal. Hue said that since middle school, she saw the appeal of math and physics, especially math. When she was in high school, she thought she would pursue math to the end, and later only do math-related work such as doing mathematical research in a research institute. However, when studying the A00 group (math, physics, chemistry) at Ke Sat High School, seeing Hue's passion for fluid research, the physics teacher suggested that Hue could study some engineering majors at Hanoi University of Science and Technology - majors that were thought to be only men's choices. "Following the teacher's guidance, I started to learn about cars, ships, airplanes... and found the dynamic mechanical engineering major quite attractive. This major is broad and has many job opportunities in the future, so I decided to apply," Hue recalled.

Boldly pursue your passion

When Hue planned to study mechanical engineering, her parents did not support her but did not object either. "My parents were worried that it would be hard for a girl to study engineering. There was a prejudice that engineering was only suitable for men, so my mother wanted me to study medicine, and my father wanted me to study economics," Hue said. Friends and neighbors also asked, "Why do girls study engineering?", "There are many gentle, feminine majors, why don't you choose them?"... Pursuing her love of mechanics and fluid research, in 2020, Hue used her thinking assessment test score to be admitted and was admitted to the mechanical engineering major (engineering system). On the day of admission, Hue was shocked when she was the only female in a class of 50 students. When the general education program was combined, Hue's class was combined with the automotive class, the aviation class... looking around, all the students were male.

"During the first semester of the first year, I was the only female in the class. I was shy to communicate with friends and teachers, so I always looked for a table at the back of the class to sit," Hue said. Hue's first semester results were only fair. After that, Hue improved herself, opened up to her classmates, and asked more questions to her teachers. In particular, as the only "pink shadow" in the class, Hue received enthusiastic help from her friends in studying and working in groups. Thanks to that, Hue's academic results improved to excellent. In the last two semesters, Hue achieved a perfect score of 4.0. In addition to being awarded the title of 5 Good Students at the school level; scholarships to encourage learning in each semester from Hanoi University of Science and Technology; Hue also won the creative idea award when participating in school-level scientific research; scholarships from the Asia Foundation; scholarships from Hyundai Vietnam Shipbuilding Company...

Pham Thi Hue (middle) received first prize in hydraulics at the 2024 National Mechanics Olympiad - Photo: HUST

Many useful studies for the community

Since the middle of her second year, Hue has been studying fluid dynamics in the school's laboratory. In April 2024, Hue and two other students published a research article on simulation of blood flow in the coronary arteries in the Vietnam Journal of Science and Technology. According to Hue, this is a research article on parameters to find out the pressure, stress... that blood flow affects the coronary arteries. When the research is published, it will help doctors have more basis to diagnose diseases in the coronary arteries. In addition, Hue is also studying the simulation of electrical activation in the heart, finding the causes and diagnosing diseases of arrhythmia; isolating cells carrying cancerous DNA, studying blood flow in the human body, the movement of ions in electrochemical batteries... "In Vietnam, many people rarely go for regular health check-ups because of the high cost, and only when the disease is dangerous do they discover it. That is really unfortunate. That is why I want to develop the application of fluid dynamics to help many people detect and prevent cancer better" - Hue said. After completing the program at the University of Technology, Hue aims to study abroad in the US or Europe because these are countries with strong research groups in the field of dynamics that Hue is interested in and pursuing.

Female engineering students are no longer unique.

Associate Professor Tran Xuan Bo - Director of the mechanical engineering training program, School of Mechanical Engineering, Hanoi University of Science and Technology - is the homeroom teacher and also teaches Hue some courses. Mr. Bo assessed Hue as an intelligent, hard-working, studious, creative student, not afraid of difficulties and determined to solve problems to the end. "Currently, the diversity of professions and the interdisciplinary nature of engineering have made many female students find engineering attractive, interesting and suitable. Nowadays, talking about engineering does not mean just talking about dryness, heaviness, and hardship, but on the contrary, engineering is a place to promote creativity, crystallize knowledge to create technical innovations that are beneficial to life, to economic development, and to the success of learners. And the choice of engineering majors by female students is no longer an isolated matter. In fact, there are many female students who have achieved success in the engineering profession they are pursuing" - Mr. Bo said.

Need the most perseverance

According to Pham Thi Hue, there is actually no field of study that is exclusively for men or women. All learning opportunities are equally divided for both genders. You just need to have passion, effort, and determination to pursue your goals. "The most essential character of a researcher is perseverance and not giving up. Because research work has to go through many challenges, research always requires novelty, so in the research process there will be many difficulties, and there will be discouragement because of deadlock. There are also times when you cannot ask anyone, cannot ask anyone for advice. Only perseverance, pursuing a problem to the end can achieve success" - Hue confided.

NGUYEN BAO

Tuoitre.vn

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nu-sinh-doat-giai-nhat-olympic-co-hoc-20240714091944373.htm